15 Alfred Hitchcock films you need to know

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

The main films of the director with an IMDb rating of at least 7, 7.

On August 13, 1899, Alfred Hitchcock was born - the director who brought the thriller genre to a new level. In each of his paintings, using various techniques, he created a unique suspense - a feeling of tension and uncertainty. In addition, for a few seconds, Hitchcock always appeared in the frame.

1. Psycho

• USA, 1960.
• Psychological horror.
• Duration: 109 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 5.

The girl breaks up with a divorced man, steals money at work and leaves the city. On the way, she stops at a motel run by a nice young man, Norman Bates. But, as it turns out, he has a very strange relationship with his mother, who does not appear in the frame.

This film has long become a benchmark for thrillers. He is deservedly recognized as one of the best works of Hitchcock, and the name of the charming madman Norman Bates has already become a household name.

Later, other directors directed three sequels to the story, but no film was able to repeat the success of the original. In 1998, director Gus Van Sant re-shot Hitchcock's film frame by frame with other actors. And in 2013, the Bates Motel series was launched - a prequel to the story of Psycho, where the action was moved to our days.

2. Window to the courtyard

• USA, 1954.
• Detective, thriller.
• Duration: 112 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 5.

A professional photographer has to stay at home because of a broken leg. Out of boredom, he watches the neighbors from the window overlooking the courtyard. And gradually he begins to suspect that a murder has taken place in one of the apartments of the house opposite.

This film is interesting for its unusual approach to filming. Many events are shown here as if from the point of view of an outside observer - through a window. In addition, in addition to the detective story, quite everyday, but fascinating dramatic stories unfold in the windows.

3. Dizziness

• USA, 1958.
• Thriller, drama, detective.
• Duration: 128 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 3.

After the death of his partner, detective Scotty Ferguson develops acrophobia and frequent dizziness begins. An old acquaintance hires Ferguson as a private investigator to keep an eye on his wife. According to the customer, she wants to commit suicide. The detective saves the girl and realizes that he has fallen in love with her. But then things only get more complicated.

This film destroys the canons of a detective thriller. A dynamic scene is placed here at the beginning, but then the action develops very slowly, and there is no investigation as such in the film. It is also interesting that Hitchcock used visual effects that were innovative for those years in the screensaver.

4. North by Northwest

• USA, 1959.
• Adventure-spy thriller.
• Duration: 136 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 3.

The main character Roger Thornhill works as an advertising agent. But one day counterintelligence takes him for a mythical secret agent whom no one knows by sight. The secret services try to kill Roger, but a mysterious stranger helps him to escape.

The film is based on the real story of the Second World War. Then British intelligence came up with the image of a non-existent special agent and forced the enemies to spend time and effort looking for him.

5. In case of murder, dial "M"

• USA, 1954.
• Detective.
• Duration: 105 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 2.

A former tennis player, married to a wealthy heiress, begins to suspect his wife of infidelity. Fearing divorce and losing his fortune, he decides to kill his wife and comes up with a perfect plan that will provide him with one hundred percent alibi. The hero finds his old friend from college and by blackmail makes him go for murder. But even a perfect plan can fail.

This film is a fairly accurate adaptation of the play "The Phone Call" by Frederick Knott. Interestingly, Hitchcock did not adapt the plot for cinema. Almost all the action takes place in the same scenery, which creates the feeling of a theatrical performance. According to Hitchcock, this only helps to make the plot more intense.

6. Rebecca

• USA, 1940.
• Thriller.
• Duration: 130 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 1.

A year after the death of his wife Rebecca, the wealthy owner of the estate Maximilian de Winter finds himself a young lover. But the new Mrs. de Winter is reminded of Rebecca on all sides, especially the housekeeper Mrs Danvers. And this pressure is getting stronger.

According to many critics, Mrs Danvers embodies the image of a lesbian, although this is not directly stated. The film was even tested for compliance with the Hayes Code, which regulated the film's moral qualities. But officially there was nothing to complain about.

7. Rope

• USA, 1948.
• Thriller.
• Duration: 81 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 0.

Two friends kill their fellow student for fun. They strangle him with a rope, and hide the body in a chest. After that, the friends decide to throw a party in the same apartment and invite the murdered man's father, his fiancée and teacher to it. However, the murder weapon makes them realize the full horror of what they had done.

For Hitchcock, The Rope was an experimental project. He directed a color film for the first time, and with a minimum of editing glues. For this, even sliding decorations were built: they could be changed without stopping the camera. Therefore, the title "Rope" itself has several meanings here: it is both a murder weapon, and a metaphor for the connectedness of actions and consequences, and the very construction of the frame without gluing.

8. Strangers on the train

• USA, 1951.
• Noir thriller.
• Duration: 101 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 0.

Two strangers meet on the train and, in a fit of candor, share their troubles in life. The first wants to divorce his wife, while the other fiercely hates his father. As a result, one of the fellow travelers offers to commit the murders crosswise (each eliminates the one who interferes with the other). The beauty is that the customer will have an ironclad alibi and the killer will have no motive. The second rejects his offer, but then finds himself in a desperate situation.

In addition to the idea, which later was repeatedly repeated by other authors, the film was remembered by many for the scene with a crumbling carousel. Here Hitchcock again used the technologies that were advanced at that time. A miniature copy of the carousel was filmed separately and then neatly mounted into the frames.

9. Notoriety

• USA, 1946.
• Detective.
• Duration: 101 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 0.

The daughter of a man accused of treason meets an FBI agent. He asks her for help in uncovering a Nazi conspiracy in Rio de Janeiro. Now the girl must marry a German agent and find out the conspirators' plans to create a nuclear bomb. But the husband begins to suspect something, and the spy is in mortal danger.

The idea for the film dates back to the Second World War, when people knew quite a bit about nuclear weapons. Interestingly, Alfred Hitchcock, in order to create a plausible scenario, began to inquire about the use of uranium ore. Because of this, he himself came under the suspicion of the FBI.

10. Lady disappears

• Great Britain, 1938.
• Thriller, comedy.
• Duration: 97 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 9.

While boarding the train, a flower pot falls on Iris. An elderly fellow traveler Miss Froy helps the girl get on the train and treats her to tea. However, the next morning Miss Froy disappears, everyone around claims that she never was, and false memories are just a consequence of a blow to the head.

Alfred Hitchcock decided to focus on the sound component. The sharp beeps of the train are reminiscent of a woman's scream and create the atmosphere of the film.

11. Shadow of doubt

• USA, 1943.
• Thriller.
• Duration: 108 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 9.

A high school student from a small town, out of boredom, begins to dream that her uncle Charlie, whom she has not seen, will come to her. Miraculously, her wish comes true. But gradually the girl begins to suspect that the uncle is not at all who he claims to be. Moreover, the police in another part of the country are looking for a dangerous criminal.

This film was the first of Hitchcock's works to be recognized as a real masterpiece.

12.39 steps

• Great Britain, 1935.
• Thriller.
• Duration: 86 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 8.

A new friend of the protagonist asks to protect her from her pursuers. Richard does not take the girl's words seriously, but at night she is killed. Richard tries to prove his innocence, but in the end he is pursued by the police and the real killers.

In this film, the director used a very fast frame rate to create tension, which was very unusual for the 1930s. As a result, the action looks very dynamic and nervous, even by today's standards.

13. Lifeboat

• USA, 1944.
• War drama.
• Duration: 97 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 8.

A German submarine and an American ship sink after a battle. An overcrowded boat with American sailors picks up the captain of a German submarine. They hope he can show them the way to safe harbor. However, the captain, even at such a moment, does not plan to put up with the enemies.

Already in the post-war period, the picture reached the FRG. At the same time, the German captain was turned into a Dutch volunteer, so as not to evoke negative associations from the audience.

14. Birds

• USA, 1963.
• Horror, thriller.
• Duration: 120 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 7.

The idea for the film came after the events of 1960, when hundreds of petrels, poisoned by shellfish, attacked the city of Capitola in California.

Charming Melanie Daniels is going to visit her new friend. On the way, a seagull attacks her, but then it turns out that this is only the beginning of the apocalypse: all the birds begin to attack people.

Alfred Hitchcock decided to draw an analogy between birds and humans. At the beginning of the painting, the birds are kept in cages. In the end, people themselves find themselves locked in houses and cars.

15. Alfred Hitchcock presents

• USA, 1955-1965.
• Anthology.
• Duration: 10 seasons.
• IMDb: 8, 6.

Alfred Hitchcock is known not only for full-length films, but also for his short stories, collected in the anthology series Alfred Hitchcock Presents (after the seventh season - The Hour of Alfred Hitchcock). Many of the short, frightening stories are considered classics of cinema and have served as the inspiration for many stories.

For example, the series "Open Window" is very famous, about several nurses who locked themselves in the house from the killer, but forgot to close the window in the basement. Also, many are familiar with the episode "Man from the South" about a strange bet. The hero must light the lighter 10 times in a row, otherwise his finger is chopped off. This story was played in a comedic style in the movie "Four Rooms".

Hitchcock's novellas are concentrated tension without unnecessary plot lines and tightening. This is why the audience is so fond of them. In addition, at the beginning and end of each episode, the author himself comments on his stories.

Bonus: "Hitchcock"

• USA, 2012.
• Film biography.
• Duration: 98 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 8.

This biopic is based on the documentary book by Steven Rebello “Hitchcock. Horror spawned by Psycho. The plot tells about the relationship between the famous director and his wife, as well as co-author Alma Reville during the filming of the legendary "Psycho".

Alfred Hitchcock is played by Anthony Hopkins, his wife is Helen Mirren. And the leading actors in Psycho are James D'Arcy and Scarlett Johansson.