What's your favorite Hitchcock film?

[Shotgun 1]

I've only started watching his movies in the last few years, and I've only seen maybe ten of them, but I am becoming a fan. They're always very fun to watch, so it's hard to pick a favorite. But, so far, I'm thinking "Rear Window," since I was actually in suspense through most of the film, especially for a story that basically took place in one room.

I'll definitely be watching some more....

[ryoder 1,590]

When I first got Netflix I went through a lot of Hitchcock films. It is interesting to see even current movies & TV shows doing deliberate take-offs of Hitchcock. e.g. an episode of "Scrubs" parodied a scene from "North by Northwest" and had me in stitches.

Off the top of my head, a couple that stand out:
- "North by Northwest" - almost seems like the James Bond flicks were inspired by it.
- "The Trouble with Harry" - a comedy with a 19yo Shirley McClain.

And of course always watch for Hitch's cameo walk-ons. "Lifeboat" presented a special problem, since the whole thing was shot in a small boat, but he got himself in there.

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[DrewEckhardt 0]

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I've only started watching his movies in the last few years, and I've only seen maybe ten of them, but I am becoming a fan. They're always very fun to watch, so it's hard to pick a favorite. But, so far, I'm thinking "Rear Window," since I was actually in suspense through most of the film, especially for a story that basically took place in one room.

I'll definitely be watching some more....

North by Northwest, Vertigo, or Rear Window.

Pretty much everything he made around 1940 and later is good. Before that his style hadn't fully materialized (The Man Who Knew Too Much from 1956 is better than the 1934 original).

[Shotgun 1]

I'll have to check out "Lifeboat." I've seen the other two you mentioned, and liked them both.

And yeah, I've been wondering how much stuff I've missed in the past that makes reference to his films. (Well, except for Psycho stuff. Somehow I recognized references to that film before I ever saw it.)

[labrys 0]

"Rope"

With "Rear Window" a close second.

Owned by Remi #?

[SpeedRacer 1]

If you like Hitchcock you should see Mel Brooks' High Anxiety, which is a tribute to Hitchcock and probably my favorite Mel Brooks film.

Speed Racer
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[ryoder 1,590]

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I'll have to check out "Lifeboat." I've seen the other two you mentioned, and liked them both.

And yeah, I've been wondering how much stuff I've missed in the past that makes reference to his films. (Well, except for Psycho stuff. Somehow I recognized references to that film before I ever saw it.)

Well, the film that went over top with Hitchcock parody was Mel Brook's "High Anxiety". This gives the listing of all the references: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Anxiety#Hitchcock_films

Edited to add: I hate it when someone beats me to the draw.

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[jakee 1,596]

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"Rope"

Very good choice, unique film.

The 39 Steps is a great one.

Do you want to have an ideagasm?

[JerryBaumchen 1,468]

Hi Shotgun,

I do agree that 'Rear Window' is a great film but I will go with 'Dial M for Murder' as my favorite.

A great plot & interesting twist at the end,

JerryBaumchen

[Shotgun 1]

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If you like Hitchcock you should see Mel Brooks' High Anxiety, which is a tribute to Hitchcock and probably my favorite Mel Brooks film.

We just watched "To Catch a Thief" last night, and we were giggling at the costume party towards the end, because all of the men looked like Mel Brooks as "the king" in History of the World. When the police gathered after the party, they looked like a little band of Mel Brookses.

I think I saw High Anxiety when I was a kid, but it looks like it would be funny to watch again.

[jimmytavino 16]

"GooooD EHVening"!!!


simple..

The Birds...

the "trick photography" in the days before C G I ... looked a bit doctored and choppy... but when all those birds came flooding down the chimney and into the living room !!!! WOW...

also when all the crows, / ravens attacked Tippi Hedren while she was in the Phone booth,,,, That really freaked me OUT>>>> i was just a kid when the movie came out,,, and it really stuck with me... Alfred Hitchcock was quite the interesting and imaginative Director...

jmy

[brucet7 0]

Rear Window

POPS #10623; SOS #1672

[captain1976 0]

They are all great. Its interesting to watch a lot of scenes that are much longer than the typical cut.

Hitchcock demanded these long scenes where the actors had to memorize a shitload of material. Some drag on for minutes.

You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime

[MikeJD 0]

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also when all the crows, / ravens attacked Tippi Hedren while she was in the Phone booth,,,, That really freaked me OUT>>>>

Yeah, I think in the pre-CGI days neither the birds nor Ms Hedren came out of some of those scenes too well. I read somewhere that they had to be attached to her by elastic, and she had a pretty scary time. Hitchcock was reportedly a misogynist and almost sadistically cruel to his female leads.

[Andy9o8 2]

The more I think about it, the less I can single out any one, or even 2. They're really all brilliant.

[Coreece 190]

Birds in 3D at Universal 1996...

Your secrets are the true reflection of who you really are...

[BillyVance 35]

The Birds followed by Rear Window are my favorites

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[muff528 3]

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The more I think about it, the less I can single out any one, or even 2. They're really all brilliant.

In my opinion the TV sketches/short stories are even better than the (excellent) full-length films. As a kid, after watching "Poison", I was convinced for months that there was a snake in, or under, my bed ...I just knew it.

[quade 4]

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...but I will go with 'Dial M for Murder' as my favorite.

A great plot & interesting twist at the end...

Not that Hitchcock had anything to do with either.

Ok, I'm going to get up on my "high horse" here for a moment.

[soapbox]
If a film is both written and directed by the same person, it is then and only then can I ever agree that the film was BY that person. In all other cases, it was largely a collaborative effort and the director may have had little to do with it creatively other than get a performance out of the actors and tell the camera operator where to point the camera.

Dial M for Murder was a stage play by Frederick Knott.
[/soapbox]

In watching the Hitchcock film version, you'll see very little difference between what you'd see on a stage and what was captured by Hitchcock on film.

Contrast that with North by Northwest, something that was written specifically for film and by Hitchcock himself.

For this reason, I'd vote for North by Northwest, a far more cinematic creation for the most part by a single person directing the efforts of others.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[JerryBaumchen 1,468]

Hi Paul,

I try never to argue with someone who wants to go against the grain.



And if anyone likes the old Hitchcock films ( oops, sorry; apparently they are not Hitchcock films ) then you will probably like Woody Allen's MATCH POINT.

JerryBaumchen

[quade 4]

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I try never to argue with someone who wants to go against the grain.

Actually, you'd be amazed at how many people hold this opinion.

Hollywood studios and critics go along with the Auteur Theory of film because they need access to directors more than they need access to writers, so that's how films get promoted and the general public thinks of them that way.

Certainly doesn't make it right though.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[kallend 2,150]

North by Northwest.

I like Vertigo too.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[Shotgun 1]

I actually started this thread just to piss you off, Paul.

And yeah, I liked North by Northwest too. Didn't realize he had written it himself. It seems like a lot of "his" films are taken from short stories or novels.