1. Vertigo
2. Notorious
3. Rear Window
4. Shadow of a Doubt
5. Marnie
I cannot rate them in any particular order but, here goes
only five… that sucks…
Rope
Rear Window
Strangers on a Train
Dial “M” For Murder
Blackmail
at one time this was up to ten and it was difficult cutting any out. this was more difficult than i thought.
The Birds
Vertigo
Psycho
Rear Window
Dial M for Murder
Shadow of a Doubt
Psycho
Rear Window
Vertigo
Notorious
Rear Window
Psycho
39 Steps
Notorious
Vertigo
1. Vertigo
2. Rear Window
3. North By Northwest
4. Shadow of a Doubt
5. The Birds
Rear Window
I Confess
Notorious
Vertigo
The Trouble with Harry
1. Vertigo
2. Psycho
3. Rear Window
4. North by Northwest
5. Shadow of a Doubt
I thought I’d commented on this thread, guess not…
Rear Window
Rope
Jamaica Inn
Psycho
Dial M for Murder
1. Vertigo
2. Psycho
3. Marnie
4. The Birds
5. Dial M For Murder
Just watched The Birds again (Christmas gift, anticipate many obsessive rematches), and I think it is one my short list of contendors for the title of Greatest Film. My God, truly one of the most revelatory rewatches I’ve had, I’m desperate to see this on the big screen!
1. Rear Window
2. Psycho
3. The Birds
4. North by Northwest
5. Notorious
How about a more interesting question: what SHOULD be a top 5 Hitchcock that isn’t generally considered so by the critical community or by popular appeal (for better or worse), and why (brief critical rationale, please)?
I’ve already added my bit to this discussion but, in answer of being “more interesting”.
Any of the early British films over the American – for me (apart from Marnie) they are the films I come back to again and again.
Marnie. Because, on so many levels, it’s by far his most interesting film (after Vertigo) – for its ‘failings’ as much as its successes
Stage Fright. Because it’s Hitch reveling in camp – not to mention sticking two fingers up at the critics with the ‘lying’ flashback
Number Seventeen. For being HUGE fun and introducing us to so many of the Hitchcockian elements (trains, bathrooms, bondage, the first real MacGuffin (the necklace), the mysterious ‘bad’ girl who’s not really… and so on. Totally underrated
Sabotage. I secretly prefer this over any of the other films from his first golden age and I’m glad that the film is now getting more praise after decadess of being dismissed as cruel and flawed.
Lifeboat. The best WWII propaganda film ever.
The Wrong Man (1956)
Not your typical Hitchcock., and did not do well at the box office. Released in black and white between two of his more obvious Hollywood productions, The Man Who Knew Too Much (1955), and Vertigo (1958), The Wrong Man is a real change in style for Hitchcock. His approach appears more realist, maybe an influence of the European neo-realism, and he foregoes his usual slick Hollywood style for a more noirish approach as seen in the films of Jules Dassin, particularly The Naked City (1948) and Night and the City (1950). The cinematic style complements the realist approach of both actors and director and Henry Fonda is convincing in his portrayal of Manny, the family man drawn into nightmare over which he has no control. Herrmann’s score is a perfect compliment to this bleak story, which could probably have done without the “it really did end happily ever after, honest guv” ending. Still one of his best though.
The Wrong Man is a good choice and you’re so right about the ‘happy ever after’ coda tacked on at the end.
The ending is utterly bleak in its irony but you know that the coda was attached to placate timid mainstream audiences of the day (to be fair though, I think even today they would probably be as timid).
@McKittrick
I agree with you about the ending, but maybe today’s audiences are a little more sophisticated, and might accept an unhappy ending? It would certainly make a better cinematic experience IMO.
Totally agree with your choices of Lifeboat and Sabotage. Both great films yet appear to have received negative reaction. In Lifeboat Hitchcock’s portrayal of the Nazi U-boat sailor (a little too sympathetic?) and the boy with the bomb in Sabotage. Both classic early Hitch. I’m also quite a fan of the black comedy The Trouble With Harry, not very sophisticated but very funny in a dark kind of way.
dp
THE 39 STEPS
SABOTAGE a.k.a The Woman Alone
NOTORIOUS
REAR WINDOW
NORTH BY NORTHWEST
I just can’t get into “Marnie”. It has some powerful sequences but I find it to be more “flawed film” than “great flawed film”.
I have to see “Stage Fright” again. I don’t remember it well at all and surely don’t recall the camp elements.
“Number Seventeen” sounds very interesting. One of the many early Hitchcocks I need to catch up with.
“Sabotage”, yes. But I think it has been considered one of his masterpieces for some time now.
“Lifeboat” is a brilliant, brilliant film. It’s in the canon now for sure.
I saw “The Wrong Man” again recently and was really fond of it. It grows on you with time. The moment when the mirror is shattered has epic significance and seems to be among the greatest moments in Hitchcock.
My favorite in this category is probably “Secret Agent”. For many of the reasons mentioned about “Number Seventeen”. It’s a paradigmatic Hitch film for so many reasons, richly packed with wonderful sequences and classic set pieces. I think it should be studied as a forerunner of everything great about Hitch.
1-Rebbeca
2-Phsycho
3-Rope
4-North By Northwest
5-Rear Window
taking into consideration that I never saw Vertigo and also in my opinion Rear Window is overrated.
“Rebecca” is an interesting choice. It’s considered a masterpiece but never really one of the “best of the best”. Why does it top the list for you?
I like the film but think it’s a bit dry and a bit too long also. It doesn’t really have any of the quirky greatness (visually or thematically) that marks a lot of Hitch’s work.
1. Shadow of a Doubt
2. Notorious
3. Vertigo
4. Strangers on a Train
5. Rope
1. Notorious
2. Shadow of a Doubt
3. Vertigo
4. The Birds
5. Rebecca
1. Shadow of a Doubt
2. Strangers on a Train
3. Young and Innocent
4. Suspicion
5. The 39 Steps
1. Strangers on a Train
2. Psycho
3. Vertigo
4. Notorious
5. North by Northwest
1 – Vertigo
2 – Marnie
3 – Rear Window
4 – Rebecca
5 – Psycho
some of the lesser-discussed ones:
1. Foreign Correspondent
2. Saboteur
3. Sabotage
4. Rich and Strange
5. Blackmail
1. rope
2. vertigo
3. psycho
4. dial m for murder
5. shadow of a doubt
i haven’t seen NXNW, among others. i’m seeing REBECCA tomorrow
Caroline Sanderson
1. Rebecca
2. Psycho
3. Vertigo
4. The Birds
5. The Trouble with Harry