he made more than fifty films in a career that lasted over 60 years. He changed the way movies were made and the way we watched them.
His first Hollywood film, Rebecca, won an Oscar for Best Picture. But, in the greatest oversight by The Academy Of Motion Pictures of Arts and Sciences, he was never awarded a Best Director Oscar for any of his films. He was also a huge success in television and publishing.
I have seen most of his films, except his early British work, and the few Hollywood films I have missed (Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Under Capricorn, Stage Fright, The Wrong Man, Topaz, and Family Plot) I plan on screening in October, during my month of horror and suspense.
Hitchcock worked with some great collaborators. He made four films each with James Stewart and Cary Grant and his favorite female muses were Grace Kelly and Ingrid Bergman. He entrusted the musical scores of his movies to Bernard Hermann, whose sore for Vertigo is one of the best pieces of film music ever written. And his score for Psycho is known the world over and instantly calls to mind the image of a stabbing knife.
Hitchcock also delighted in making brief cameo appearances in his movies and at times had to use very clever ways to insert himself into the movie. The film Lifeboat, set on a small boat in the Atlantic Ocean was probably his biggest challenge, but watch closely and you'll see him.
Below I have listed my personal Top 10 Hitchcock films. In making the list I struggled on which films to cut. If I made the list longer I would have included To Catch A Thief, Dial M For Murder, The 39 Steps, The Lady Vanishes and Rope.
#10 The Birds
#9 The Man Who Knew Too Much
#8 Notorious
#7 Rebecca
#6 Rear Window
#5 Shadow Of A Doubt
#4 Strangers On A Train
#3 North By Northwest
#2 Psycho
#1 Vertigo
3 comments:
no one can question the genius of this man...however...even Babe ruth struck out 33% of the time...The Birds was a boring, aimless, slow and pointless movie...I always found some of the Hitckock knock-offs interesting, Amnesia, the one with George Kennedy and the claw arm...it was interesting how other guys were able to make Hitchkock type movies
Dear Anonymous,
You have often written complaining of the mindless stupidity of modern Hollywood movies and now you dismiss a movie that requires the audience to think and respond in an emotional fashion as boring, aimless, slow and pointless. I am very confused about what kind of movies you like.
The Birds by Alfred Hitchcock is far from pointless but it does take a sophisticated movie-goer to really appreciate it.
Bird imagery has always symbolized chaos and danger in Hitchcock's movies. This can be seen in the films Psycho, Blackmail, Sabotage, Young and Innocent, The Lady Vanishes, Jamacia Inn, Topaz, Vertigo, Sabotuer, Marnie and The Man Who Knew Too Much. In the film The Birds he takes that symbolism to the extreme and creates a movie unlike anything that came before.
Hitchcock understood the underlying evil and chaos humans could create and he used The Birds to tell that story.
All the "animal" monster movies prior to The Birds, the animals became a danger because they were affected by nuclear radiation, chemicals, etc. Then the army came in and battled the mutant monsters and they were defeated and the world was saved. In The Birds there is no explanation for the birds attack. And the attacks keep coming and there is no way to predict them or fight them off. The people become helpless to do more than just defend themselves.
In the film the birds are the chaos, danger and evil always present in human nature. The first third of the film is a romantic drama with people going about well ordered lives and living with petty problems. Look at the film and see how Hitchcock uses the teacup as a symbol of this order. And how easily the teacups (the order) are shattered.
The bird attacks begin. No one is safe, not even innocent children. The film is told in a way that wants us to blame the Tippi Hendren character for the attacks. And eventually that is what the town people do. They turn on her because they can find no other explanation.
They cannot predict the attacks, No more than you can predict the random events of human malice. Many don't want to belive it is possible that the attacks are happening. Yet by the end of the film the characters must accept the fact they are living in a changed world that is more dangerous and they must adapt in order to survive.
To make it easire to understand think of the film in terms of 9/11. Before 9/11 we knew of terrorism but we essentially lived without fear. We had neeat well ordered lives. Then in a single moment chaos struck and our lives were changed forever. We now live in fear. We do not know when or where the chaos will strike again, but we do know it will happen. Whether it is a terrorist attack, a drunk with a car, or a guy with a gun at a school, malice and danger are everywhere and there is nothing we can do to prevent it.
But while the movie is a dark vision of human nature it also sends the message that love can help us survive. That living and cowering in fear is not the answer.
The Birds is far from boring, aimless or pointless, but it does require attention from the viewer and should be watched without commercials.
The other movie you mentioned was called Charade and featured Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Walter matthau and George kennedy and is an excellent example of a Hitchcock type thriller, only more of a romantic, comedy thriller. Another good example is the film Mirage with Gregory Peck, Walter Matthau and George kennedy about a man suffering from amnesia. BRian DePalma was a devotee of Hitchcock and made three films that were direct homages to him, Obsession, Blow-Out and Dressed To Kill
Hi...not sure who you are referring to...I am anonymous, I do not believe I ever wrote to you before...In any event, perhaps it is because i saw Birds as a kid it bored me. anyway, I remember seeing Charade as a kid and it scared the heck out of me...When I got older I saw that it was a comedy, I never understood that...Mirage was good
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