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Vertigo, one of Hitchcock's most brilliant movies
In honor of Alfred Hitchcock's birthday on August 13, I have compiled a list of his best and most well-known films. It's pretty difficult to pick the films that should go on this list, as he directed over 60 films in over 50 years. In fact, about 10 of his movies are on the top 250 list on Internet Movie Database.
Since there are so many movies in Hitchcock's legacy, I am sure there will be something to strike your fancy. Drive over to your local video store and rent some of these classic suspense movies tonight!
My favorite Hitchcock flick, Vertigo, is among his most famous. Jimmy Stewart plays a man (suffering from acrophobia, or a fear of heights) who is asked to watch over a friend's wife, as she is thought to be crazy, and perhaps suicdal. The job becomes kind of complicated when Jimmy becomes obsessed with the woman as he spends more time with her. Of course, any Hitchcock list would not be complete without Psycho, a true horror classic that still holds its ground against the horror films of today. This movie is the sole reason why many of us cannot take showers with the curtains fully closed--because we are afraid some psycho-man in a wig is going to stab us to death! Then there is Rear Window, another fantastic suspense film. Jimmy Stewart stars as a man in a wheelchair who takes to spying on his neighbors since he hasn't got much else to do. He becomes convinced that one of them has killed somebody, and his quest to find the truth becomes very dangerous. And The Birds, what can be said about this film? It scarred me for life--every time I see a large group of birds flying I think I am about to get pecked to death. This film is still pretty creepy today.
How about Dial M for Murder? It tells the story of a plotted murder gone wrong and a man's attempt to correct things. North by Northwest is a case of mistaken identity (I'm sensing a theme here), as a man is mistaken for a goverment agent, then followed across the country by the government and the spies who found him in the first place. Rope sounds like a movie that would have been made today, not in 1948. Two friends kill their other friend and then hold a dinner party (at which several of the dead friend's family and friends are present). One of the guys starts dropping hints to the guests, since he thinks it's fun to see if they can figure out the murder, but the other murderer becomes more cautious. Rebecca is a mystery romance; a man and a woman get married, but the memory of the man's dead ex-wife still has a grip on him and everyone else at the house, causing problems for the new wife. In The Man Who Knew Too Much, a family discovers an assassination plot, and those involved do anything and everything to keep the family from butting in.
Then there are those that you may not have heard of. The first four of these are present on the top 250 list I mentioned earlier. The other four I hadn't heard of but they sounded interesting. Strangers on a Train is about two people who meet on a train; one of the people suggests that together they could get away with murder, and a plan is set into action. In The Lady Vanishes, a girl is travelling on a train and meets an older lady; this lady disappears and the girl scrambles to find out what happened to her. Shadow of a Doubt is about a young woman who is expecting a visit from her uncle, but it is becoming apparent that he may be suspected of murder. Notorious is a film-noir thriller with a bit of romance; in this film a woman is asked to spy on some Nazis for the government, but she finds she may have to go to some extremes to do her job. Family Plot, which is the last movie Hitchcock directed before his death, tells the story of a con-couple and their encounter with a couple who kidnaps folks. Frenzy is about the "necktie murderer" and a case of mistaken identity. A man is assumed to be the killer, but he isn't so he tries to prove his innocence. Other notable Hitchcock films include Spellbound (a romance thriller about a psychiatrist and her amnesiac patient accused of murder), The Wrong Man (another mistaken identity case where a man is taken to be a criminal), and To Catch a Thief (an ex-jewelry thief is thought to be stealing again, so he has to find the real thief to prove he's innocent).
Whether you have seen everything by Alfred Hitchcock or you are new to his work, he still remains one of the great directors, even almost 30 years after his death. So, happy birthday, Mr. Hitchcock! May your films be praised for another 30 years.
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