Your top 5 Hitchcock films. (1 Viewer)

[Cineman]

When I want to relish and share the "Best" of Hitchcock in terms of his incomparable craft and art of filmmaking combined with masterful audience identification and manipulation, I watch:

1.Vertigo
2.Rear Window
3.North By Northwest
4.The Man Who Knew Too Much ('56)
5.Psycho

They also happen to be my "Favorites" to watch.

But on any given day I could easily choose to watch Marnie, Suspicion, Dial M for Murder, Strangers on a Train or The Birds instead and feel I had just feasted on his genius as well

Going even further than the concept of "Best" vs "Favorites", I consider Vertigo, Rear Window and Psycho to be Hitchock's "Great" movies and among the Greatest Movies Ever Made in terms of their high level of craft, art, exploitation of the intrinsic strengths of the form, influence on other filmmakers and, at least in the case of Psycho, impact on the culture.

 

[Douglas R]

The first three are easy. After that there are many which could take 5th or 6th place. Today’s choice:

Vertigo
North by Northwest
Psycho
Dial M for Murder
Spellbound

 

[TravisR]

My favorite is:

Psycho

Followed (alphabetically) by:

North By Northwest
Rear Window
Shadow Of A Doubt
Vertigo

 

[Robert Crawford]

Here are my 5 favorite Hitchcock movies in alphabetical order:

The Birds
Notorious
Psycho
Shadow of a Doubt
To Catch a Thief

 

[Walter Kittel]

Something like this for me:

Rear Window
North by Northwest
Psycho
Strangers on a Train
Rebecca

- Walter.

 

[Allansfirebird]

1) Rear Window
2) North by Northwest
3) To Catch a Thief (my first Hitchcock)
4) Notorious
5) Strangers on a Train

 

[Garysb]

The 39 Steps
North By Northwest
Rear Window
The Lady Vanishes
Notorious

 

[Keith Cobby]

What you consider his best five films or your favorite five Hitchcock films? There is a difference.

Deliberately left it vague!

 

[Robert Crawford]

Deliberately left it vague!

Why?

 

[Dr. Lejos]

Psycho (I’ve seen this soooo many times)
The Birds (more than any other, got me hooked on Hitch)
Rear Window (once I start it, I can’t stop)
Dial M for Murder (I love 3-D; Milland, Kelly, Williams, all perfect)
Shadow of a Doubt (there’s a reason why he liked it so much)

Honorable mentions:
I Confess and The Wrong Man (cuz they deserve more love)

 

[John Maher_289910]

1. The Birds

2. North by Northwest

3. Foreign Correspondent

4. Saboteur

5. Psycho

 

[Beckford]

Five Favorites:
1. The Paradine Case
2. Vertigo
3. The Birds
4. Foreign Correspondent
5. Young and Innocent

 

[Keith Cobby]

Why?

Thanks for all your replies. The reason I started this thread was because in the Frenzy thread I was surprised when one poster said it was in their top 5 Hitchcock films, and thought it would be interesting to see which films would be chosen. I could have said greatest or favourite but left it at top. My number one choice is my favourite and I think greatest, Ernest Lehman wanted to write 'the Hitchcock picture to end all Hitchcock pictures', he succeeded.

 

[Bob_S.]

My 5 Favorites:
1. Vertigo
2. Rear Window
3. The Birds
4. North By Northwest
5. Tie between The Man Who Knew too Much and Suspicion

 

[Robert Crawford]

Thanks for all your replies. The reason I started this thread was because in the Frenzy thread I was surprised when one poster said it was in their top 5 Hitchcock films, and thought it would be interesting to see which films would be chosen. I could have said greatest or favourite but left it at top. My number one choice is my favourite and I think greatest, Ernest Lehman wanted to write 'the Hitchcock picture to end all Hitchcock pictures', he succeeded.

Interesting considering I’m not the biggest fan of North by Northwest like many people in this thread.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Interesting considering I’m not the biggest fan of North by Northwest like many people in this thread.

I really like the movie - and it’s a perfect Cary Grant performance at the heart of it - but every time I watch it, I think it’s too long. I think I put it on my top 5 list anyway but I think a lot of his later period films starting around then have a bit of bloat. There has to be 10-15 minutes that could be trimmed out of the film without really changing the experience.

 

[Keith Cobby]

I really like the movie - and it’s a perfect Cary Grant performance at the heart of it - but every time I watch it, I think it’s too long. I think I put it on my top 5 list anyway but I think a lot of his later period films starting around then have a bit of bloat. There has to be 10-15 minutes that could be trimmed out of the film without really changing the experience.

The studio wanted it cut to two hours but Hitchcock checked his contract and as expected had approval of the final edit. No directors cuts of his films, they were all directors cuts!

 

[Robert Crawford]

I really like the movie - and it’s a perfect Cary Grant performance at the heart of it - but every time I watch it, I think it’s too long. I think I put it on my top 5 list anyway but I think a lot of his later period films starting around then have a bit of bloat. There has to be 10-15 minutes that could be trimmed out of the film without really changing the experience.

I like The Man Who Knew Too Much even less than North by Northwest. I always thought Stewart and Day’s characters acted stupidly throughout the entire movie. I prefer the original film version. Both, the 1956 film version and North by Northwest aren’t in my top ten favorite Hitchcock films.

 

[Jeffrey D]

My favorite is Vertigo. I will have to start binging his films to come up with 2-5.

 

[Keith Cobby]

Vertigo is a wonderful film with peerless cinematography. I used to have it higher than fourth but over the years I've liked the early reveal less. Plus, Kim Novak isn't such a good actress as the other 'Hitchcock blondes', Vera Miles would have been better.