CC00003: Alfred Hitchcock
Submitted by lbangs on Tue, 02/20/2001 - 09:16
Tags:
- Strangers on a Train (10)
- Rear Window (10)
- Vertigo (10)
- Psycho (10)
- The 39 Steps (10)
- The Lady Vanishes (10)
- Notorious (10)
- North by Northwest (10)
- Foreign Correspondent (10)
- Rebecca (10)
- The Wrong Man (9.5)
- Suspicion (9.5)
- Spellbound (9.5)
- The Birds (9.5)
- Blackmail (9)
- Shadow of a Doubt (9)
- Lifeboat (9)
- To Catch a Thief (9)
- Marnie (8.5)
- Murder (8)
- The Man Who Knew Too Much [34] (8)
- Stage Fright (8)
- The Man Who Knew Too Much [56] (8)
- The Secret Agent (7.5)
- Sabotage (7.5)
- Rope (7.5)
- Dial M for Murder (7.5)
- Number 17 (7)
- Saboteur (7)
- The Trouble with Harry (7)
- Frenzy (7)
- The Lodger (6.5)
- Young and Innocent (6.5)
- Mr. and Mrs. Smith (6.5)
- Family Plot (6.5)
- Torn Curtain (6)
- Topaz (6)
- Rich and Strange (5.5)
- The Paradine Case (5.5)
- I Confess (5.5)
- Juno and the Paycock (5)
- Jamaica Inn (4.5)
- Under Capricorn (4.5)
- The Skin Game (3.5)
Author Comments:
This is the third in a new series I call Critical Consensus. I am averaging the opinions of several excellent film critics to produce a list of each director's films. The films will each have a rating between 1 and 10. The films will be listed in a recommended viewing order, so new fans will have an idea of where the best place to start watching a director's work is. These are not my opinions, although, since I have chosen the critics used (and I'm using many), my taste will perhaps seep through a bit.
Terribly nerdy, I know, but maybe this will help people only now beginning to dabble into certain directors' bodies of work.
Odd thing popped into my mind while I pondered this list: The Simpsons have paid homage to Rear Window (Bart thinks Ned Flanders has murdered Maud Flanders), Vertigo (Principal Skinner woos Aunt Selma), and Psycho (Maggie hammers Homer after seeing Itchy & Scratchy), but I don't recall them having done so for Strangers on a Train.
Evidence that Strangers on a Train should be bumped down the list a few notches. :) Actually, I've never seen it, so I have to add it to my "to see" list right now.
If the Simpsons haven't riffed on it, does it exist? I'm not sure...
Ordering all ten of Hitchcock's 10s was one of the most difficult tasks I have encountered CCing so far. Strangers on a Train landed on top for two reasons. First, in all the many critical reviews I read for it, not a single one had anything negative to say about the film (except for the tacked-on American ending, which lasts about a minute; the DVD has the British version as well as the American one, and I believe the ending is the only real difference between the two). Even Vertigo receive a few gentle jabs for plotting problems, but nary a word against Strangers.
Second, Strangers on a Train seems to incorporate more of Hitchcock's trademark qualities than any other film. Suspense, drama, demented psyches, sexual quirks, touches of horror - all are present in Strangers, making it, in my opinion, as good as an introduction to Hitchcock's world as any film. Hitchcock made better films, perhaps, but never did so many of his favorite styles and subjects converge in one film as they do in Strangers.
And if anyone had any thoughts about these lists being simply my opinions in disguise, I direct them to Vertigo's 10 rating! ;)
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
P.S. - Thanks for the kind words at the front; sometimes I wonder if these lists amuse, help, or enlighten anybody except myself! Your and Bertie's comments have convinced to continue. Thanks to both of you!
Yes, it's definitely a film to see :-) But seriously, let me make that more emphatic: I wasn't suggesting that it doesn't belong at the sharp end of the list - it is classic Hitchcock (if that's not redundant).
Of all the 10s, the only one I was disappointed with was Vertigo. I might also move FC and LV down one point, but that is being nit-picky. I like seeing Wrong Man so high; I believe it is highly underrated. It's very intense and an easy movie to identify with. No surprise on the low grades of UC, I Confess, and TPC; aal 3 were extremely disappointing and rather dull. I am fond of both Frenzy and Family Plot; however, they are not masterpieces compared to the great ones. I have not seen many early Hitchcock's although I did enjoy Number 17 and Murder. Bottom line, excellent job on the list. Have you considered Billy Wilder, Spielberg, Kubrick, Capra, or John Ford lists?
I neglected to read that these ratings were solely based on critics. My bad! Anyway, still great job, and ditto on Vertigo.
Hey, are you peeking at my to-do list?
Billy Wilder is next on the list, with Scorsese and Kubrick close behind. I believe Spielberg is also up there pretty high. Capra and Ford were a little bit further down, but since you mentioned them, I'll move them up. I love requests.
Thanks for the compliments. Hopefully, I'll have Wilder up by mid-day tomorrow.
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
Oh, by the way, I have to say that I agree with your opinions concerning the outcome of the CC list. Actually, there are quite a few films I could lower a point or two, not to mention a few (Rope, for example), I could elevate a bit. I'll only disagree about Frenzy and Family Plot; I guess I am one of those old, cranky critics who can pass on anything Hitchcock created after the Birds, although Frenzy is easily one of the best of that later batch.
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
I love these CC lists for many reasons, but the one that leaps to mind at the moment is that they remind me of how cinematically illiterate I am (there should be a word for that). I've only seen six from this list...
I relate. It is very humbling to approach a director you believe you know pretty well only to discover many films you had forgotten all about and have never seen! I need to get my DVD player humming!
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs