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My Best Film: Alfred Hitchcock


Devon Malcolm

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I finished watching all these at the weekend. Frenzy and Family Plot, his last two, are stupidly underrated - both are excellent. Barry Foster playing a sex pervert serial killer a few months before starting as Van Der Valk? Genius! He is absolutely brilliant!

 

Anyway, you'll be all wrong if you don't have them in this order:-

 

http://letterboxd.com/settingsun/list/alfr...a-films-ranked/

 

In fact, Rear Window could just be the best film ever.

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For me it has to be Rear Window although i'm a big fan of Vertigo and Rope aswell, surprised to see this pop up as I was considering doing one for James Stewart earlier today but didn't think it would have enough appeal. I don't know if iv'e ever been sucked in to a film as hopelessly as Rear Window, was constantly on the edge of my seat as the tension built and constantly changing my mind on whether Burr had infact killed his wife or it was all in Stewart's head. The relationship between Stewart and Kelly, his carer and the policeman helped to break up the constant drama. Stewart is one of my favorite actors and Rear Window favorite films and it's a great combination for me. It still holds up really well after all these years aswell. The only Hitchcock-Stewart collaboration I wasn't completely in love with was The Man Who Knew Too Much as I felt there was just too much happening at once and it was abit all over the place, Doris Day was likely mis-cast aswell. Still enjoyed it though.

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We had a massive talk about Jmmy Stewart in one of the film threads not so long ago. He's got a lot of fans on here.

 

I've gone on about my man crush for Jimmy Stewart before so Rear Window was always going to be number 1, it's as close to perfect as you're going to find. Rest of the top 5 would be

 

2. Psycho

3. Vertigo

4. North by northwest

5. The Man Who Knew Too Much ( Remake)

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For me it has to be Rear Window although i'm a big fan of Vertigo and Rope aswell, surprised to see this pop up as I was considering doing one for James Stewart earlier today but didn't think it would have enough appeal. I don't know if iv'e ever been sucked in to a film as hopelessly as Rear Window, was constantly on the edge of my seat as the tension built and constantly changing my mind on whether Burr had infact killed his wife or it was all in Stewart's head. The relationship between Stewart and Kelly, his carer and the policeman helped to break up the constant drama. Stewart is one of my favorite actors and Rear Window favorite films and it's a great combination for me. It still holds up really well after all these years aswell. The only Hitchcock-Stewart collaboration I wasn't completely in love with was The Man Who Knew Too Much as I felt there was just too much happening at once and it was abit all over the place, Doris Day was likely mis-cast aswell. Still enjoyed it though.

 

Do that James Stewart thread at some point. I'll bloody write in it if no-one else will.

 

I liked The Man Who Knew Too Much but it's certainly not one of my favourites. I don't think Doris Day was miscast but the contractual obligation songs did make her role seem a bit odd at times. The bit at the taxidermist shop is fantastic.

 

We had a massive talk about Jmmy Stewart in one of the film threads not so long ago. He's got a lot of fans on here.

 

I've gone on about my man crush for Jimmy Stewart before so Rear Window was always going to be number 1, it's as close to perfect as you're going to find. Rest of the top 5 would be

 

2. Psycho

3. Vertigo

4. North by northwest

5. The Man Who Knew Too Much ( Remake)

 

Can't go too wrong with that selection, actually. Have to say that Vertigo was even better on a second viewing.

 

Great sig, by the way!

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1) North By Northwest

2) Rear Window

3) Vertigo

4) Psycho

5) Rope

 

As I've said before, I've not seen that many Hitchcock films, and I don't think a lot of them have aged well at all. But those 5 are bona fide classics.

 

I do think he's a bit overrated, I mean he's set up on this pedestal, but produced a lot of average or sub-par over the years. And I think there are thrillers I like more than most of his films.

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I don't think he's overrated although I agree he made a number of average-to-poor films. A lot of his poorest films were in the 1930s and most of them were quota quickies that he had to make to stay in work. Then he was stuck in a working relationship with David Selznick where, again, he was making some films that he didn't really want to make.

 

He made around 20 genuine classics in his time, which very few other directors can match. I don't really agree with the 'ageing' thing, either. Great films endure no matter what their age and setting and I didn't really have that problem with anything of his that I watched.

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I liked it a lot more when I watched it this time round. I wouldn't say it was one of my favourites but it's brilliantly done. It's a lot more influential than it's given credit for as well. It's certainly very influential on that brand of horror film where some horrible shit just happens and no explanation is given as to why. Tippi Hedren is fantastic in it.

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Interesting, I thought she was excellent. Conversely, though, I didn't think she was any good at all in Marnie.

 

It's been interesting having her name back around again what with these two Hitchcock related films that have been released recently and her insisting that he was the most horrible man that ever lived. I wonder if we might ever get a balanced account of their working and personal relationship that might shed some more light on it all.

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This is a somewhat appropriate subject, seeing as I am currently engorging myself on Hitch every day of my life :D The first production my touring theatre company is putting on is Vintage Hitchcock:A Live Radio Play, and I've been doing plenty of research regarding the great man and his (sometimes not so great) films.

 

For me, his best work is The Birds, as it has endured where such a simplistic concept shouldn't be able to, and in a lot of ways set the stall out for good beast horrors to follow. I saw NBNW at the BMI big screen last year though, and it was f'n superb.

 

Oh, and whilst I'm here :)

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Ha, I never noticed that, actually! In fairness, I think Hitchcock might have done her up like a kipper there with the way he framed that scene!

 

Marnie was a film that could have been really interesting but he never really pursued the interesting themes in it. Brave role for Sean Connery to take, actually, considering that he was on a crest of a wave with Bond and in this he is leaving in the summer.

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Marnie was a film that could have been really interesting but he never really pursued the interesting themes in it. Brave role for Sean Connery to take, actually, considering that he was on a crest of a wave with Bond and in this he is leaving in the summer.

:laugh:

To be fair, I think you're right about her being stitched up in that bit. Sounds like the kind of thing Hitchcock would do.

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