Hitchcock

Sai

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There must be some other Hitchcock fans on AW. I've been on a Hitchcock kick all summer and need to get some thoughts out.

Personally, my favorite film of his is 'Rope.' It's not the best Hitchcock film (out of the ones I've seen, I'd give that honour to 'Rear Window') but I can have a pretty morbid sense of humor and the film is as much a dark comedy as it is a suspense film. The basic plot is that two young men want to commit the prefect murder, so they kill an old classmate and stuff his body in a trunk.

They then take things a step further and invite the dead guys friends and family over for a party, using the trunk as a table to serve finger food off of. Over the course of the night some of the smarter guests (including Jimmy Stewert) start to realize that something more is going on then a simple party.

It's also a fun film in that Hitchcock tried to film it all in one shot. Back than cameras could only film for something like ten minutes at a time, so the director had to hide the cuts in the film through tricks like someone in a dark suit stepping in front of the camera.

I like Rope because it combines both a good suspense story with technical deftness. I'm curious to see what Hitchcock films other AWers enjoy and why.
 

alleycat

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You might also enjoy this biography of Hitchcock: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1572522305/?tag=absolutewritedm-20

I have a copy and there's parts of it that are interesting.

You can also watch many of the episodes of his old TV shows (Alfred Hitchcock Presents and the Alfred Hitchcock Hour) online; he was directly involved in some, and I think in others he just did the show opening and closing.
 

childeroland

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Patrick McGilligan's Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light is a must-read.
 

Sai

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Grace Kelly is probably the best thing in that movie, and that's saying something since there are a lot of good things in that movie.

I think I'll have to hit up my local library for Hitchcock books as well as movies. Thanks for the suggestions!
 

Jcomp

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I'm of the opinion that Hitchcock is the best filmmaker ever. At least out of anyone whose movies I've seen. He's still the king.
 

Lavern08

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I just watched Hitchcock (the movie with Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren) on HBO the other night.

Totally enjoyed it. ;)
 

Rhoda Nightingale

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Hollah! 8) I love me some Hitchcock. My fave is also Rear Window, although The Man Who Knew Too Much is up there as well. I just love the way music is used in that one--not just the orchestral piece where the shot is supposed to go off, but also the "Que Sera Sera" part. I totally cried. I regret nothing!

Rope I haven't seen yet, but it's on my marathon list for October.
 

J.S.F.

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Hitchcock was THE master of suspense. I liked Rear Window although it isn't my favorite. Of the many great flicks he directed, in his later years, Frenzy was a marvelous piece of acting, especially the dinner scenes between the detective and his wife. Brilliantly underplayed and yet totally effective.

His last film, Family Plot, with Bruce Dern, was not totally successful, but it had great moments of comedy, particularly the scene where Barbara Harris climbs out of the taxi using Dern's face as a ladder.

Some of the other films I enjoyed:

Psycho--can never, ever predict when Perkins comes out with the knife even though I KNOW he's coming out.
Vertigo--Kim Novak's finest picture.
Marnie--very underrated.

Also enjoyed the movie Hitch with Anthony Hopkins. No, he doesn't look like him, but he gets the cadence down flat, the acting is excellent by the entire cast, and it's a fascinating look at how he and his wife collaborated to fashion the best scripts around.
 

Derrick

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Just watched FAMILY PLOT the other night. Even though it's regarded as one of his "lesser" movies I think it's one of his best. There's a sort of wicked playfulness about the plot and the way the four major characters (Barbara Harris, Bruce Dern, William Devane and Karen Black) interact.

And I love that last scene where Barbara Harris looks right into the camera and gives that delightful smile and wink. Considering this was Hitchcock's last movie, it seems like a most appropriate last shot.
 

Max Vaehling

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I love how he wasn't afraid of being dubbed shallow. Melodrama wasn't a bad word for him, and he was very conscious of the medium's strengths and boundaries. He never tried to ape the cultural value of literature. He made movies, for all the value he could get out of that. As a comics writer, I find that extremely inspiring.

There are some movies of his I can't enjoy because the content is ... dated. Sean Connery gets away with marital rape in Marnie, bending her to his will in the process. Stuff like that. I guess back then it wasn't that much of a deal, but it kind of stands out today.

But even though I find some of his movies hard to enjoy or even watch, I can't really say he made a truly bad one. And a lot of his movies are all-time favorites: North By Northwest, To Catch a Thief, Suspicion, Rear Window (if I had to choose one..), Torn Curtain.

For a real good read about his movies, I recommend Truffaut's interview book. It's a book I keep returning to for inspiration and guidance. Some of that interview has been released on French radio, too. Open Culture shared some tapes once.
 

djunamod

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I like some Hitch films but not all of them. I think especially those that he made later in his career were not as innovative or interesting.

My favorite is "Shadow Of A Doubt". There's something so charming about Joseph Cotten's character even though he is a serial killer. Theresa Wright was a little annoying, as she acted more like a 10 year old than a teenager, but not as bad as in "The Little Foxes".

Djuna