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Post by frag on Apr 30, 2006 17:56:58 GMT -5
That's why he killed off Janet Jeigh in the beginning of Psycho. I was so pissed off when Scream was released and everyone acted like Drew Barrymore's death was such a big deal. Hitchcock made a statement. Craven just couldn't keep Barrymore on the set long enough and away from the blow. |
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Post by frag on Apr 30, 2006 17:59:57 GMT -5
Vertigo is in my top five movies of all time. The camera tricks he uses. And that whole psychedelic scene...fucking unbelievable how he was able to accomplish all of that. Rear Window is fantastic as well.
They always talk about what a tyrant Hitchcock was on the set and how he thought of actors as nothing more than cattle, but damn, the dude got shit done. And he knew exactly what he wanted. I do believe that nearly every film he directed was exactly as he envisioned it in his head before filming had even begun. The most gifted and visionary director of all-time. Hands down.
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Post by phil on Apr 30, 2006 18:18:31 GMT -5
I do believe that nearly every film he directed was exactly
as he envisioned it in his head before filming had even begun.
The story-boards were so detailed
the movie could have been made
without him ever showing on the set ... !!
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Post by kool on Apr 30, 2006 20:28:27 GMT -5
Rear Window, with Vertigo a very, very close second. I've seen RW several times, and loved it every single time, but I've only seen Vertigo once and was totally blown away by it. If this was a "most viewed" poll, Psycho would win it for me. I've seen it over a dozen times and I always watch it whenever its on TV. That soundtrack has to be the best music put in a movie... EVER! That one part of the movie where Janet Leigh is pulled over by the cops for questioning, and when she drives off again and the music kicks in, makes me jump out of my seat each and every time!
There are a couple of Hitchcock stinkers though. "Marnie", despite its very good looking cast, was a borderline snoozefest and "Rope" just plain sucks. "The Birds", although pretty frightening, I've always considered somewhat overrated and that ending could've been better. Many people disagree with me on this one though...
Top 5 Hitchcock flicks:
5. The Man Who Knew Too Much
4. Dial 'M' for Murder
3. Psycho
2. Vertigo
1. Rear Window
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Post by frag on Apr 30, 2006 20:50:30 GMT -5
I may be wrong but am pretty sure he worked very closely with most of the screenwriters.
I always liked the way The Birds just ended, without any real resolution.
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Post by wayved on May 1, 2006 0:46:50 GMT -5
I have only seen a few Hitchcock movies, but read alot of his anthologies for young people when I was young.
being as I am a Hitchcock poser, The Birds got my vote. i know after visiting this shit Im gonna check out Vertigo!
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Post by Paul on May 1, 2006 10:58:05 GMT -5
Awesome idea to start a Hitchcock thread! I'm just now getting around to watching his films...This past winter when I blew my knee out and was couped up I rented/borrowed a bunch of his films...
Of the ones I watched I liked Vertigo the best, followed by Strangers On A Train. I also watched:
North By Northwest
Dial M For Murder
Rearwindow
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Post by Fuzznuts on May 1, 2006 12:19:37 GMT -5
I think I`ve seen all these (and more) except for Topaz, Torn Curtain, and Family Plot. Strangers On a Train is incredible, possibly in my Top 5.
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Post by Fuzznuts on May 1, 2006 12:23:57 GMT -5
I think I`ve seen all these (and more) except for Topaz, Torn Curtain, and Family Plot. Which have just been added to my Netflix Queue.  |
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Post by digmomusic on May 2, 2006 13:09:55 GMT -5
This is really a tough call - while my favorite is To Catch a Thief (Grace Kelly, Cary Grant, AND the French Riviera - c'mon! Q: How good-looking can a film be? A: This good.), it's a tough call for me as to the best between Rear Window, Vertigo, and Notorious. So since Notorious hasn't garnered any support yet, I voted for it.
While it's a more straightforward genre film without the psychological probing into the mind of a commitment-phobic voyeur (Rear Window) or a nearly deranged obsessive (Vertigo), Notorious does offer a woman (Ingrid Bergman, no less) compelled to perform unsavory acts because of guilt over her father's treachery, a man (Cary Grant again) struggling with his feelings for her and their implications, and a suave villain (Claude Rains). Again, very attractive leads, and this film really builds suspense masterfully. And the last shot of the door closing on Rains' character is superb. Plus, scenes from Notorious were used in Steve Martin and Carl Reiner's hilarious film-noir spoof Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid...
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Post by kats on Jul 6, 2006 21:02:43 GMT -5
I really, really love the birds, but I have to vote for Rope, partially because I think it is such an understated and often misunderstood film, completely caught, I think, in the legacy of the whole Haze mindset. The homosexuality of the two characters I think somewhat even today, effects the way the film is viewed and appreciated. Its just so particular, so careful and so brilliantly an example of Hitchcock's precise and experimental approach to film. The fact that it was shot without cuts, shot continuously, the roll of film being changed mid scene with minimal splicing. Then, theres the momentus task (if that already wasn't amazing in itself) of the fact that Hitchcock has set up the apartment as a stage, with three walls, the actor's moving around the cameras, the cameras barely track (if at all, I can't remember) and there is such a heightened level of intimacy and caustrophobia, while also being so theatrical. And the best moment in the film for me is the flashing red light at the end, flashing in the most theatrical Tennessee Williams sort of way, the pulse of the two men who are inevitably caught out by their own guilt. I couldn't help but think of the Tell-Tale Heart, the beating of the light drives them eventually to out themselves. Slightly ironically.
That being said, james Stewart was the WORST choice for that role. Ok, so I am being over the top, but he was shocking... thank god the studio days of only employing bankable actors who don't suit the role are over...oh no.
The Birds is silly fun. Rope is a masterpiece, in my opinion.
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Post by Kensterberg on Jul 6, 2006 21:25:45 GMT -5
Agree completely on Rope. So many people (unfairly) dismiss this film, and IMO it's one of Hitch's absolute best. It isn't quite on the same level as The Birds, Vertigo, North by Northwest, or Rear Window, but it's not far back of that bunch ... which are among the best films I've ever seen. I love the claustrophobia of Rope, the way that Hitch taunts us with the knowledge of (literally) where the body is buried. And FWIW, I liked Stewart in that role, but I think that Hitch always used him quite effectively.
The Birds and Psycho are among the very few films that have ever actually scared me when I watched them on television.
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