My Top 10 Alfred Hitchcock Movies

Everyone loves Hitch, don't they? But ranking his ten best is hard - so much to choose from! Here's my particular faves.
Check out my Stanley Kubrick top ten here: • My Top 10 Stanley Kubr...
And my John Carpenter top ten here: • My Top 10 John Carpent...
#cinema #films #hitchcock #alfredhitchcock #alfredhitchcockvertigo

[@francisjtuk]

You are fast becoming one of the best movie reviewers on youtube. Awesome stuff !

[@michaelbartlettfilm]

Thanks, mate!

[@MrGhostfaceLives]

Totally agreed!

[@MrGhostfaceLives]

Shocking underappreciation of Psycho of course ;-) but terrific list as always. I realise I can't narrow it down to ten, but it might go something like this: 1 - Rear Window 2 - Psycho 3 - The Birds 4 - Vertigo 5 - Rebecca 6 - Rope 7 - North By Northwest 8 - The Lady Vanishes 9 - Strangers on a Train 10 = Notorious, Foreign Correspondent, Sabotage, The Paradine Case (for the matte paintings alone)...

[@michaelbartlettfilm]

Nice to see someone speak up for The Paradine Case. It's not as bad as everyone makes out.

[@frankb821]

great list, bro!

[@thefilmclassic4210]

I know I have made a comment on this video before, but since I have re-watched lots of Hitchock films recently I wanted to watch your ranking again. One thing you mention about The Birds is Hitchcocks great way of using sound. I agree with that, not only for The Birds but also North By Northwest. For example the scene where Cary Grant is talking with Leo G. Carrolls character outside in the airport. There is a moment where you suddenly cant hear them speak, because the sound of the planes is so loud. I notice this yesterday, when I re-watched it and I have never thought about it before, but I just like Hitchcocks sense for this small details like you mention yourself.

[@michaelbartlettfilm]

I remember that scene and I remember liking it very much! Hitch uses it so he can get rid of some irritating exposition, ha! Thanks for reminding me of it, Nikolaj.

[@markbujdos584]

Here's my top 25: 1 Vertigo 2 Rear Window 3 North by Northwest 4 The Birds 5 Notorious 6 Psycho 7 Lifeboat 8 Suspicion 9 To Catch a Thief 10 Young and Innocent 11 Rebecca 12 Family Plot 13 Shadow of a Doubt 14 The Man who Knew too Much 1934 15 The 39 Steps 16 The Man who Knew too Much 1956 17 Strangers on a Train 18 The Lodger 19 Topaz 20 Marnie 21 Dial M for Murder 22 Stage Fright 23 The Trouble with Harry 24 Downhill 25 Blackmail Roughly half his oevre. Recently I got thorough rating all 52. I'm fairly confident of this list, because I've quite literally seen these top 25 all at least 25 times each. If I would have done this list when I was younger, I would have added films like the Lady Vanishes and Spellbound, and ranked higher films like Strangers on a Train. For this rating I watched all the films in chronological order (including the TV work which he directed). This time around, the greatness of Lifeboat, Suspicion, Young and Innocent, and yes, believe me, Family Plot really stood out.

[@michaelbartlettfilm]

Thanks for posting, Mark. Great to see some love for Lifeboat and Young and Innocent, which are superb but regularly overlooked. I'd have put Marnie and Blackmail higher - and no love for The Lady Vanishes! I'm guessing you're not a fan of long-take Hitchcock - Rope and Under Capricorn. I like the former a lot, I have to say. The Wrong Man? Fascinating list, though. And our top five are pretty much the same!

[@willieluncheonette5843]

yes, mate. We agree on Vertigo, one of my 13 all time favorite films. Nothing like seeing a fresh remastered print on a big screen in a dark theater. .

[@michaelbartlettfilm]

@@willieluncheonette5843 Agreed! I was lucky enough to see it on 70mm - I think - at the BFI in London. Incredible experience!

[@willieluncheonette5843]

@@michaelbartlettfilm Wow! Awesome! I saw it the first week the new print came out, maybe 25 (I'm guessing) years ago. But can't remember if it was in 35 or 70mm....Either way, it was everything and the kitchen sink, so to speak....lol

[@frankb821]

OMG, I know it's proverbial, but Hitch is my "11th director" as you put it. What you say about viscerally sensing the presence of the director is true...I never feel like I'm "watching a film" when I experience his art. It feels like I'm in an escape room all by myself, but loving every second. Personally, Strangers on a Train is my all time favorite Hitchcock film, mainly because of Robert Walker's performance...but only slightly less brilliant, and underrated, is the performance of John Dall in Rope. I LOVE watching him act in that movie...inspired!

[@michaelbartlettfilm]

Yeah, they're two fantastic performances. I feel guilty leaving out Strangers, but then Lifeboat and Foreign Correspondent and The Wrong Man are wonderful too.

[@frankb821]

@@michaelbartlettfilm I hear you. With Hitch, it's SO HARD. ps, I also love Marnie more than most people. I showed it to my wife, and she was like..."really?" At least she liked "Notorious"

[@mattglass]

I will listen for the wind next time I watch Tippy exhale. Great that you include Rope. I first stumbled upon it through Moviedrome thirty years ago (a fantastic series that I'm indebted to) not really knowing anything about it. It drew me into its closeted world and has stuck with me ever since. Hamilton became a favorite too, many years later and unrelated to Rope. His Slaves of Solitude is a gem. Thanks for the insights and wholehearted enthusiasm.

[@michaelbartlettfilm]

Thanks, Matt! Moviedrome was great, wasn't it? Both with Alex Cox and Mark Cousins. Neither of them have done anything better since...

[@mattglass]

Yes, Moviedrome was great, it exposed me to movies off the beaten path, and made me start thinking about them more, really did open me up to new experiences. I remember Cox presenting The Parallax View when I was 16, and being unaware of films like it. This is before the internet when it was more difficult to find out about things, and you were left to the mercy of the beeb or your local video store. I really am thankful that that show was made, I know there are many others my age who feel similarly. His intros were great too, the way he spoke about the films, you can feel his enthusiasm. I do seek out his commentary on revisionist westerns. Cousins came to Berkeley last year, where I live nowadays, and presented his Hitchcock doc, I was very excited to hear him speak and watch his film. Both left me underwhelmed. The Hitchcock clips were dazzling of course and I did want to go watch them all again. But that was everything to do with Hitchcock not Cousins. The Cousins bits with closeups of his girlfriend(?), sorry mate, stick to criticism. Loved your comments on the Frenzy pull back, totally agree, a sublime shot. Think you could do a top ten of greatest scenes or shots, that might be interesting. Once upon a time in the West’s opening would be top of the list for me, or maybe Henry Fonda’s eyes after the family are murdered. Saw that at the BFI many decades ago, on a huge screen, incredible film. Thanks again!

[@michaelbartlettfilm]

@@mattglass Yeah, Cousins was good when he first started, but I think he's disappeared up his own bum in recent years. I was going to do a top ten scenes but didn't get round to it for some reason. You're right about Once Upon A Time - best opening ever. I also love the opening of John Carpenter's The Fog, which cribs from it a little...

[@ghostlightx9005]

10. Rope 9. Vertigo 8. Spellbound 7. Rebecca 6. The Trouble With Harry 5. The Birds 4. Rear Window 3. Psycho 2. The Lady Vanishes 1. Frenzy

[@michaelbartlettfilm]

Thanks for posting! Frenzy...that shot pulling away from the closed door down the stairs...

[@ghostlightx9005]

@@michaelbartlettfilm I knew you were going to mention that shot when you said there were 2 moments you admired from his later work. :) My own favourite sequence is the killer's attempt to get his tie pin back from the corpse. There's just nothing like that in any other film. And Anna Massey's murder is one of the most shocking and visceral I think I've ever seen.

[@StevenEagleEagleman]

I liked your top 2 choices, Marnie bored me to tears actually.. I was expecting the opposite me liking Connery and Hitchcock.

[@DavyDredd14]

Top 5 Alfred Hitchcock Films : 5. North By Northwest (1959) 4. Notorious (1946) 3. Vertigo (1958) 2. Psycho (1960) 1. Rear Window (1954)

[@michaelbartlettfilm]

Thanks for posting, Davy!

[@DavyDredd14]

@@michaelbartlettfilm You're welcome, Michael !

[@mauricioduron3193]

10 Rebecca 9 The Lady Vanishes 8 Saboteur 7 To Catch a Thief 6 Strangers on a Train 5 North by Northwest 4 The 39 Steps 3 Rear Window 2 Notorious 1 Vertigo

[@michaelbartlettfilm]

Thanks for posting, Mauricio!

[@mauricioduron3193]

@@michaelbartlettfilm It's very rewarding to find how much our choices match. All ten titles acomplished so closely, like rated between 8.5/10 to 10/10, that others necessarily get left out. I recognize every virtue that you attribute 'The Birds' (8.0/10?). The masterfully deceptive interaction between Annie and Melanie in the sequence that you single out. The suspenseful early one where, for 9+ minutes, sans dialogue, Melanie takes the lovebirds across Bodega Bay to Mitch's and back. (Ask Brian De Palma to describe his recollection of how he first responded to it?) 'Psycho', a landmark piece in motion picture History, yet, ironically, with so striking an ending that it absorbs the brilliance of the early parts of the narrative to the extent that perhaps film enthusiasts alone would choose experiencing it more than a couple of times. The riches in 'Vertigo', on the other hand, are manyfold: the relatively subdued resolution does not detract from the eerie ambivalence of what takes place earlier, especially the long drive where Scottie (and Bernard Hermann) follow Madeleine through the streets of San Francisco. Unfortunately, the basic premise was used by too many movies made afterwards, so they who come to 'Vertigo' late may find it predictable. Will enthusiastically follow your contributions.

[@michaelbartlettfilm]

@@mauricioduron3193 Thanks, Mauricio. And I hear now that they're doing a remake of Vertigo with Robert Downey Jr! I agree with you about Psycho versus The Birds and Vertigo; Psycho is brilliant in many ways but feels contained, whereas The Birds and Vertigo grow on each viewing, and if anything become even more troubling. (In a good way.)

[@mauricioduron3193]

@@michaelbartlettfilm To re-make 'Vertigo', you say! Bite your tongue...🧐

[@mauricioduron3193]

A 'Citizen Kane' re-make just as well...

[@mauricioduron3193]

One cannot in fairness say that to favor 'Vertigo' is a conventional statement. For decades, noone cared much for it. It took until about 2010 or 2011 for 'Vertigo' to break into the 100 best. Very few championed its excellence, Cuban novelist and critic Guillermo Cabrera Infante among the very first, at around 1959. Then, unexpectedly, there it was, number 96 or some such. Slowly, it moved up enough to challenge O. Welles' masterpiece at number one (except perhaps among Rottentomatoes and IMDb millenials). So, recognition a long-time coming for this classic.

[@michaelbartlettfilm]

I remember when I first got into film and started reading about Hitchcock, it was called one of the "lost Hitchcocks", these films to which Hitch retained the rights and which therefore hardly ever appeared on TV. Rope and Rear Window were among the others. That may have something to do with its late appraisal. But also, maybe the fact they were hard to see added to their allure!

[@willieluncheonette5843]

The French critics were the first I think to champion Hitchcock as more than just a master of suspense. And in the 1990's both Roger Ebert and Andrew Sarris wrote that Vertigo was a masterpiece. In 2007 in Cahiers du Cinema's top 100 list, Vertigo came in 8th best, if I remember correctly.

[@mauricioduron3193]

@@willieluncheonette5843 Good enough! Much appreciated.

[@willieluncheonette5843]

@@mauricioduron3193 my pleasure. thank you

[@rafe9897]

Frenzy just edges Psycho, then Strangers on a Train.

[@thefilmclassic4210]

I totally agree with your comments of Psycho. I do think overall it is a great movie, but like you say the last half of Psycho is very ordinary. I have a love/hate relationship with it. My love for it is, that it was the movie that introduced me to Hitchcock and like you said the first 45-50 minutes is probably the best stuff he ever directed! But when I rewatch Psycho I just dont care that much for the end or Vera Miles and John Gavins character. And I have always felt, that there were so many of his other classics there was actually much better than Psycho. My current top 10 Hitchcock Movies: 1. Rear Window 2. Notorious 3. Vertigo 4. Shadow Of A Doubt 5. Lifeboat 6. Rope 7. The Birds 8. Sabotage 9. Marnie 10. Psycho. I could easely change my list, since I love his movies so much. What do you think of Sabotage and Shadow of a Doubt?

[@michaelbartlettfilm]

Great to see some love for Notorious and Lifeboat - I adore those movies and feel they're often overlooked. I need to watch Sabotage again, it's been a while since I watched it, and I'd just read the Conrad novel, so that interfered with my enjoyment. As for Shadow, I know it was Hitch's favourite and it's a popular film, but I've never quite been able to get into it. Dare I say it, I find Joseph Cotten a bit boring. I know, heresy! But I'm going to revisit it soon. Thanks for posting your top ten!

[@snsdkbopper7819]

I agree that the first half of Psycho is the best part, And to me the real underrated hidden gem from Hitchcock is the highly entertaining & rewatchable To Catch A Thief.

[@michaelbartlettfilm]

Which has just come out on a super swanky 4k disc, I believe!

[@moose6509]

Very entertaining. Clearly Psycho would be higher on my list and I´d have to have Strangers on a Train. Got a soft spot for Frenzy too, if only to spot all the classic British actors. Loving your content even if you don´t like Die Hard and Back to the Future but then Nobody´s perfect 😉

[@michaelbartlettfilm]

Ha, ha! I think I'm the only person in the universe who doesn't like Back to the Future!

[@moose6509]

@@michaelbartlettfilm I understood most of your picks but Back to the Future? It´s 2 hours of pure joy! Don´t worry though, hasn´t put me off subscribing.

[@anrun]

No, you are not. ;)@@michaelbartlettfilm

[@michaelbartlettfilm]

@@anrun There's two of us! Yes!

[@joseluisherreralepron9987]

I just saw this one on its recent theatrical release....it looks pretty good but it's been scrubbed of grain. Still great to see this on the big screen. Earlier this year I took my mother to see the re-release. Good time. "The Birds," that is.

[@michaelbartlettfilm]

Yeah, I miss the grain. I recently had the chance to watch Jaws and Singin' In The Rain in original Technicolor prints on the big screen, and it made such a difference. Took me back to my childhood visiting cinemas in the 70s!

[@davidbryson1332]

Wonderful choices you've made and you could have made a list of 20 best and still it wouldn't be complete. But Michael, Marnie! Marnie! MARNIE! I've run out of exclamation marks but I think you get my drift.

[@michaelbartlettfilm]

What, you mean it should be top? I know what you mean!!! (Tee hee)

[@anrun]

1. Vertigo 2. North by Northwest 3. Strangers on a Train 4. Rear Window 5. Notorious 6. Frenzy (sorry you don't like this one) 7. The Birds 8. Rope 9. The 39 Steps 10. Foreign Correspondent 11. Psycho

[@michaelbartlettfilm]

Thanks for posting! Nice to see some love for Foreign Correspondent - very underrated.

[@garybryant5946]

Frenzy is my favourite because it made a strong impression on me aged 12 when seeing BBC 2 one late night and I also enjoy Topaz for some reason plus The Trouble With Harry is an underrated gem

[@michaelbartlettfilm]

The scene where the camera tracks back down the stairs in Frenzy is one of Hitch's greatest moments. As is the death of Juanita in Topaz, the camera looking down from above as her dress billows out like a bloodstain. Perverse genius.

[@garybryant5946]

@@michaelbartlettfilm Plus all the atmosphere of old London in Frenzy and the running theme of the deadful cooking it's those little things that gave Hitch his edge mixing big with touches of everyday triviality

[@michaelbartlettfilm]

@@garybryant5946 Ah, Covent Garden flower market...

[@mauricioduron3193]

Anything regarding 'Rope' in connection with the notorious (pun intended) Leopold and Loeb murder case, as well as with R. Fleischer's 'Compulsion'?

[@michaelbartlettfilm]

Hi, Mauricio. All worthy of mention, but I'm trying to streamline my commentary a little, otherwise I'll ramble on forever! I think my intros are already getting too long. The Leopold and Loeb case is fascinating. I'm afraid I haven't seen Compulsion, though.

[@mauricioduron3193]

@@michaelbartlettfilm Understood. Thank you.

[@JörgSchymick]

Moin Michael, a good choice so fare, but why not " Harry ", " Family ", " Strangers ", Dail ," " I ... ", Foreign ... " " Shadow ....... (?), "Lifeboat (?), "The Wrong ... ( b/w ?), and " The Man Who ... ( 2 times) " . Futhermore, plaese watch this your " Natalie Wood " of Topaz, in which she is as Karin Dor so stunningly beautiful ( her eyes, and not that dress- scene ) and " You only ... ( ... nearly castrade Connery ), lost in trash ( or Pop Art? ) in German " The Nibelungen (1966) - Remake of Fritz Lang's Silent classic ", her later movies " Die abhandene Zeit ", " Die Andere", and before in " Der Schatz im Silbersee ", "Winnetou 2. Teil", " Haie an Bord " ( German movie after her cancer illness ( she is better then ever now ). Jörg

[@dr.impossibleofcounterpunc1984]

It's a funny thing, isn't it. I watched Saboteur a month ago on DVD. There's something unsettling about that film that makes me wonder what Hitchcock was aiming at. In the film, there's a shady organisation called "The Firm" that carries out attacks on high-level military facilities. You could say or use words to describe this as a "false flag attack." The figurehead of this organization is a woman named “Mrs. Sutton”. She operates a charitable foundation in New York City that is a front for nefarious black operations. Hitchcock pushes the envelope not only in secret operations, but the story almost imitates reality with a vivid, almost tangible taste for predictive film making. It's also interesting that Saboteur was released a year after the attack on Pearl Harbour. Saboteur is clearly a domestic conspiracy to subvert the U.S. governments iron clad power base. Saboteur, I would list as one of the most audacious and remarkably scheming Hitchcock films before Vertigo even appeared on the scene. For this.... I call Saboteur my no.1.

[@michaelbartlettfilm]

Wow, interesting. I clearly need to give that film another go! I only ever thought of Topaz as being the film where Hitch takes on global politics, and that's a weird broken-backed movie.

[@dr.impossibleofcounterpunc1984]

@michaelbartlettfilm Topaz is very weak. Saboteur is striking and deliberately in your face as a film. Hitchcock seems to be fascinated by what's behind the curtain of power. Does Hitchcock know more about the thin veil between the deep state and government? God only knows, but Saboteur is a far-reaching globalist thriller....

[@fotigou]

Rebecca The shadow of doubt Rear window Paradine case

[@michaelbartlettfilm]

Nice to see someone sticking up for The Paradine Case. I never thought it was as awful as people say.

[@fotigou]

@michaelbartlettfilm Not at all awful. Detective mystery,psychological thriller,professional failure of the protagonist and forbidden romance all in one

[@muhannadalnabulsi4266]

Exaggerated