Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection: which movies live up to the title?

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by mdekoning, Jan 7, 2018.

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  1. Phillip Walch

    Phillip Walch Forum Resident

    OK that is strange. Yes, do let us know the outcome. Thank you.
     
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  2. Phillip Walch

    Phillip Walch Forum Resident

    I absolutely adore Rebecca, it just leaves me reeling every time I watch it. I think this is what is so great about Hitch, he has such a wealth and mix of movies that there is something for everybody and we all have different ideas about what is his best. I for instance think The Lodger is n absolute masterpiece. Those who have not watched it, should!
     
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  3. Dirkwkirk

    Dirkwkirk Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ohio
    Billy Mummy has an interesting story about Hitchcock on Youtube.
     
  4. misterjones

    misterjones Smarter than the average bear.

    Location:
    New York, NY
    I saw it (and Rope) for the first time in a movie theater. With both, you really feel like you’re in the room with the characters. Perhaps Blu-ray plus a big screen TV provides for a similar experience.
     
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  5. misterjones

    misterjones Smarter than the average bear.

    Location:
    New York, NY
    It’s been so long since I saw Rebecca I’ve forgotten the plot. A good reason to revisit it.
     
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  6. I think I agree with the OP regarding the classics, but I would rate Frenzy higher and include it as a classic. And of course Strangers on a Train should have been included with the other classics.
     
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  7. longdist01

    longdist01 Senior Member

    Location:
    Chicago, IL USA
    Excellent Blu-Ray release from Criterion!

     
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  8. Phillip Walch

    Phillip Walch Forum Resident

    Absolutely! We watched it just yesterday and I must admit it now looks a little dated compared to some other more recent transfers but that is not to take away from the job Criterion did. It is a brilliant transfer. I just want a 4K restoration now and a release in the UK.

    How on earth has this stunning movie not had a blu-ray release in the UK. We adore the man for pities sake!
     
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  9. misterjones

    misterjones Smarter than the average bear.

    Location:
    New York, NY
    I’m in the process of reassessing Vertigo. Loved it years ago, then more recently disliked the unrealistic plot, hokey dialogue, and stilted acting. Ugh! Two stars, tops. Sure, the cinematography is great but . . .

    Perhaps I’ve been listening to too much opera lately, but it has taken on almost Wagnerian proportions in my mind. It’s Bernard Hermann’s soundtrack that might put Vertigo over the top into potential masterpiece status.

    But all this is based on listening to the soundtrack today and recalling the film. I need to watch it again, preferably on Blu-ray.
     
  10. adm62

    adm62 Senior Member

    Location:
    Ottawa, Canada
    I think the plot is not too important. I also think it is his best film. Many critics now think it is the greatest film ever made:

    The 100 Greatest Films of All Time | Sight & Sound
     
  11. MAYBEIMAMAZED

    MAYBEIMAMAZED Don't think Twice it's alright

    Location:
    DFW TEXAS
    Rear window,
    Northwest by Northwest
    vertigo
    Dial M for murder
    The Birds
    Psycho
    ROPE
    Frenzy
    I love all Hitchcock Movies just so cool It Makes me want to watch some this weekend great idea! Think I will start with the Rear window.
     
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  12. Phillip Walch

    Phillip Walch Forum Resident

    The most important element of Vertigo and what (for me) makes it close to a masterpiece is how and where it is shot. San Francisco was perfectly cast almost as its own character. We saw it last year on the big screen and while the transfer needs some work, the movie itself stands up so well on the big screen. I don't think watching it at home ever quite does it justice.
     
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  13. adm62

    adm62 Senior Member

    Location:
    Ottawa, Canada
    Yes. I also saw it first on the big screen, when it was re-released in the 80s after decades out of circulation.When I first visited San Francisco a decade or saw later, I scouted out some of the locations. Obsessive, moi?
     
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  14. fr in sc

    fr in sc Forum Resident

    Location:
    Hanahan, SC
    Hear, hear!
    And to this list of seven I would add The Lady Vanishes, Rebecca, Suspicion and The Birds. I've always thought The 39 Steps and North by Northwest were his two very best films.
     
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  15. The Panda

    The Panda Forum Mutant

    Location:
    Marple, PA, USA
    me too. when in SF, I must have walked a mile each way to get to the spot under the bridge. My apartment was 1/2 block from the mission.
     
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  16. misterjones

    misterjones Smarter than the average bear.

    Location:
    New York, NY
    I did the same for Don’t Look Now in Venice.
     
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  17. Slappy9001

    Slappy9001 Senior Member

    Location:
    Kingston, PA
    I think parts of VERTIGO are outstanding, but tastes being subjective, Kim Novak kills it for me. For whatever reason she turns me off immensely and it pulls me out of the film every time I try to watch it. MARNIE never reaches the highs of VERTIGO but I still find it a compelling work. I understand that I am in the minority with that opinion.
     
  18. adm62

    adm62 Senior Member

    Location:
    Ottawa, Canada
    Novak's limited acting is perfect for the role because SPOILER ALERT her character is playing a role.
     
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  19. The Panda

    The Panda Forum Mutant

    Location:
    Marple, PA, USA
    Marnie is too damn long for a character that is fundamentally uninteresting. She's not Theresa Dunn, angel on one hand, sinner on the other.
    I admit he pulls out all the stops to try and make her a star--the tracking shot at the party, the whole sneaking out sequence with her heel in the pocket, the overhead shot with the tree, the double set when she sleeps, etc
    But the horrible riding sequences and the fake background at the end just ruin it. And that is not even getting into her limitations as an actress.
    There's a quote somewhere that when he realized he couldn't show the rape, he began to lose interest.
    I used to wonder why he let final cut on Torn Curtain to Newman, but when you look at how messy Marnie was, I get it.
     
  20. Even lesser movies like Torn Curtain have their moments. The confrontation and fight with Gromek is an outstanding scene.
     
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  21. Neil Anderson

    Neil Anderson Forum Resident

    Location:
    Portland, Oregon
    Yeah, I was pleasantly surprised when I finally saw it. I don't think Paul Newman was a good choice for the lead, although I like him in some of his other roles. Not a good Hitchcock leading man.
     
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  22. misterjones

    misterjones Smarter than the average bear.

    Location:
    New York, NY
    Good point. Never considered that. And Scottie was too smitten to notice her “acting”. He wanted to believe.
     
  23. Jay_Z

    Jay_Z Forum Resident

    I must be the only one that dislikes North By Northwest. I need some sort of plot I can care about. Seems like it's easier to do great scenes when the story really doesn't matter.
     
  24. The Panda

    The Panda Forum Mutant

    Location:
    Marple, PA, USA
    We saw the Hitch/Truffaut movie in the theater. The added bonus was that we got to see the dress scene from Topaz on the big screen. Whew
     
  25. misterjones

    misterjones Smarter than the average bear.

    Location:
    New York, NY
    I love North by Northwest. I won’t necessarily give it masterpiece status, but I could watch that film with my hair on fire. For a period of time back in the 1990s, I watched it every week for several months. I know most, if not all, of the dialogue by heart.

    Check out the simply dreadful matching action in the train dinner scene (Cary Grant’s hands - how could they miss that!), and the kid plugging his ears before Eva Marie Saint “shoots” Grant!

    Best line: “You wouldn’t care to carry my bags for me, would you?” Never fails to put me in a stitch or three.
     
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