108 years ago today, Alfred Hitchcock was born.

[edbermac]

Among the Master's better known efforts:

1927 The Lodger
1929 Blackmail
1934 The Man Who Knew Too Much
1935 The 39 Steps
1938 The Lady Vanishes
1940 Foreign Correspondent
1940 Rebecca
1943 Shadow of a Doubt
1946 Notorious
1951 Strangers on a Train
1954 Rear Window
1956 The Man Who Knew Too Much (remake)
1958 Vertigo
1959 North by Northwest
1960 Psycho
1963 The Birds
1972 Frenzy

[Starbucks Anarchist]

1. One of the greatest.

:toast:

[Dragonbreathp9d]

2. best director ever

[kay1864]

3. *sniff*

I found "The Last Days of Alfred Hitchcock" quite interesting, by the author of what would have been his next film after Family Plot. Shows how closely Hitch collaborated with his screenplay writers.

[begin_within]

4. 'Psycho' is my favorite, a complex drama with many things going on simultaneously

But I like all of his films that I have seen so far. Probably Vertigo would be my 2nd favorite. Hitchcock really knew how to maniuplate an audience, and keep them slightly baffled, while still moving the story along anyway. I happen to think 'Psycho' is the best-crafted film of all time. Every aspect is perfectly executed, including the story, script, acting, camera work, editing, background music... all of it works together better than any other film I have seen. And the overlapping themes of greed, sex, voyeurism, secrets, running and hiding, the dark side of humanity that lies just beneath the placid veneer of 20th century America - make the film watchable over and over again. I recently played the DVD of it to a married couple, both 22 years old, and they were transfixed by it from beginning to end - this proved to me what a brilliant piece of work it remains, even 47 years after it was made.

[volstork]

5. The thing that really got me

about "Psycho" was the complete randomness of it all. Think back to the opening shot as the camera moves in to a seemingly random window in a seemingly random building in the Phoenix skyline. Shows that horror can lurk anywhere...
I miss Hitch-- he is my favorite filmmaker of all time. There will never be another like him!

[begin_within]

6. Yes, great opening. It's also the first reference to the voyeurism theme.

In the opening shot, the camera is spying on the lunchtime hanky-panky session between Janet Leigh and John Gavin, or at least the aftermath of it. Everyone is spying on poor Janet Leigh throughout the film. Her boss spots her driving when she's supposed to be at the doctor's office. The highway patrol officer spies on her silently, and follows her for a while after that, doing nothing but watch her. In the scene where Norman takes the picture off the wall and peers through the hole to watch her, Hitchcock wanted to make it clear that Norman was masturbating himself at that moment, but the censors wouldn't allow it so they just showed the eye spying. Even her murder is somewhat voyeuristic due to the nudity. She could have been murdered with her clothes on. Even after her character's demise, most of the rest of the film involves people looking for her. Hitchock's ultimate tribute to voyeurism is of course Rear Window.

[ghostsofgiants]

7. Hitchcock was one of the best.

Perhaps I'll watch a couple Hitchcock films tonight in celebration.