It is absolutely understandable why people struggle with "Marnie," especially when you factor in what was allegedly happening off-screen between Hitchcock and Hedren. The story also features a complicated mother-daughter relationship, one in which things are not as they first appear. Viewers are likely to be left feeling extremely ambivalent and frustrated, which is why "Marnie" gets such mixed reactions to this day. Right up until the very end, it's not clear if it's better for them to be together or apart. Both Marnie and Connery's character, Mark, are morally complex - they're not two likable people who we're unquestionably rooting for. For those that aren’t (and even some that are), this site has a good rundown of where you can stream them online for free."Marnie" explores PTSD, repressed memories, and childhood trauma, as well as a woman's desire to escape her life before emotional entanglements get too deep. The Complete Alfred Hitchcock, From Best to WorstĪlmost all of these films are available on DVD. Topaz “Torn Curtain” is the better of Hitchcock’s two 1960s Cold War spy thrillers. The Birds The best scene in the too-gimmicky “North by Northwest.”įoreign Correspondent That’s TV’s Beaver Cleaver (Jerry Mathers) discovering the “Trouble With Harry.” Strangers on a Train - It’s Robert Walker’s turn as the greatest villain in any of Hitch’s films that makes this a twisted delight. Psycho - Never before had I fully appreciated the efficiency of this taut and horrifying story. Echoes of Casablanca as a spy thriller, especially since Ingrid Bergman and Claude Rains are on hand. Notorious - A man and a woman must set aside their own romantic desires in the name of serving a cause greater than themselves. “Rear Window”: Why would you spend time spying on your neighbors when you’ve got Grace Kelly in your apartment? Rear Window - This time through I was struck by how entertaining, and subtly told, are all the little stories Jimmy Stewart can see inside his neighbors’ homes, not just the frightening tale of Mr. Vertigo - How marvelous that a film replete with old Hollywood glamour, featuring one of the biggest stars of the studio system, contains such a kinky underbelly to its story of obsession. First presented in descriptive groups of similar quality, and then numbered individually, 1-52, the best to the worst. Most thrilling was discovering brilliant moments in his lesser-known works, like the fantastic crane shot in Young and Innocent that reveals the identity of the killer to the audience (though not to the protagonists) and the astonishing way in which Hitchcock builds tension in a scene from Sabotage by cutting between shots of a woman, her husband, and a knife. Only 1926’s The Mountain Eagle remains unseen, and that’s just because the film appears to be lost for good, unavailable anywhere.Īnd so, on Hitch’s birthday, here is my definitive ranking of his oeuvre. Likewise there were films, including Marnie, that I discovered weren’t nearly as good as I’d thought they were when I first saw them years ago.
#ALFRED HITCHCOCK MOVIES AND TV SHOWS MOVIE#
There were cases, as with Psycho, when I found myself unable to deny the greatness of a movie that I’d previously considered to be overrated. Many I was already familiar with and adored, but most I’d never seen before. With a couple exceptions, I watched these 52 films in the order in which they were produced.
Starting with his silent cinema work in 1920s England and then his move to Hollywood, I continued through the height of his powers in the 1950s and the semi-decline of his later years. Hitchcock in a publicity shot for “The Birds,” one of his most overrated movies. That’s a whole lot of innocent men on the run, icy femmes fatales, director’s cameos, and MacGuffins. Over the course of the last year, I took my relationship with the “master of suspense” to another level by viewing every one of his feature films. I can rattle off the names of many more great filmmakers today, but Hitchcock remains among my favorites.
One of the local TV stations ran a Hitchcock Week, five straight nights airing some of his most famous works: Rear Window, Vertigo, The Man Who Knew Too Much, The Birds, and North by Northwest. I was thrilled by these suspenseful and macabre (qualities now synonymous with the term “Hitchcockian”) stories that also featured moments of great humor. Today, August 13, is the birthday of Alfred Hitchcock, the first film director whose name I ever knew. I was introduced to his movies as a child, during a summer I spent at my grandmother’s house in Illinois.
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