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How to best serve up Alfred Hitchcock (1 Viewer)

Albert_M

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Mar 30, 2004
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I'm a big fan but I will say that outside of his late 50s classics, my favorite is Notorious. Classic Hitchcock moments and shots.. and a great cast.

The 40s seem to get overshadowed by the 50s, but he would be the legend he based on his 40s work alone.

Saboteur, is a fun and also an interesting social commentarym albeit, with very cheesy dialogue.

Foreign Correspondent, is in a similar vein, but some great shots and again an interesting story.
 

Albert_M

Supporting Actor
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Mar 30, 2004
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532
"I'd exclude the Wrong Man from that list - a clunker in the midst of what I agree is Hitch's best period."

Most people wouldn't enjoy the Wrong Man - it's painfully slow and mechanical, but that was the point. It was like watching a documentary.

It's statement on the legal/justice system that is still relevant.

However fascinating and important, It's not really an accessible film.
 

Thomas T

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Sean, I could write an entire essay on Marnie but what's the point? Anyway, this is not the place for an in depth discussion of Hitchcock's final masterpiece (with a stunning performance by Tippi Hedren). Suffice to say, we are in serious disagreement. Not a problem as I'm sure many would take me to task for dismissing the lethargic soup that is Shadow Of A Doubt which inexplicably many find something of worth in. I don't need a lecture on SOAD and I'm sure you don't need a lecture on Marnie.

To this day, it remains the most controversial of all Hitchcock's works. Most people seem to fall in either a "love it" or "hate it" camp with very little room in between.
 

Aaron Silverman

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The only Hitchcock in my collection are the Criterion set and Lifeboat. (I've seen many of the other films though.) There are a lot of Hitch sets out there -- which is the best to pick up? The "Masterpiece Collection?" I seem to recall that it had some issues, but don't remember what they were.
 

richardWI

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Jan 23, 2003
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I gotta agree. I'm not crazy about "Basil Exposition" at the end of Psycho either. You hit the nail on the head though, in the case of Psycho, Stephano was in analysis at the time so the explanations were novel... to him.

...And I understood Marinie as well; depsite what revisionist say, this was a colossal mistep from which he was never fully able to recover from, artistically or commerically. People often claim it's misunderstood, yet make no effort to foster understanding to us simple folk.
 

JohnMor

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I for one have watched The Wrong Man many times. I thinks it's a fine, underrated film, and very atypical Hitchcock, desite the typical Hitch plot. I find it very sad, especially watching the deterioration of Vera Miles' character. Much more of a repeat screener for me than either Stage Fright or I Confess, although both have very fine moments and are worth seeing.

Isn't this great to see how the same films affect us all so differently? I envy Ron discovering these all for the first time...
 

Robert Harris

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Pat Hitchcock tells a story about one of her daughters coming home after a college level film course, and asking questions about a professor's comments regarding Freudian and other aspects often brought into Hitchcock discussions.

The young lady went to visit her grandfather, and asked him about what she had been told.

Sir Alfred simply smiled at the humor of it. He had merely told a story. The point being that he was a superb storyteller, a mastercraftman of the cinema, with roots in the silent era...

and much too much has been made of things that he never intended.

He was a brilliant filmmaker creating major films, who took delight in entertaining, titillating and occasionally frightening his audience or setting them on edge,
but seldom going to the lengths to which writers tend to go in assessing the thought which went into his work.

As he noted, his films were "pieces of cake."

Many have beautifully stood the test of time, and can now be shared not at Radio City Music Hall, but in your home theater.

There is something to be gained from viewing each and every one of his films. One can see how his style grew over the years from The 39 Steps and The Lady Vanishes to North by Northwest.

I haven't noted Mr. & Mrs. Smith being mentioned in this thread. To that I can only relate... "I'ma momma Lucy..."

I believe he would be pleased.

RAH
 

Simon Howson

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Feb 19, 2004
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I think Marnie represents the peak of Hitchcock's use of montage. The way he constructs the sequences from shot to shot is brilliant, it was never better realised than in Marnie. The scene where Marnie is stealing the money in front of the cleaners is a brilliant example of messing around with audiences expectations to create suspense then surprise.
 

george kaplan

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Each time I see the title of this thread, I picture Hitch, with his great sense of humor, saying in a droll voice, "Grilled, with plenty of gravy, and the proper bottle of wine".
 

Matt Hough

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I'm such a big fan of Hitchcock that I tend to like almost everything, even those films that are seriously dismissed by others: THE PARADINE CASE, STAGE FRIGHT, TORN CURTAIN.

But I can't abide UNDER CAPRICORN. For me, it is his absolute nadir.
 

Simon Howson

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Nah, that's Jamaica Inn...

I'm a big fan of long take cinema, which explains why I think Under Capricorn is an excellent film. To paraphrase Orson Welles, the ability to plan and execute a long take is what separates the men from the boys. :D
 

Felix Martinez

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I was pleasantly surpised with Shadow Of A Doubt and Rope in the Masterpiece Collection - they are represented on DVD in a first-rate manner and they've become personal faves since I got the set.

I absolutely adore the others in the set that have a more popular reputation, but those two were very pleasant surprises.

The only one I cannot view at all is The Man Who Knew Too Much...what in the world happened with that transfer? And I like that film!!
 

Simon Howson

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It is actually a massive improvement over the old VHS tape I used to have.

The trouble is it needs photochemical restoration. Or at least the ultra resolution VistaVision preservation method as used for The Searchers.
 

Robert Harris

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Actually, Man Who Knew... needs neither of these processes, but rather, something entirely different.

RAH
 

Patrick McCart

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The Man Who Knew Too Much had a digital restoration performed by Cinesite (along with To Kill a Mockingbird, which turned up on DVD). Given Cinesite's excellent work in the past (such as their work on that wonderful "the kiss" shot in Rear Window), what Universal put on DVD can't be that digital restoration. I hope!

It's a shame because the old DVD had awful contrast, way too soft, and was a pretty beat up print. The remaster is cleaner, but it obviously has overdone DVNR. Ugh. It's one of my favorite Hitchcock films.
 

Lars Vermundsberget

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Nov 20, 2000
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I've been in that "boat" for years. Although I guess decent movies are still made from time to time, I strongly feel that I get much more for my money by buying classics. The one decade that has the strongest standing in my collection is the 1940s. Only about 5% of the movies in my DVD collection are from 1980 and later.
 

Bill>Moore

Second Unit
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Mar 28, 2003
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I've been trying to encourage my daughter to check out some Hitchcock classics (she's 13 and doesn't live with me, so the chance to watch them together happens occasionally). We just watched Rope the other day and she really enjoyed it quite a bit.

Count me in as one of those who didn't care for Marnie.
 

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