The List below is not a definitive list and it would probably cause debate in any film circles. It is simply my top 10 list of Hitchcock films, not because they have the greatest cinematography or actors. They just happen to be the ones I feel are the most enjoyable and moved me, it is a personal list.
Considered a classic and one of the greatest movies of all time by many it is the story of a retired detective (James Stewart) who investigates the moves of a friends wife only to become besotted with her to a dangerous level.
9 - Strangers on a Train (1951)
A tennis player gets more than he bargains for when he sits next to a psychotic man on a train who begins to tell him how 2 complete strangers could get away with a murder. Disturbing as this is, the situation worsens when the stranger intends to carry out the murder.
8 - Lifeboat (1944)
A war film of sorts involving the survivors of a sunken ship torpedoed by the Germans. The whole film takes place on the lifeboat, with the survivors fighting to stay alive and against their better judgement when they discover the captain of the ship that sank them is on their boat.7 - North by Northwest (1959)
Cary Grant is a man on his way to lunch when he is kidnapped and mistaken for a government agent by a group of foreign spies led by James Mason. Grant flees across the country trying to clear his name and escape being killed.6 - Rope (1948)
Shot in long 10 minute takes in one apartment rather like a stage play, Rope follows 2 men who murder a friend for the thrill of it and then
immediately have a dinner party with the body of the victim in a chest on which the food is served. All is going fine until the arrival of their old teacher (James Stewart) who suspects something.5 - Dial M for Murder (1954)
An ex tennis player (Ray Milland) struggling for money decides to kill his wife (Grace Kelly) for her insurance policy. When this plan fails he executes an intricate plan B.
4 - Rebecca (1940)
Joan Fontaine meets and falls in love with a mysterious gentleman called Maxim de Winter. They marry and he takes her home to Manderley his large estate. The house and Maxim are still under the shadow of the former Mrs de Winter; Rebecca. Fontaine must find a way of helping her husband and ridding the house of the memories of Rebecca.
3 - The Birds (1963)
Hitchcock's new muse Tippi Hedren is a socialite from San Francisco who follows a crush to his small home town. Only for the whole place to be attacked by hundreds and thousands of birds.
2 - Rear Window (1954)
James Stewart is a photographer confined to his apartment due to a broken leg in a full cast. In his boredom he watches the neighbors in the opposite apartments. Things become more interesting when he thinks his neighbor has committed a murder.
1 - Psycho (1960)
Probably his most famous film Psycho follows Janet Leigh as a secretary who steals $40,000 from her employer. She goes on the run but changes her mind, she stays in a motel for the night, run by a strange solitary young man with an unhealthy relationship with his mother. Things do not go the way she planned.
Well thats my list, it wasn't too difficult but there could have been quite a few others included. Hitchcock is an absolute master at his craft and if there is even one film on this list you haven't seen I would make sure it goes on your list of films to watch.
What do you think of the list, do you agree?
Would you put something else at number 1?
Would you even put some of Hitchcock's other great films in this list instead?
Let me know your thoughts, I'd love to hear what your list would be.
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