Your top 5 Hitchcock films. (1 Viewer)

[Josh Steinberg]

I like The Man Who Knew Too Much even less than North by Northwest.

I agree. I really like Jimmy Stewart in general and that’s what sustains my interest in the film.

I’m normally not a fan of the “wrongly accused” genre because it tries my patience to know that someone didn’t do it and to watch people telling them that they’re crazy for two hours when I already know they’re not. The repetition becomes frustrating, especially with the knowledge that it’s going to be worked out at the end, so it’s just waiting for a foregone conclusion. I find North By Northwest more pleasant because the movie doesn’t wait until the very end to have it be acknowledged that the main character is being set up. I also rather like The 39 Steps, I think it’s shorter length works to it’s advantage in that regard.

 

[JoshZ]

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.

I agree. I really like Jimmy Stewart in general and that’s what sustains my interest in the film.

I often feel like a heretic for not liking the 1956 Man Who Knew Too Much, which seems to be beloved by most other Hitchcock fans, but I've never cared for it. I agree with the complaint that the main characters behave stupidly. I also just can't abide the insufferable repetition of Day singing "Que Sera Sera" what feels like 35 times start to finish over and over again throughout the movie. (I realize it's not actually that much, but in my head that's always how I remember it.)

That being the case, I am still willing to try it again to see if the new restoration changes my feelings any.

 

[ghaist1]

Psycho
North By Northwest
Rear Window
Vertigo
Shadow Of A Doubt

 

[Broomy]

This is really hard to answer as it changes all the time but I’d say:
Notorious
Rear Window
Vertigo
North By Northwest
Psycho

 

[David_B_K]

I often feel like a heretic for not liking the 1956 Man Who Knew Too Much, which seems to be beloved by most other Hitchcock fans, but I've never cared for it. I agree with the complaint that the main characters behave stupidly. I also just can't abide the insufferable repetition of Day singing "Que Sera Sera" what feels like 35 times start to finish over and over again throughout the movie. (I realize it's not actually that much, but in my head that's always how I remember it.)

That being the case, I am still willing to try it again to see if the new restoration changes my feelings any.

I'm not a huge fan of it either. I don't dislike it; I just don't consider it quite in the class of AH's masterpieces.

 

[lark144]

There seems to be little love here for Hitch's British films, which I think are among his very best.

My current favorite is Young and Innocent, with Secret Agent almost neck to neck, which I think is a masterpiece, though Hitch later disparaged it, as it wasn't successful commercially, followed by The Lady Vanishes, the original Man Who Knew Too Much and Sabotage.

If I were to do a sampling of his American productions, it would be headed by The Wrong Man and I Confess, two films that I think are wrongfully underappreciated, and have moral ambiguities and artistic innovations that for me surpass many of Hitch's more popular and well-known films. I would follow that with Shadow of a Doubt, Marnie, and a bit of a ringer, as it was made in the UK, Stage Fright.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

There seems to be little love here for Hitch's British films, which I think are among his very best.

If I was making a list of 10 films instead of 5, there would probably be more British films than American ones in total, and probably very little or none of the Selznick titles.

Lady Vanishes made my list but 39 Steps for instance would be very close behind.

 

[lark144]

If I was making a list of 10 films instead of 5, there would probably be more British films than American ones in total, and probably very little or none of the Selznick titles.

Lady Vanishes made my list but 39 Steps for instance would be very close behind.

I looked at your list but didn't notice The Lady Vanishes.

That's a film that holds up remarkably well no matter how often I watch it.

The 39 steps, though brilliantly made and highly influential, isn't as impressive to me as it once was. 20 years ago it was my favorite Hitch. I found it subtle and refreshing, with a focus on people's glances and the mystery of landscapes, especially that remarkable scene, almost a short, silent film really, involving Hannay and the farmer's wife, like something from Dreyer or Victor Sjostorm. Today, except for that one scene, it seems a little too easy, a bit calculated, as opposed to say, The Secret Agent, which really gets under your skin, and doesn't compromise, emphasizing authenticity and emotion. And Lorre's performce still shocks, after all these years, in its audacity.

 

[anytimepally]

It was difficult to get this down to a Top 5.
Ask me tomorrow, and the list might be slightly different.
Strangers on a Train is my favorite Hitchcock film.

(1934) The Man Who Knew Too Much
Sabotage
The Lady Vanishes
Notorious
Strangers on a Train

 

[battlebeast]

The totals thus far, 31 lists. *Note* some have a 0.5 because of ties.

Movie	Total Votes
North By Northwest	22.5​
Rear Window	20.5​
Psycho	17​
Vertigo	15​
Notorious	12​
The Birds	10​
The Lady Vanishes	7​
Shadow of a Doubt	6​
Strangers on a Train	6​
Rebecca	5​
The Man Who Knew too Much (1956)	4.5​
To Catch a Thief	4​
Dial M for Murder	3​
Foreign Correspondent	3​
Rope	3​
Sabotage	3​
The 39 Steps	3​
Man Who Knew too Much (Orig.)	2​
Spellbound	2​
Young and Innocent	2​
Lifeboat	1​
Saboteur	1​
Secret Agent	1​
The Paradine Case	1​
Suspicion	0.5​

 

[Rob_Ray]

Rear Window
North by Northwest
Strangers on a Train
Rebecca
The Lady Vanishes

 

[battlebeast]

Rear Window
North by Northwest
Strangers on a Train
Rebecca
The Lady Vanishes

Now I have to update my totals! :p

 

[borisfw]

I love pretty much all of Hitchcock's films. But if i had to choose.

in no particular order.

Psycho
Rebecca
Rear Window
Strangers On a Train
Shadow of a Doubt

at least these are my top 5 today. Tomorrow it might be different.

 

[Lord Dalek]

Five Favorites:
1. The Paradine Case

How could you say something so controversial yet so brave?

 

[Beckford]

Wasn't trying to be contrary or controversial when naming "The Paradine Case" as my favorite Hitchcock.
It just is. That movie has cast a spell on me - from the the first time I saw it many many years ago.
A number of factors account for my fierce affection for the movie. For openers I tend to like stories about obsessive love ("Gun Crazy" is probably my all-time favorite film). And I find the lawyer's mounting
fascination with his client in "The Paradine Case" conveyed in a way that's not just believable but compelling and hypnotic.
Normally I'm not fond of films that spend a lot of time in courtrooms. Yet this one works for me. Somehow, the pace, the mood, the atmosphere of the picture have been so beautifully established in the first half that
their effect seems to linger in the air, informing and heightening the courtroom scenes. Having learned to genuinely care about the developing story (or stories) I remain fully invested once things have moved into the halls of justice.
I love the up close up intensity of the lawyer's in prison meetings with his client. And the beautifully crafted sequence where he visits the home she no longer dwells in (but somehow still inhabits) is one I always find powerful. That episode - and the whole film for that matter - is spectacularly enhanced by Franz Waxman's wonderful score.
The movie's based on a novel by Robert Hichens, a writer to whose work I'm very partial. A best selling author during the early decades of the 20th century, he's now largely forgotten. But I retain a great fondness for several of his works. "The Garden of Allah" was the source for the famous Marlene Dietrich/Charles Boyer picture, one of the 30's most beautiful looking (Technicolor) movies. And the Hichens book I'm fondest of, ""Bella Donna" has been filmed four times, the last being with Merle Oberon (under the title "Temptation") in 1946. Hichens has a gift for creating fascinating female characters - and the opportunity to play them seem to have inspired a number of charismatic screen actresses to up their already impressive games even more.
I've always thought Laurence Olivier (whom I believe was Hitchcock's first choice) would have a better fit in the male lead. Not only because he's genuinely British but because he's frequently been astoundingly good onscreen. Never more so than in William Wyler's "Carrie", where he absolutely nailed the essence of a man obsessively in love. Superbly conveying qualities that would have been exquisitely appropriate in "The Paradine Case" Gregory Peck has star quality and is definitely invested. But the casting just isn't ideal.
Virtually everybody else in the picture, however, is superb. Certainly Alida Valli is a magnificent Maddalena Paradine, not just commandingly beautiful but also coolly, stoically enigmatic - then ultimately passionate and fearless. A difficult, challenging role - but one she aces. And she's not the only actor who shines in "The Paradine Case". I've always found the dynamic between Charles Coburn and Joan Tetzel (as father and daughter friends of the young barrister) to be incredibly engaging. Not only is their bantering dialogue terrific but it's further elevated by their delightful playing and mutual chemistry. Ethel Barrymore makes a great impression as well. The lady usually played indomitable dispensers of wisdom. But here she's an abused spouse, timid and terrified - completely under the thumb of husband Charles Laughton (in a particularly vicious characterization). It's intriguing to see Barrymore cast so completely against type. And though I've often read that much of her role was left on the cutting room floor, I think what remains is fully deserving of the Supporting Actress nomination she received for this performance. Certainly Louis Jourdan never had a more vivid part. Nor were his movie star looks ever more lovingly captured. But - beyond that - he gives a moving, heartfelt performance. One that definitely enhances the levels of tragedy that course through the film.
There are plenty of Hitchcock movies I love. "Vertigo" and "The Birds" are both beyond magnificent. But - for me - somehow "The Paradine Case" continues to tick all the boxes I want ticked. I know it'll never stop resonating for me.

 

[AlanP]

1. "Vertigo"
2. "The Man Who Knew Too Much" "56
3. "The Trouble With Harry"
4. "Marnie"
5. "Rope"

 

[Robin9]

Wasn't trying to be contrary or controversial when naming "The Paradine Case" as my favorite Hitchcock.
It just is. That movie has cast a spell on me - from the the first time I saw it many many years ago.
A number of factors account for my fierce affection for the movie. For openers I tend to like stories about obsessive love ("Gun Crazy" is probably my all-time favorite film). And I find the lawyer's mounting
fascination with his client in "The Paradine Case" conveyed in a way that's not just believable but compelling and hypnotic.
Normally I'm not fond of films that spend a lot of time in courtrooms. Yet this one works for me. Somehow, the pace, the mood, the atmosphere of the picture have been so beautifully established in the first half that
their effect seems to linger in the air, informing and heightening the courtroom scenes. Having learned to genuinely care about the developing story (or stories) I remain fully invested once things have moved into the halls of justice.
I love the up close up intensity of the lawyer's in prison meetings with his client. And the beautifully crafted sequence where he visits the home she no longer dwells in (but somehow still inhabits) is one I always find powerful. That episode - and the whole film for that matter - is spectacularly enhanced by Franz Waxman's wonderful score.
The movie's based on a novel by Robert Hichens, a writer to whose work I'm very partial. A best selling author during the early decades of the 20th century, he's now largely forgotten. But I retain a great fondness for several of his works. "The Garden of Allah" was the source for the famous Marlene Dietrich/Charles Boyer picture, one of the 30's most beautiful looking (Technicolor) movies. And the Hichens book I'm fondest of, ""Bella Donna" has been filmed four times, the last being with Merle Oberon (under the title "Temptation") in 1946. Hichens has a gift for creating fascinating female characters - and the opportunity to play them seem to have inspired a number of charismatic screen actresses to up their already impressive games even more.
I've always thought Laurence Olivier (whom I believe was Hitchcock's first choice) would have a better fit in the male lead. Not only because he's genuinely British but because he's frequently been astoundingly good onscreen. Never more so than in William Wyler's "Carrie", where he absolutely nailed the essence of a man obsessively in love. Superbly conveying qualities that would have been exquisitely appropriate in "The Paradine Case" Gregory Peck has star quality and is definitely invested. But the casting just isn't ideal.
Virtually everybody else in the picture, however, is superb. Certainly Alida Valli is a magnificent Maddalena Paradine, not just commandingly beautiful but also coolly, stoically enigmatic - then ultimately passionate and fearless. A difficult, challenging role - but one she aces. And she's not the only actor who shines in "The Paradine Case". I've always found the dynamic between Charles Coburn and Joan Tetzel (as father and daughter friends of the young barrister) to be incredibly engaging. Not only is their bantering dialogue terrific but it's further elevated by their delightful playing and mutual chemistry. Ethel Barrymore makes a great impression as well. The lady usually played indomitable dispensers of wisdom. But here she's an abused spouse, timid and terrified - completely under the thumb of husband Charles Laughton (in a particularly vicious characterization). It's intriguing to see Barrymore cast so completely against type. And though I've often read that much of her role was left on the cutting room floor, I think what remains is fully deserving of the Supporting Actress nomination she received for this performance. Certainly Louis Jourdan never had a more vivid part. Nor were his movie star looks ever more lovingly captured. But - beyond that - he gives a moving, heartfelt performance. One that definitely enhances the levels of tragedy that course through the film.
There are plenty of Hitchcock movies I love. "Vertigo" and "The Birds" are both beyond magnificent. But - for me - somehow "The Paradine Case" continues to tick all the boxes I want ticked. I know it'll never stop resonating for me.

You haven't mentioned the implied lust the Charles Laughton character feels for another man's wife, played by Ann Todd.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Difficult game but sometimes I just go to which ones I have watched the most...

North By Northwest - OK, if you are a movie lover and have not seen this at least a few times, well, you can't call yourself a movie lover. This pretty much defines the term "movie movie" meaning a film that just is everything you could possibly want, expect, or hope for from a picture. It's just so entertaining, Cary Grant defines movie star in this, the writing is witty and engaging, and you care about the characters. Not to mention the way it combines road trip movie and suspense movie. It's loaded with iconic moments. I have seen this so many times but it never fails to hook me. The film to me now, after so many viewings, just strikes me as several short films all stitched together. It makes me think this is how Kubrick formed his idea that to make a great movie you write 6 or 8 short films and then tie them together into one great one. You see this at work in something like 2001.

Rear Window - Same thing with this, its a movie movie. When I first watched this as a kid it used to annoy me how "fake" it all felt. Took me years to realize that is part of the point of the film, to allow you to enjoy that you are watching a movie and that the movie is totally allowed to act like a movie. It's not real life, it is a movie and you are meant to just enjoy it. Once you reach that understanding with it, well, then it is a joy to watch. Movie stars getting involved in this murder mystery. To me Brian De Palma just absolutely absorbed this film. It seeped into his skin and he was forever changed by it. He maybe has talked more about Vertigo, and remade it, and basically remade this as well, but Rear Window just is such a heavy influence.

Vertigo - Just a beautiful film and probably one of Jimmy Stewart's best performances. It has this weird hypnotic pull that just takes you away like a riptide you can't escape. This film about obsession, seems to obsess so many filmmakers. I kind of feel that it is the strange atmosphere that really makes you feel like you are in a dream/nightmare that other filmmakers so want to be able to capture.

Psycho - Obviously, this film is what created the slasher movie trend that would occur in the 1970s and 1980s. It's a much more complex and richer film than most of those, delving into mental illness and the behavior of Mr. Bates. It also shocked people at the time because Hitchcock wanted to shock the audience. The shower scene is so great all you have to say is shower scene and this is the movie people think of. It's never lost its potency.

The Birds - I'm not sure this film rates very high for many Hitchcock scholars and enthusiasts. It has just a wisp of a story and is most focused on the two leads falling for each other in the midst of this very weird occurrence. However, this is what makes the film so great. Hitch pulls you in by making you fall for the two leads and root for them to get together. He has you focused on that while around them things start to turn strange. I'll tell you what the film does that is just wonderful and most films today have no grasp of the value of this...it does not explain anything. This is what builds up the creepy factor in the film. The story never tells you what the hell is going on. It's brilliant in this way. We have this love story happening in the middle of a total mystery that is never explained. Here's the thing, it is totally satisfying because in the end the love story seems to work out, the two leads end up together and this is what we want in our hearts. What the hell was going on with the birds? Who knows! Fantastic!