The Zone

by **havocSchultz** on Sat Dec 17, 2005 1:01 pm

okay - in a brief look through the site - don't think i found a discussion - or at least a current one on Hitchcock - so - i figured i'd throw it out there - with a poll - and guage yous guys' opinions on what is Alfred's greates film and why - and where (if so) he might've had a mis-step along the way...

in my opinion - Rear Window is just completely and utterly damn brilliant... but i haven't seen alot of the really early stuff... so go at it with gusto...w

by **Shane** on Sat Dec 17, 2005 1:03 pm

|It's been a while but I voted for vertigo, which makes me want to go rent it tonight.

|Hey what was that one he did that was all in one room?

that was hitchcock right?

by **havocSchultz** on Sat Dec 17, 2005 1:05 pm

Shane wrote:|It's been a while but I voted for vertigo, which makes me want to go rent it tonight.

|Hey what was that one he did that was all in one room?

that was hitchcock right?

i believe that was Rope - it was originally marketed as done all in one take - but it was later revealed that is was a small number of LONG takes and subtley cut where you couldn't really notice - not bad film - good to check out for the technique and direction at least...

by **Pops Freshenmeyer** on Sat Dec 17, 2005 1:06 pm

Yeah, that was Rope, 1948. His first color film, very few cuts. The whole film must be 10-15 very long takes strung together.

by **havocSchultz** on Sat Dec 17, 2005 1:10 pm

Pops Freshenmeyer wrote:Yeah, that was Rope, 1948. His first color film, very few cuts. The whole film must be 10-15 very long takes strung together.

yeah - it's been awhile - like i said - from what i remember - the movie was meh - but on a technical/directorial level - extremely well done...

by **Shane** on Sat Dec 17, 2005 1:16 pm

havocSchultz wrote:
Shane wrote:|It's been a while but I voted for vertigo, which makes me want to go rent it tonight.

|Hey what was that one he did that was all in one room?

that was hitchcock right?

i believe that was Rope - it was originally marketed as done all in one take - but it was later revealed that is was a small number of LONG takes and subtley cut where you couldn't really notice - not bad film - good to check out for the technique and direction at least...

wow that is an awesome concept.

I need to rent that too.

I never have seen it, just scenes from it. |It's got a part where it like goes black for a while, and there is a fight or something in the dark that you can't see right?

by **havocSchultz** on Sat Dec 17, 2005 1:27 pm

Shane wrote:
havocSchultz wrote:
Shane wrote:|It's been a while but I voted for vertigo, which makes me want to go rent it tonight.

|Hey what was that one he did that was all in one room?

that was hitchcock right?

i believe that was Rope - it was originally marketed as done all in one take - but it was later revealed that is was a small number of LONG takes and subtley cut where you couldn't really notice - not bad film - good to check out for the technique and direction at least...

wow that is an awesome concept.

I need to rent that too.

I never have seen it, just scenes from it. |It's got a part where it like goes black for a while, and there is a fight or something in the dark that you can't see right?

come to think of it - re-reading your initial post - Rear Window pretty much took place all in one room - with Jimmy Stewart in a wheelchair looking into other apartments... the fight in the darkness sounds familiar... now i confused cause it's been so long since i went on my hitchcock binge... i spent a whole weekend watching about 9 or 10 of his films with just some substances to keep me going... either way - both worthy of checking out - Rear Window is absolute brilliance... Grace Kelly is so fucking gorgeous in that movie...

by **Shane** on Sat Dec 17, 2005 1:30 pm

I know it's not rear window I was thinking of.

It was a woman in a basement or a house or something.

by **bluebottle** on Sat Dec 17, 2005 1:31 pm

North by Northwest.

I'm a big fan of Cary Grant, and i think his work with Hitch was some of his best, and he peaked with this film. The perfect "Wrong Guy" plot.

The ONLY thing I wish was different: Grace Kelly instead of Eva Marie Saint. I love EMS, but it was supposed to be Grace Kelly - it should have been Grace Kelly.

by **havocSchultz** on Sat Dec 17, 2005 1:33 pm

Bluebottle wrote:The ONLY thing I wish was different: Grace Kelly instead of Eva Marie Saint. I love EMS, but it was supposed to be Grace Kelly - it should have been Grace Kelly.

damn i love Grace Kelly - 2nd favorite "all-time" actress - right behind Ingrid Bergman...

by **bluebottle** on Sat Dec 17, 2005 1:35 pm

she was a true "movie star".

by **Shane** on Sat Dec 17, 2005 1:38 pm

Bluebottle wrote:North by Northwest.

I'm a big fan of Cary Grant, and i think his work with Hitch was some of his best, and he peaked with this film. The perfect "Wrong Guy" plot.

The ONLY thing I wish was different: Grace Kelly instead of Eva Marie Saint. I love EMS, but it was supposed to be Grace Kelly - it should have been Grace Kelly.

|Yeah!

That's it!

by **havocSchultz** on Sat Dec 17, 2005 1:40 pm

Bluebottle wrote:she was a true "movie star".

they don't make 'em like the used to... Hitch was the man at making women look in-humanly beautiful on film...

by **Shane** on Sat Dec 17, 2005 1:46 pm

Yeah all these actresses now days have nothing on Grace Kelly, or Audrey Hepburn, or |Judy Garland.

The women on film then were just of a higher class and caliber

by **havocSchultz** on Sat Dec 17, 2005 6:27 pm

Shane wrote:Yeah all these actresses now days have nothing on Grace Kelly, or Audrey Hepburn, or |Judy Garland.

The women on film then were just of a higher class and caliber

...or Ingrid Bergman... come on! give some love to ILSA... sorry - i got a little excited there... like i mentioned before - she's tops in my books - followed closely by Grace Kelly... hmmmm time to break out the old copy of Gaslight again...

by **thomasgaffney** on Sat Dec 17, 2005 6:34 pm

Rear Window.

by **havocSchultz** on Sat Dec 17, 2005 6:37 pm

thomasgaffney wrote:Rear Window.

damn straight mofos...

by **Shane** on Sat Dec 17, 2005 6:38 pm

man, all this talk has me wanting to watch some hitchcock.

I'm going to have to go to blockbuster tonight.

by **bluebottle** on Sat Dec 17, 2005 6:40 pm

I've always loved "Trouble with Harry". I thought it was quite successful as a dark comedy, and i always wished he had tried his hand at another film like that.

by **havocSchultz** on Sat Dec 17, 2005 6:48 pm

Shane wrote:man, all this talk has me wanting to watch some hitchcock.

I'm going to have to go to blockbuster tonight.

i don't think you can every have too much hitchcock... him and kubrick are 2 of my favorite and most respected filmmakers - i just think Hitchcock is a little more "approachable" in a film viewing sort of way...

by **havocSchultz** on Sat Dec 17, 2005 6:50 pm

Bluebottle wrote:I've always loved "Trouble with Grande Rojo". I thought it was quite successful as a dark comedy, and i always wished he had tried his hand at another film like that.

ya - i hear ya... it is extrmely underrated - and i think i've read some things somewhere tha a lot of critics thought it was a misstep for him - either way - a hitchcock misstep is still one of the most enjoyable films ever made... but a few more along the lines of dark comedy would've been good to see from him - hitch had a killer fucking sense of humor... just look at psycho...

by **Brocktune** on Sat Dec 17, 2005 7:34 pm

rebecca
you just cant top olivier
and fuck jimmy stewart.

by **Cabiria** on Sat Dec 17, 2005 11:26 pm

Hitch is so hard to really decide a 'best' of. Hell, there's about 15 films up there that are masterpieces, or nearly so.

As much as I love ripping apart films like Psycho, Notorious, and Shadow of a Doubt for the intricate shots and careful planning, something about Lifeboat always makes me happy. It's pure propaganda, but manages to say a lot about the War Effort of the 1940s that other, more blatant films couldn't manage. Plus, you've got the luminous Tallulah as the queen b*tch, a story by that 'hack' John Steinbeck, and possibly the best Hitch cameo of them all.

It's not the intellectual choice (which is probably Rear Window), but I still dig it.

by **Adam Balm** on Sat Dec 17, 2005 11:58 pm

Torn Curtain's one of my favorite movies of all time. As far as how it ranks with most Hitchcock fans, this movie usually isn't even on their B list, but man do I love the thing like a three legged dog....

by **havocSchultz** on Sun Dec 18, 2005 1:58 am

Adam Balm wrote:Torn Curtain's one of my favorite movies of all time. As far as how it ranks with most Hitchcock fans, this movie usually isn't even on their B list, but man do I love the thing like a three legged dog....

interesting... hmmm... what gives you so much love and tingles for Torn Curtain... just curious is all... it's one of those of his on my list to check out... alas - i started with hitchcock late - so - of course - i started with the "big" ones and then keep making my way through... but i would like to hear your thoughts on Torn Curtain...

by **havocSchultz** on Sat Feb 04, 2006 12:39 pm

*bump*

because there has been some Hitchcock love shown lately - from the Young Hitchcock in Love thread about a movie of life - and the recentyly started Jamaica Inn thread... now we can get more people's opinion on (arguably) the greatest director to have ever directed...

now discuss dammit!

:lol:

by **ZombieZoneSolutions** on Sat Feb 04, 2006 12:44 pm

I went with Psycho cause the sledgehammer subtle Fruedian analysis at the end of the film is totally hilarious. Plus, it's a great film that ultimately inspired Texas Chainsaw Massacre (think about it; its the next logical step in exploitation filmmaking). And, in historical context, it really freaked the fuck out of people. Not unlike Night of the Living Dead would do just a few years later.

by **Dark Knight** on Sat Feb 04, 2006 12:52 pm

Rear Window specifically for its production design. Movies just don't look that good any more if that makes any sense

by **HollywoodBabylon** on Sat Feb 04, 2006 3:37 pm

'Strangers On A Train' is one of Hitch's darkest and most underrated movies.
I think Robert Walker's performance as Bruno is amazing - by turns demented, camp and geniunely scary - a rare case in a Hitch movie where the actor, not the director, makes the movie great.

by **Peven** on Sat Feb 04, 2006 3:43 pm

"Rear Window" edges out "North by Northwest" for me.

by **minstrel** on Sat Feb 04, 2006 3:52 pm

And North by Northwest edges out Rear Window for me.

I also like Rope and Dial M for Murder.

by **havocSchultz** on Sat Feb 04, 2006 6:54 pm

minstrel wrote:And North by Northwest edges out Rear Window for me.

I also like Rope and Dial M for Murder.

rope was really good - at least an "A" for effort - the movie itself wasn't great - but the way Hitch filmed it all - with only a couple of long shots - with a couple of small edits - brilliant...

by **Seppuku** on Sat Feb 04, 2006 9:10 pm

This has been the hardest poll for me to answer out of all the polls in the Zone (except the What's Your Favourite Species of Monkey poll, fuck me I still have no idea how to even begin answering that one...I ended up with Spider Monkeys because they're so cute, but come to think of it Howler Monkeys are also deserving of a vote. Damn).

Having looked at all the names all laid-out like that, I found myself leaning away from the obvious choices. North by Northwest and Vertigo may be brilliant and rewatchable, but I don't think they're my favourite Hitch films. I ended up voting for Rebecca. First because Joan Fontaine looks like she's been cut from The Divine Log of Beauty with Thor's Hammer&Chisel...which is my way of saying she looks hot. And secondly, Laurence Olivier is great in this movie as a spooked count who seems haunted by the death of his wife. Up until the final twist (come on this is Hitch, the guy who had an affair with an Indian sitar player to produce M Night Shyamalan), the movie is as eerie as anything he's done. Yeah, I'm glad I voted for this movie, it's a classic. The thing is, when I first caught it on TV one time, I thought it was far too dry for my tastes, but then I found out it was made by Hitch and gave it another shot and was surprised by how much I loved it.

by **havocSchultz** on Sun Feb 05, 2006 11:50 am

seppukudkurosawa wrote:This has been the hardest poll for me to answer out of all the polls in the Zone (except the What's Your Favourite Species of Monkey poll, fuck me I still have no idea how to even begin answering that one...I ended up with Spider Monkeys because they're so cute, but come to think of it Howler Monkeys are also deserving of a vote. Damn).

Having looked at all the names all laid-out like that, I found myself leaning away from the obvious choices. North by Northwest and Vertigo may be brilliant and rewatchable, but I don't think they're my favourite Hitch films. I ended up voting for Rebecca. First because Joan Fontaine looks like she's been cut from The Divine Log of Beauty with Thor's Hammer&Chisel...which is my way of saying she looks hot. And secondly, Laurence Olivier is great in this movie as a spooked count who seems haunted by the death of his wife. Up until the final twist (come on this is Hitch, the guy who had an affair with an Indian sitar player to produce M Night Shyamalan), the movie is as eerie as anything he's done. Yeah, I'm glad I voted for this movie, it's a classic. The thing is, when I first caught it on TV one time, I thought it was far too dry for my tastes, but then I found out it was made by Hitch and gave it another shot and was surprised by how much I loved it.

you should've voted for the sumatran Rat Monkey... d00ch....

and good choice/reasoning behind Rebecca... this poll was tough for me to put up - just cause i knew i'd have to pick one - and i think it is impossible to pick one Hitch film that you love the most... depends exactely what mood you're in and what you wanna watch - like i mentioned a few months ago in an earlier post - a mis-step or "bad" film by Hitch - is better than most other filmmakers best films...

by **Seppuku** on Sun Feb 05, 2006 12:07 pm

True, there's a Hitch film for all occasions: you might not really be feeling up for the emotional sucker-punch that is Vertigo so why not check out something a little easier to watch like The 39 Steps or The Young and Innocent; or maybe you've got a yen for a doomed romance, well just put on Notorious, and if you want to see something completely "fuckered" well give Spellbound a spin. I love Hitch, and I'm just glad his daddy sent him over to that police station when he was a naughty boy, where he was kept in a cell for a few hours, because this experience shaped our Hitch into being what he is. That and waking up with a dead hooker one morning and frantically trying to get rid of the evidence, but it turns out the hooker was a spy working for the KGB, who were then sent on Hitch's trail but he escaped into a movie theatre where he got the idea to become a director. This is something all those dry-as-hell Hitch biographies miss out.

(Also, having referred to Hitchcock as Hitch so much, I will now balance the Universal Chi by calling him plain old Cock).

by **Crippled Avenger** on Sun Feb 05, 2006 12:44 pm

While my favorite film that was ever credited to Hitch is Jamaica Inn, as of a couple days ago, I don't consider and recently found out that Hitch himself doesn't that consider a Hitch film. So my favorite Hitch film is definitely Rope. More than just a stunt, I think Rope is the clearest, most direct expression of Hitch's obsession with murder and its personal consequences for the murderer(s). I truly admire dozens of Hitch's classics, but only love a handful (Birds, Lifeboat, Vertigo, Rebecca, To Catch a Thief).

The thing with Hitch is, I often feel when I'm watching his films a kind of tightening around my throat. I think it's because every single frame was meticulously crafted and controlled to look exactly like it was supposed to look in Hitch's mind, that I just feel a kind of strangulation of spontaneity and freedom on the set and in the final film. Incidentally, I feel the same thing when I watch Kubrick and Tarantino (but not, interestingly, Kurosawa, who was equally meticulous, planned, and obsessively controlling of every aspect of production). Their films are among the most well-crafted I've ever seen, but I've found over the years that some films can be over-perfect, and that this takes some of the life out of them. It's tough to put into words. I dearly love the films of these directors, but when I watch less-perfect films, ones with mistakes and choices that could have been better, I find a more pulsing life within them. Does anyone know what I'm talking about? (And the $1 million dollar question--why would Kurosawa not communicate that same strangling of freedom and spontaneity despite being just as over-perfectionistic as these other directors?).

by **Crippled Avenger** on Sun Feb 05, 2006 12:52 pm

seppukudkurosawa's post was hilarious. That's exactly what Cock's biography should have been. That would actually be a fun post to start. Fictional biographies of directors that 'explain' the obsessions that they returned to many times over their films. That description of Cock perfectly summarized in a couple sentences what film studies profs try to discuss in hundreds of pages. Seppudukkurosawa: You should start a post with that thread and open it up to other directors.

by **havocSchultz** on Sun Feb 05, 2006 3:55 pm

Crippled Avenger wrote:seppukudkurosawa's post was hilarious. That's exactly what Cock's biography should have been. That would actually be a fun post to start. Fictional biographies of directors that 'explain' the obsessions that they returned to many times over their films. That description of Cock perfectly summarized in a couple sentences what film studies profs try to discuss in hundreds of pages. Seppudukkurosawa: You should start a post with that thread and open it up to other directors.

please - don't egg Seppuku on - he might just have to be b4nn3d again then...

j/k...
not like it would actually take anything for him to be b4nn3d again... :wink:

by **colonel_lugz** on Sun Feb 05, 2006 4:00 pm

You forget just how many films he actually did, I wasn't expecting the list to be that long, but its not that surprising when you look at the films. My personal favourite is Rear Window, such an amazing film, I never get bored of it. I also re-watched Strangers on a Train yesterday, although it kinda irritates me due to multiple watches in film studies, its still a great film.

by **PeachWild** on Sun Feb 12, 2006 12:31 am

Vertigo is the most affective slow-burn in cinema history as far as I can tell. The necrophilia aspect and the sick implications of him trying to re-create a dead woman on top of someone else (who is the actual woman) is just so utterly fucked up and twisted. That movie gets in your head space so hard. I like how ponderous it is until that insane dream-sequence, then it all sort of spirals out of control....what an incredible and timeless film. I am really surprised North by Northwest gets more love than Psycho, Rear Window, and Shadow of a Doubt. I was never a fan of North by Northwest. Its ending felt too James Bondish and cheesy on Mount Rushmore...and I didn't think there was that much interesting shit going on. It was alright. Torn Curtain is not that great...Julie Andrews is miscast and the bus chase feels tacked on and gimmicky. What is that movie even about? Alright...procrastinating.....i'm done here

by **Shane** on Fri Apr 14, 2006 7:49 am

I just bought Blackmail which claims to be his first talking film. I am getting into some of his earlier work now, but I think I am going to pursue some of the T.V. series stuff next.

by **magicmonkey** on Fri Apr 14, 2006 9:13 am

The 39 Steps. Love that movie. Its almost Kubrickian in its excellence.

by **Shane** on Fri Apr 14, 2006 10:10 am

magicmonkey wrote:The 39 Steps. Love that movie. Its almost Kubrickian in its excellence.

Is that one of his silent films?

I saw it in the store for three bucks and almost bought it, I just might go up there and pick it up today. At the truck stop down the highway they have piles of old Hichcock DVD's for three bucks.

by **magicmonkey** on Fri Apr 14, 2006 10:30 am

Shane wrote:
magicmonkey wrote:The 39 Steps. Love that movie. Its almost Kubrickian in its excellence.

Is that one of his silent films?

I saw it in the store for three bucks and almost bought it, I just might go up there and pick it up today. At the truck stop down the highway they have piles of old Hichcock DVD's for three bucks.

Wow, yeah go for it! Its fully sound-o-rama too. I love the film to bits, well worth the $3. Enjoy. Its got an amazingly steamy scene in it too, Hitchcock was such a master of the ribald.

by **thomasgaffney** on Fri Apr 14, 2006 10:33 am

The poll at the top wrote:what is the greatest Hitchcock film?

The one that's better than anything Kubrick, Kurosawa, Scorsese, or Spielberg ever did. Oh wait..... Is that a different poll?

by **havocSchultz** on Fri Apr 14, 2006 10:47 am

thomasgaffney wrote:
The poll at the top wrote:what is the greatest Hitchcock film?

The one that's better than anything Kubrick, Kurosawa, Scorsese, or Spielberg ever did. Oh wait..... Is that a different poll?

hahahahahha...HITCH(cock)ILASH...

by **Shane** on Thu Apr 20, 2006 10:24 am

thomasgaffney wrote:
The poll at the top wrote:what is the greatest Hitchcock film?

The one that's better than anything Kubrick, Kurosawa, Scorsese, or Spielberg ever did. Oh wait..... Is that a different poll?

Scorsese did lots of allright movies, but Taxi Driver is my favorite fim ever. Spielberg has yet to impress me, I've never been much of a film. Kubrick has done some great stuff from time to time, but I don't put Hitchcock in the same category. He was doing a different type of film. |I can see Scorsese as a modern Hitchcock more than any of them, but still it's a far cry.

by **zarandi** on Sun May 07, 2006 12:50 pm

I like Scorsese just as much as Hitchcock.

by **Ribbons** on Thu Dec 13, 2007 1:45 am

Alfred Hitchcock's cure for insomnia

by **Cpt Kirks 2pay** on Thu Dec 13, 2007 12:02 pm

Well I saw Rear Window and Vertigo finally the last week. Mainly for James Stewart as I think the guy is so enjoyable to watch.

I haven't seen many Hitchcock films and to be frank, the hype around him, albeit needed as he is supposed to be so great, actually gets on my fucking tits! Mainly because they're spoiling all the greatness of the Cock and spelling it all out for you, and not letting you discover it for yourself. It's OVER word of mouth for me, if you know what I mean.

But what I'm trying to say, is that I loved these 2 films, so solid and perfect, so damn edge of your seat all the way through and full of gripping suspense blah blah blah but also more importantly, in the case of Vertigo, so fascinating and even scary an examination of the characters' psychology. These films I thought were perfect, you don't get films that feel so complete as these 2 were, yet still delievered the entertainment so convincing and effortlessly.

But now completing what I'm trying to say in regards to the cock hype. If I tuned into all of that, and even watched something as small as the trailer for these 2 films, the stories of which I knew little about, all of that would TOTALLY have ruined the films for me. As they would have revealed too much of the story, all the twists and shocks that you should otherwise just have discovered on your own.

I think Hitchcock would be turning in his grave if he was watching all his movie tributes or hype for his films and how they would potentially be ruining the point of them.

Anyway, after a handful of his films in so far, I have to say....

I LOVE THE COCK!!!!!!!!!

The Zone

Films of The (Hitch)Cock (with Poll)

what is the greatest Hitchcock film?

Films of The (Hitch)Cock (with Poll)

Lifeboat

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