I've been watching Alfred Hitchcock - almost non-stop. When I was working at the university (which shall remain nameless) they had a class on the Art of Hitchcock. Their text for that class was/is "The Art of Alfred Hitchcock" by Donald Spoto. I bought a used copy and since that time have been working on collecting the films of Hitchcock.
Here is the strange thing - the only Hitchcock I really remember seeing was "The Birds." It wasn't until I was out of college that I finally saw "Vertigo." However I had seen Mel Brook's "High Anxiety" and so I sort of picked up the references since that time. Now, I've seen "North by Northwest" a couple times, "Rear Window" twice, both versions of "Strangers on a Train" and now I'm watching "The Trouble with Harry" for the second time. Sure, there is always the fun aspect of trying to find Hitch in each of his films (though sometimes I do cheat). I like the fact that he was working in black/white all the way until the mid 1950's ("Dial M For Murder" released in 1954 is really the first color film he did). I believe that he goes back into black/white for "Psycho" but since I have yet to see that film, I don't know. I also dig that he does a lot of in-can editing.
So do you have a favorite Hitchcock? Keep your eyes here as I hope to review each of his films in chronological order. That will be fun!!
what and why?
ciao, krl
I would have to say "Vertigo" is my all time favorite Hitchcock film. I love Jimmy Stewart but the atmosphere of the movie is captivating.
ReplyDeleteAlthough, each one of them has a special place in my heart. I love Hitchcock and have since I was 12.
I've seen Vertigo probably twice. It is coming up in my chronological viewing of The Hitch. At this point I don't think I would consider it my favorite, but I look forward to seeing it again. At this point I don't know if I have a favorite - I really like "Lifeboat" and "The Trouble With Harry" but so far...it might be "Rope" that I'm liking the most.
ReplyDeletei haven't seen everything he's done, but i've seen a good amount and my favorite is easily "notorious." such amazing photography, almost on par with Toland/Welles. masterful! i would pretty much kill to know what the hell happened to my Criterion edition of this. i took a high school date to "vertigo" at the uptown back in 1996. neither of really "got" it then.
ReplyDeleteMy viewing of Hitchcock is woefully incomplete, something I'm trying to remedy. For now, I'd probably say Psycho, but that might just be because I spent A LOT of time disecting it in a high school film class back in the day.
ReplyDeleteI probably made a mistake with Psycho. I watched one of the AFI Scariest movies...and caught the end/secret bit about Psycho. So - since I knew how it ended, I decided to watch the remake - which i thought was alright, but...
ReplyDeleteI still thought it was a good movie, but the end wasn't as shocking as it should have been.
Thankfully, I got see it the first time without the ending spoiled, but of course, I knew Janet Leigh's fate going in.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I wish I could have seen it like audiences in the 60s did, and been similarily shocked at what happens to the main character by the end of the first act.