Alfred Hitchcock’s best movies, of which there are a record number for a director, balance their subject matter between dark psychology and thrilling adventure, but it is their brilliant and consistent cinematic technique that really propels the films.
He uses it most impressively in Vertigo, a haunting subjective study of love and death, and Rear Window, a witty and visually clever exploration of suspicion and human relationships. Psycho adds the elements of shock and morbidity to Hitchcock’s mix of suspense and cinema, and initiates an adversarial relationship between audiences and the director. North by Northwest is the summit of Hitchcock’s chase adventures, perfectly balancing suspense, surprise, romance and wit. Hitchcock experiments with horror in The Birds and Frenzy, extending the boundaries of subject matter for a genre that sometimes seems frozen in cliches. He emphasizes character and relationships in Shadow of a Doubt and Notorious, objectively but sympathetically analyzing the ironic specifics of human behavior. And Strangers on a Train combines all of his interests, psychology, adventure, romance and cinema, in a profound study of the impossibility of perfect innocence.
Dr. Steve Haberman is a screenwriter, author and film historian. He received his PhD in Film Studies from De Montfort University in Leicester, England, and earned his BA in Cinema from the University of Southern California.
See other ‘best of’ lists by Dr. Steve Haberman: Best Dracula Films, Best Frankenstein Films, Best Poe Films
- *** indicates available on Blu-ray
- ** indicates available on DVD
- * indicates No disc
Title | Year | IMDb Rating |
---|---|---|
**** Vertigo | 1958 | |
**** Rear Window | 1954 | |
**** Psycho | 1960 | |
*** North by Northwest | 1959 | |
*** Strangers on a Train | 1951 | |
*** Notorious | 1946 | |
**** Shadow of a Doubt | 1943 | |
*** Frenzy | 1972 | |
**** The Birds | 1963 | |
*** Lifeboat | 1944 | |
*** Foreign Correspondent | 1940 | |
*** The 39 Steps | 1935 | |
*** The Lady Vanishes | 1938 | |
13 titles |