A Good Thriller discussion

Hi

Well one director who could always give you a good film with pure tension always exciting.

What's your top 20.

My Top 20 Alfred Hitchcock...

1. North By Northwest
2. Dial M For Murder
3. To Catch A Thief
4. Shadow Of A Doubt
5. Rear Window
6. The Wrong Man
7. Strangers On A Train
8. Rebecca
9. Vertigo
10. I Confess
11.The 39 Steps
12. The Birds
13. Rope
14. Lifeboat
15. Marnie
16. Psycho
17. Spellbound
18. Notorious
19. Frenzy
20. The Lady Vanishes

Frenzy
Notorious
Family Plot
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)
Marnie
Torn Curtain
Shadow of a Doubt
Suspicion
Strangers on a Train
Lifeboat
Psycho (only parts)
Spellbound (for the Dali sequence)
The Lady Vanishes (for Charters & Caldicott)
Saboteur (both for Priscilla Lane and the freak train)
The Wrong Man
Stage Fright
Sabotage (based on Joseph Conrad)
The Trouble With Harry
Jamaica Inn
Foreign Correspondent
Secret Agent

1. Rear Window
2. Dial M For Murder
3. Vertigo
4. North by Northwest
5. The Birds
6. Psycho
7. Marnie
8. Strangers on a Train
9. Rebecca
10. Spellbound
11. To Catch a Thief
12. Suspicion
13. Notorious

I'm hot and cold on Hitchcock. Psycho just scared the heck out of me when I was younger, and I still do not watch slasher films. North by Northwest is one of my all-time favs, period--not just of Hitchcock movies.

And although not likely to pop up in this discussion, his documentaries from WWII, especially of the concentration camps, should be must-viewing for everyone.

Did not know he had done these.

But I do love WW2 true story books.

Thanks Dave

Never seen a Hitchcock movie, but I'm not a horror thriller fan!

Oh no Lorrea.

Alfred Hitchock makes great suspence thrillers.

In his whole career I would say he made one horror, yes one true horror Psycho, which is a long way from being his best, he made that to shock people with something different.

How about this try " The Wrong Man", then tell me you don't like his films.

This is a true story and the only one he made that was a true story starring the great Henry Fonda, with Sir Anthony Quale, and Vera Miles as his wife.

Gripping and tense.

Sean wrote: "Oh no Lorrea.

Alfred Hitchock makes great suspence thrillers.

In his whole career I would say he made one horror, yes one true horror Psycho, which is a long way from being his best, he made that..."
Yeah, The Wrong Man--another fantastic film.

Sean wrote: "Did not know he had done these.

But I do love WW2 true story books.

Thanks Dave"

His documentaries of the concentration camps were filmed late in the war (obviously, immediately after the liberations). I understand that they were kept secret for decades. The one I watched in about 1995 (late at night with lots of parental notices) was just released to public viewing. I think the concern was that the content was so disturbing--and it clearly implicated local civilian populations for, at best, being passive accomplices--that making the films available to the public would have undermined restoration of peace.

Whatever the reason, I have never seen a film that is so raw and truthful on this subject. Given that the film was shot within a day or so of the camp being liberated, it truly captured the brutal reality of the horrors the prisoners were subjected to, and the arrogant indifference of the civilians living near the camp.

North by Northwest is a great Hitchcock movie. Some mild suspense and humor. Did you know that Hitchcock starred in all his movies? The shot was brief, almost too fast to notice. When this movie is on TV take time to watch. I am sure you will enjoy it.

Oh yes he is famous for appearing in a bit part in all his films including Lifeboat !!!

He appears in the paper one of the survivors is reading.

Come on name your favourites, they has to be more Hitchock fans

1st hitchcock film I saw was vertigo and it blew my mind, I love rear window, dial m for murder, north by northwest and the birds

The Birds

Strangers on a Train

Psycho

Spellbound

Ah, screw it, all of them :)

I've always liked Marnie, Psycho, Rear Windows, and Vertigo. Also used to like the old Alfred Hitchcock presents show. Of course the Birds too.

My favourite director. I think 'Rebecca' and 'The Birds' have to be my favourites. Plus 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' No one creates atmosphere quite like Hitchcock.

Members and friends

I would like to recommend Hitchock's only true story

1956 The Wrong Man.

A quick heads up for those in the UK, saboteur is on at 11:15 this Thursday on more4

psycho is on tonight and the birds is on tmrw, both on film4

Rear Window
North by Northwest
Notorious
Shadow of a Doubt
The 39 Steps
Suspicion
Saboteur
Foreign Correspondent
Psycho
The Man Who Knew Too Much
To Catch a Thief
Lifeboat
Vertigo
The Birds
Spellbound
Stage Fright
The Trouble With Harry
Dial M for Murder
Torn Curtain
Marnie

Sky TV in NZ have been showing North by Northwest. It's a great movie, and I enjoyed watching it again.

Vertigo
Dial M for Murder
Rear Window
North by Northwest
Marnie
The 39 Steps
The Birds
Psycho
Notorious
Shadow of a Doubt
The Man Who Knew Too Much
To Catch a Thief
Suspicion

I have to see the others!

The one which I've seen:

Strangers On A Train

Rope

North By Northwest.

3 greats !

Samuel wrote: "The one which I've seen:

Strangers On A Train

Rope

North By Northwest."

To elaborate:

1) Rope: An old pro's great experiment which pushed film making techniques to new heights. A story about two people trying to do the impossible, play God by committing the perfect crime, and how their hubris lead to their undoing.

2) Strangers On A Train: A cautionary tale about the occasional daydreams we have of bumping off someone who has annoyed us greatly. Exploring the perils of Wish fulfillment and the consequences of past actions, this is a fine clash between good and evil.

3) North By Northwest: Alfred Hitchcock does James Bond. What can I say, Eve Marie Saint and Carry Grant hit it out of the park in this espionage drama, and then we get to the cinematography, which is by far Hitchcock's best.

Don't have a top 20 yet, but I did just watch 'Topaz' and was thoroughly engaged by it. Only slight let down is that 'Columbine' seems to just smile and walk away...

Don't think I ever saw a Hitchcock film that wasn't great!

I'm glad that North by Northwest is getting quite a bit of love from you. I think it's reputation has steadily been improving in the last 20 years. It's probably my all time favourite film.
Others that get close are (mostly the usual suspects):
- Notorious
- Vertigo
- Strangers on a Train
- Frenzy
- Rear Window
- Lifeboat (you're right, Sean, about his cameo - it's hilarious. It's an ad for a diet in a newspaper with a 'before' (typical Hitch silhouette) and 'after' (Hitch sans huge belly)
- 39 Steps
- Lady Vanishes
and many more.
I mean, even average Hitch is better than most

Yes true...

Watch The Wrong Man, great true story with Henry Fonda

I've noticed you're a big defender of Wrong Man. While I like it I think it's a bit grim (ditto I Confess) within the Hitcock canon. Where's the humour?

Seen 'The Wrong Man' and 'Topaz' recently... and looking for another for Saturday night. Any recommendations?

I think Topaz is one of the master's worst films. Try Notorious, Strangers on a Train, Rear Window, Vertigo or my absolute favourite, North by Northwest

Magnus wrote: "I think Topaz is one of the master's worst films. Try Notorious, Strangers on a Train, Rear Window, Vertigo or my absolute favourite, North by Northwest"

Thanks Magnus...

Topaz agreed is one of the weakest of Hitchcock films

I like Psycho and The Birds, but my favorite Hitchcock production was an episode of the tv show where the wife kills her husband with a leg of lamb and then cooks it and feeds it to the detectives.

Sounds nice and gruesome !

Kirsten *Dogs Welcome - People Tolerated" wrote: "I like Psycho and The Birds, but my favorite Hitchcock production was an episode of the tv show where the wife kills her husband with a leg of lamb and then cooks it and feeds it to the detectives."

ah, that is a good one. I know it's written by Roald Dahl, and it's called something like The Lamb and the Leg.
I also forgot to mention The 39 Steps and Frenzy, two of his best British films. I'll stop now, will make a heroic effort to do so as I could go on about Hitch, and on and on...

an episode of the tv show where the wife kills her husband with a leg of lamb and then cooks it and feeds it to the detectives."

just remembered - it's called Lambs to the Slaughter

I can't choose!

Psycho, Rope, The Birds.

Wandering over to my CD shelf and pulling down the scores from the Alfred Hitchcock TV series (Sad he only directed a few episodes, bu what great music), hmmm here's a splendid new "re-recording" of Herrmann's scores to The Trouble With Harry and North By Northwest...
I pretty much like anything Hitchcock directed. The Hitchcock Herrmann collaboration ranks up with Spielberg Williams as the greatest director composer tandems in film history

I liked almost each and every one of his films,except for the silent ones and Topaz.

Psycho was the very first one I saw.Then,I became a Hitchcock collector.

For sheer consistency,Hitchcock is hard to beat.Hardly ever made a bad film.I could watch them all,over and over again,and never get bored.

Wsm wrote: "For sheer consistency,Hitchcock is hard to beat.Hardly ever made a bad film.I could watch them all,over and over again,and never get bored."

Can't beat that analysis!
Even average Hitchcock is better than most.

And which one is your favorite,Anthony ?

The television segment (hour long) was the bedridden elderly patient in a mansion with 2-3 nurses per shift and there is a bad storm and the power goes out and there is a serial killer prowling the town and killing nurses and if you have seen it, it was a shocker ending! I would watch this dozens of times and never tire of it!!

Wsm wrote: "And which one is your favorite,Anthony ?"

I love all his American films. They are all so good and each has its own distinctive quality.
Early British ones (except for 'The 39 Steps') are nowhere in the same league as his Hollywood ones.

'PSYCHO' - one of the most remarkable of all films, done on the cheap on the Universal backlot using his TV crew and Universal contract players. A masterpiece! With one of the greatest of all music scores - turn off the Bernard Herrmann music score and maybe you have just an average B film. Benny and Hitch were one of the greatest teams in film history and also one of the most volatile!

You can't beat 'NORTH BY NORTHWEST' for sheer entertainment. Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint just fabulous and a film full of style and sexy wit.
'REAR WINDOW' James Stewart, Grace Kelly & Thelma Ritter - just a crackerjack combination of suspense and humour. Stretches credibility a bit but who cares? It's just such great fun and never bores.

I have a real soft spot for his remake of 'THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH' - very American take of the times with Stewart a bit abrasive (some would say typical American tourist of the time) but I watch this film over and over again and still love it. Not his best but anything that Doris Day is in I like and I also get the chance to see my favourite composer Benny Herrmann in action.
Despite its many faults I very much like 'MARNIE' (I still have the red colored vinyl record of the soundtrack; and the green one for 'Vertigo') And talking of Tippi Hedren, thought she was terrific in 'THE BIRDS' and the film was first rate with so many unforgettable scenes.

'STRANGERS ON A TRAIN' - 'FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT' - 'SABOTEUR' - 'REBECCA' - 'NOTORIOUS' - 'SHADOW OF DOUBT' - 'SPELLBOUND' - 'DIAL M FOR MURDER' - all classics! And all the others not that far behind. He did make a few turkeys but we all make mistakes and because he made so many hits, it's easy to forget a couple of stinkers.

But the greatest Hitchcock of all is clearly 'VERTIGO'; just an amazing film that can be judged on so many levels. Incredible how this film was so casually dismissed when first released. Out of circulation for many years, then was restored and re-released to unanimous acclaim. I first saw it at a special screening at the Melbourne Film Festival and in a packed audience of about 2500 people, you could hear a pin drop, so entranced the audience was. Watch it every time it comes on cable and when it's not, I have my DVD to re-watch.
Easily the best Hitch (and that's saying something!) and another classic teaming of Hitch and Herrmann.
Also Hitch's beautiful love homage to San Francisco and is a gorgeous postcard to the city and environs of the late 1950s. And who doesn't love films set in the Bay Area?
On the latest British Film Institute/ Sight and Sound listing of the greatest films of all time - 'Vertigo' is #1.

Luvtoread wrote: "The television segment (hour long) was the bedridden elderly patient in a mansion with 2-3 nurses per shift and there is a bad storm and the power goes out and there is a serial killer prowling the..."
That's a gem of an episode from THE ALFRED HITCHCOCK HOUR (3rd. and sadly, the final season.)
Titled 'AN UNLOCKED WINDOW' - first aired in Feb. 1965, written by James Bridges (from a story by Ethel Lina White) and directed by Joseph Newman.
The bedridden patient is actually a much younger, invalid heart patient played by JOHN KERR and the nurses are DANA WYNTER and the mysterious T.C. JONES and the only other resident left in the mansion is the housekeeper LOUISE LATHAM who has been spending too much time with the bottle to be of much use.
A maniacal nurse killer on the loose. A helpless invalid. A nurse waiting to get off shift. An isolated house. A storm and the lights have gone out and someone forgot to lock all the windows ... what more do you need for the ingredients of a ripper episode?

Wonderful analysis,Anthony.
Lifeboat is another favorite of mine,a different kind of Hitchcock movie.

Wsm wrote: "Wonderful analysis,Anthony.
Lifeboat is another favorite of mine,a different kind of Hitchcock movie."

Thanks Wsm!
Unfortunately 'Lifeboat' is one Hitchcock that has not won me over. I know lots of people who rave about it and Hitch was even nominated for a Best Director Academy Award for this.
Just somehow never got me that involved and one of the few I have not got in my collection.
Apparently Tallulah Bankhead was quite a handful and her constant obscenities and lack of undergarments were the subject of much controversy, even wrecking a few camera shots and causing all sorts of publicity issues.
She had a running battle with co-star Walter Slezak, exposing herself during filming on a daily basis during the entire 15 week shoot and calling him a "goddamned Nazi" on and off the set. Slezak said "Maybe I'm a prude, but I don't like vulgar women." So the story goes.
Promise you next time it turns up on cable I will sit down with my sea sickness tablets and give it a proper viewing. Up to now I have been neglectful of this film.