183 replies to this topic

[M. Leary]

That was great, Matt. Thanks.

[Josh Daws]

Hey All,

Just found this forum. I'm an avid classic movie fan and Hitch is one of my favorite directors. My brother and I are the writers/directors of the new "Christian" thriller, Dangerous Calling. Hitchcock was a huge influence on our film. My top 5:

1. Notorious
2. Strangers on a Train
3. North by Northwest
4. Psycho
5. Shadow of a Doubt
(6.) Vertigo
(7.) Rear Window
(8.) Rope

Couldn't resist a few more than five.

Josh Daws
http://www.dawsbrothers.com

[Persona]

Welcome, Josh.

I voted Vertigo, but --

1. Sadly, I've only seen five or six Hitchcocks, and

2. I should've realized that it was "My favorite" as opposed to "What I think is the best film," because I certainly would have gone for Psycho...

Top Three are definitely Psycho, Vertigo, Rear Window.

[Ryan H.]

VERTIGO is absolutely my favorite Hitchcock film, and without a doubt Hitchcock's finest hour. VERTIGO may even be my favorite film of all time (it competes only with 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY for that title).

[Persona]

Ryan H., on 23 October 2009 - 09:28 AM, said:

VERTIGO is absolutely my favorite Hitchcock film, and without a doubt Hitchcock's finest hour. VERTIGO may even be my favorite film of all time (it competes only with 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY for that title).

I got to see it on the big screen years ago in Dayton, Ohio. It's a night I'll never forget. It is nothing if not a work that transcends the barriers of time.

It's tough for me though. Not being in any way skilled in understanding Hitchcock, and honestly (and I know this is bad, but) not even all that interested in seeing more of him, I've been in love with Psycho since I was a kid, even to the point of enjoying Gus Van Sant's version a few years back. It is certainly his most accessible to younger audiences, and I'm sure it was the shower/drain/eye scene that has turned it into one of my faves. (You mentioned the Kubrick. Here I'll mention my all-time favorite, Apocalypse Now, and the first ten minutes of that film -- face, ceiling fan, helicopters, Doors "This is the End," always seem to remind me of that great scene from Psycho.)

[MattPage]

If we're boasting then I should point out that I got to watch Psycho at a cinema recently. Also fairly unforgettable, not only for the muppet two seats in front who snored through the climax. I nearly ordered the woman in front of me to kick him.

Strangers on a Train is growing in my estimation as I reflect on Hitch's work.

Still feel at a loss to even work out a top 5 though.

Matt


PS Hi Josh. Nice to meet you.

[M. Leary]

I am partial to 39 Steps because it is one of my favorite films from the period, it is a great chase movie, and the cinematography is so atmospheric. Way ahead of its time. I can never walk through Waverly without thinking about the film.

Edited by MLeary, 23 October 2009 - 11:38 AM.

[Persona]

MattPage, on 23 October 2009 - 11:23 AM, said:

If we're boasting then I should point out that I got to watch Psycho at a cinema recently. Also fairly unforgettable, not only for the muppet two seats in front who snored through the climax. I nearly ordered the woman in front of me to kick him.

You win. I've never been to a movie with a Muppet!

[M. Leary]

I saw Irreversible with a muppet.

[Persona]

Fozzy Bear?

[Peter T Chattaway]

Links to recently-begun threads on Vertigo (1958) and Psycho (1960).

[Persona]

I want to change my vote. Is that possible?

[Benchwarmer]

My current top 3 are:

1. Vertigo
2. Rear Window
3. Notorious

[Benchwarmer]

Ryan H., on 23 October 2009 - 09:28 AM, said:

VERTIGO is absolutely my favorite Hitchcock film, and without a doubt Hitchcock's finest hour. VERTIGO may even be my favorite film of all time (it competes only with 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY for that title).

I am totally with you on this Ryan. Vertigo is the answer I am currently giving when asked what my all-time favourite film is. I honestly can't fault it any way. The execution is absolutely perfect!

[MattPage]

BFI launches hunt for missing Hitchcock movie.

Matt

PS Oh and I just started reading Spoto's "Spellbound by Beauty". Interesting so far.

[Christian]

From a Q&A with Dave Kehr promoting his new book, When Movies Mattered:

You have chapters in your book advocating for Hitchcock and Walsh. Why do you think that we’ve been able to recognize Hitchcock more easily than [Raoul] Walsh?
Well, I think that Hitchcock does have pronounced themes and he does have philosophical ideas. I think the idea of the angry, unforgiving God is in close to all of his movies. People think that his movies are about guilt and punishment—"Why am I being punished? Why is this happening to me?"

Very Catholic.
Totally. But Walsh doesn’t have anything like that. You can identify a general theme, kind of driven by an inner energy to go to an extreme. It’s very hard to put into words what he’s doing, and it’s not a quick theme, the way Hitchcock has themes.

[John Drew]

Farley Granger, who starred in Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train and Rope, has died at 85.

[NBooth]

Baal_T, on 28 March 2011 - 10:29 PM, said:

Farley Granger, who starred in Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train and Rope, has died at 85.

I posted this in the Rope thread before I noticed this post. Didn't mean to duplicate. I've got mixed feelings about his performance in Rope, but his work Strangers on a Train is terrific.

RIP

Edited by NBooth, 28 March 2011 - 10:41 PM.

[MattPage]

Strangers on a Train is one of my favourites. Might have to dig it out.

Matt

[Tyler]

The White Shadow, a lost Hitchcock film (3 reels of it, at least), has been found in New Zealand.