ADVERTISEMENT

OT: Best Alfred Hitchcock Film

Hitchock's best film?

  • Psycho

    Votes: 16 24.6%

  • Vertigo

    Votes: 5 7.7%

  • North by Northwest

    Votes: 20 30.8%

  • Rear Window

    Votes: 19 29.2%

  • Lifeboat

    Votes: 1 1.5%

  • Rebecca

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Spellbound

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • The Wrong Man

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • other

    Votes: 4 6.2%
  • Total voters
    65
TenerHallTerror

TenerHallTerror

Well-Known Member
Oct 18, 2016
6,839
8,177
1
g/f and I went to see Vertigo this weekend. talk about suspense!! and what a master class in film-making. Brilliant performances by Kim Novak and Jimmy Stewart (who veers of course from his usual "nice guy" role to deliver a slow dissolve of a decent man into sexual obsession and madness) tend to overshadow Hitchcock's brilliant use of framing, camera movement, and editing to create what many consider his masterpiece.

I tend to view North by Northwest as my "favorite" Hitchcock film, and the crop duster chase is probably the pinnacle of his ability to build tension and suspense, but Vertigo emerges as his best directed film, IMHO. Oddly, it ranked #73 on the imdb top 200 films (Psycho hits the highest at #34)

Of Hitchcock's 70 directorial credits, which is your favorite? Which do you consider his best work?
 
  • Like
Reactions: anon_xdc8rmuek44eq
You asked for "Best" and not "Favorite."

In my opinion, "Best" comes down to a tossup between "Vertigo" and "Psycho." I gave the nod to "Vertigo."

Had you asked for "Favorite," my vote would be for "North by Northwest" and it wouldn't be close.

(Honorable mention to "Rear Window" and the incomparable Grace Kelly. )
 
  • Like
Reactions: PeetzPoolBoy, john4psu, Bob78 and 3 others
This is tough. Love NxNW, although the schmaltzy, cutesy Hollywood final scene risks ending the film on a bad note.

Vertigo is really good, but I never saw it as being as good as some of his other films. I know many critics disagree.

I’m tempted to say Rear Window, which manages to be a bit claustrophobic and suspenseful. The “romance” side of it doesn’t work quite as well as the suspense side. I get how it works into the plot, but quite frankly you could have made her a string willed female colleague (say, Katherine Hepburn), and the film would have worked just as well. Probably, better.

Similarly, The Birds is great when dealing with the story about the birds. Not so good with the romance angle.

Hitchcock was great at suspense, but not so great at the romance thing (which is why I’m not as high on Vertigo). IMHO, the films of his that work the best are almost pure mystery. They usually had smaller budgets, but it forced him to strip them down to their essence. Films like Lifeboat, Shadow of a Doubt, The Wrong Man, Foreign Correspondent, even Rope.

So, because of that, I’m going with Psycho.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BBrown and TenerHallTerror
BlueBand said:
Hitchcock was great at suspense, but not so great at the romance thing (which is why I’m not as high on Vertigo). IMHO, the films of his that work the best are almost pure mystery. They usually had smaller budgets, but it forced him to strip them down to their essence. Films like Lifeboat, Shadow of a Doubt, The Wrong Man, Foreign Correspondent, even Rope.

So, because of that, I’m going with Psycho.
Click to expand...

it had been a while since I last saw Vertigo. This is not a film about romance, lol.
 
Write in for To Catch a Thief, which is right up there with North By NW from the same period. I have never understood why people love Vertigo so much...

orig
 
  • Like
Reactions: PeetzPoolBoy, BBrown, crayfish67 and 1 other person
"Best" is tough because what are your criteria? Some Hitchcock films are mysteries, others are suspense/horror.

My favorite in terms of watchability is North by Northwest. Some of that is that I am a huge Cary Grant fan and I love his performance in that (the scene in the beginning in the police station is awesome).

The Birds is great in terms of the concept and some of the camera shots.

Similarly, Rear Window is interesting conceptually and makes some interesting social commentary about urban living. The minimalist setting becomes almost like a character itself.

Vertigo is super dark and has an interesting plot.

Some of his earlier stuff (e.g. Rope) had ground breaking stuff, but don't hold up that well today.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BlueBand and TenerHallTerror
TenerHallTerror said:
g/f and I went to see Vertigo this weekend. talk about suspense!! and what a master class in film-making. Brilliant performances by Kim Novak and Jimmy Stewart (who veers of course from his usual "nice guy" role to deliver a slow dissolve of a decent man into sexual obsession and madness) tend to overshadow Hitchcock's brilliant use of framing, camera movement, and editing to create what many consider his masterpiece.

I tend to view North by Northwest as my "favorite" Hitchcock film, and the crop duster chase is probably the pinnacle of his ability to build tension and suspense, but Vertigo emerges as his best directed film, IMHO. Oddly, it ranked #73 on the imdb top 200 films (Psycho hits the highest at #34)

Of Hitchcock's 70 directorial credits, which is your favorite? Which do you consider his best work?
Click to expand...

Have to admit, Hitchcock (and nearly all 'classic' films) are my biggest pop culture blindspot. I need to make an effort to correct that....
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mixolydian and TenerHallTerror
For what it's worth, my wife once taught a general-elective course on horror films. Some of the flicks she chose are pretty scary and all kinds of gory. Her choice for scariest film: "The Birds," hands down.

We talked about that once and decided that what makes "The Birds" so scary is that there's no rhyme or reason for it. Remember that there's a bird expert in the restaurant when the birds really start mobilizing and she's all, "This isn't happening, this can't be happening."

I think Hitchcock's best film is "Notorious," but "Shadow of a Doubt" fills me with a level of dread that just can't be equaled in his other films. Perhaps it's just me being contrary, knowing that "Shadow of a Doubt" isn't usually thought to be one of Hitch's very finest.

images


Good thread. I'm usually up to speed on what's coming on TCM so I'll be sure to send an, "Hey, you don't wanna miss this one" when the time's right.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ivan brunetti, TenerHallTerror and BBrown
ivan brunetti said:
Write in for To Catch a Thief, which is right up there with North By NW from the same period. I have never understood why people love Vertigo so much...

orig
Click to expand...

Me either. I'm a big Hitch fan but Vertigo is one of my least favorite movies of his.
To Catch a Thief is very good.
My #1 is Notorious.
Then Psycho, The Birds, North by Northwest and Saboteur.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: TenerHallTerror
Midnighter said:
Have to admit, Hitchcock (and nearly all 'classic' films) are my biggest pop culture blindspot. I need to make an effort to correct that....
Click to expand...

I have been a huge Hitchcock fan for decades, but it wasn't until I started watching his films in an actual movie theater that I began to appreciate his mastery of the craft
 
  • Like
Reactions: anon_xdc8rmuek44eq
TenerHallTerror said:
I have been a huge Hitchcock fan for decades, but it wasn't until I started watching his films in an actual movie theater that I began to appreciate his mastery of the craft
Click to expand...
Yeah, his latter films were under copyright issues until 1984ish and then they got re-released to theaters. Caught them all, wonderful. "Vertigo," for example, doesn't work on a small screen.
 
  • Like
Reactions: TenerHallTerror
LionJim said:
Yeah, his latter films were under copyright issues until 1984ish and then they got re-released to theaters. Caught them all, wonderful. "Vertigo," for example, doesn't work on a small screen.
Click to expand...

I've watched Psycho twice in theaters. utterly chilling on a level not attained by TV.

and watching how Hitchcock frames the crop duster scene in NxNW on a big screen is friggin amazing.
 
  • Like
Reactions: LionJim and BBrown
TenerHallTerror said:
g/f and I went to see Vertigo this weekend. talk about suspense!! and what a master class in film-making. Brilliant performances by Kim Novak and Jimmy Stewart (who veers of course from his usual "nice guy" role to deliver a slow dissolve of a decent man into sexual obsession and madness) tend to overshadow Hitchcock's brilliant use of framing, camera movement, and editing to create what many consider his masterpiece.

I tend to view North by Northwest as my "favorite" Hitchcock film, and the crop duster chase is probably the pinnacle of his ability to build tension and suspense, but Vertigo emerges as his best directed film, IMHO. Oddly, it ranked #73 on the imdb top 200 films (Psycho hits the highest at #34)

Of Hitchcock's 70 directorial credits, which is your favorite? Which do you consider his best work?
Click to expand...
My wife and I also watched Vertigo on Sunday on the big screen. Thank goodness for Fathom Events and TMC. Looking forward to watching more film classics via this source. Although if the audience size at our showing is representative of audiences at other theaters there won't be many of these productions. How about the audience size at your theater?
 
  • Like
Reactions: TenerHallTerror
Alphalion75 said:
My wife and I also watched Vertigo on Sunday on the big screen. Thank goodness for Fathom Events and TMC. Looking forward to watching more film classics via this source. Although if the audience size at our showing is representative of audiences at other theaters there won't be many of these productions. How about the audience size at your theater?
Click to expand...

theater was a little over half filled.

there are actually 3 theaters around here that will run classic movies:

Cinemark does most of the Fathom Events/TMC classics
Studio Movie Grill will have $5 classics on Wednesdays
Alamo Draft House runs classic 70s/80s films

sometimes I have to remind myself to check all their schedules, but it is worth it
 
BBrown said:
Oh well. I still love that tracking shot though. LOL.

View embedded media
Click to expand...
Touch of Evil is a brilliant film in its own right, even if it’s not Hitchcock. As good as Citizen Kane is, more often than not, I’d choose Touch of Evil to watch over Citizen Kane if someone made me choose one of the two.

The Third Man, which Welles stars in but doesn’t direct, is a great film as well. And probably much closer to a Hitchcockian type film than the others.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BBrown
LionJim said:
For what it's worth, my wife once taught a general-elective course on horror films. Some of the flicks she chose are pretty scary and all kinds of gory. Her choice for scariest film: "The Birds," hands down.

We talked about that once and decided that what makes "The Birds" so scary is that there's no rhyme or reason for it. Remember that there's a bird expert in the restaurant when the birds really start mobilizing and she's all, "This isn't happening, this can't be happening."

I think Hitchcock's best film is "Notorious," but "Shadow of a Doubt" fills me with a level of dread that just can't be equaled in his other films. Perhaps it's just me being contrary, knowing that "Shadow of a Doubt" isn't usually thought to be one of Hitch's very finest.

images


Good thread. I'm usually up to speed on what's coming on TCM so I'll be sure to send an, "Hey, you don't wanna miss this one" when the time's right.
Click to expand...
Yeah, you could have a whole thread on what Hitchcock's The Birds made it so scary. My guess is that we take birds for granted. They are everywhere and have awesome weapons, if they could coordinate their attacks. To this day, when I see larger birds flocking in a tree I think of that movie.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mixolydian and TenerHallTerror
Obliviax said:
Yeah, you could have a whole thread on what Hitchcock's The Birds made it so scary. My guess is that we take birds for granted. They are everywhere and have awesome weapons, if they could coordinate their attacks. To this day, when I see larger birds flocking in a tree I think of that movie.
Click to expand...

+1...well that one and the park bench scene in High Anxiety (Which is a Mel Brooks movie that doesn't get enough love). LOL.
 
Obliviax said:
Yeah, you could have a whole thread on what Hitchcock's The Birds made it so scary. My guess is that we take birds for granted. They are everywhere and have awesome weapons, if they could coordinate their attacks. To this day, when I see larger birds flocking in a tree I think of that movie.
Click to expand...

clearly you haven't watched the Birdemic films . . . LOL
 
RandyL said:
A self-help program for sports addicts.
Click to expand...

Sorry, didnt mean to sound snarky.

Actually I think I remember what the 39 steps are but its been awhile and I wasnt 100% sure, so I decided to watch it again tonight. But while looking for that dvd I came across The Lady Vanishes first, so I watched that instead. Will have to watch the other tomorrow.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

A

FC/OT: Netflix Films 2020 schedule....WOW!

Replies
1
Views
1K
Penn State Football
84Lion
84Lion
TenerHallTerror

OT: Tonight's Classic Movie - "North by Northwest"

Replies
45
Views
2K
Penn State Football
LionJim
LionJim
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest posts

ADVERTISEMENT
Top Bottom
Back