REAR WINDOW [1954]

Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly find themselves in a bit of a nosy pickle in director Alfred Hitchcock's classic voyeuristic thriller Rear Window.
Stewart plays a man confined to a wheelchair in his New York apartment, where he gleefully spies over the neighborhood through his window, leading him to believe he's seen a man murder his wife.
Hitchcock allows the camera to only move throughout the apartment, thereby limiting the audience to what only Stewart's immobilized character can hear and see.  Shot and told with complex simplicity, lovingly detailed ambience, light-hearted thrills and plenty of snappy dialogues, Rear Window is the type of film that needs the sharp precision of The Fat Man in order for it not to fall apart.  Perhaps it's just an entertaining way for Hitchcock to tell us to just get out and talk to folks or he'll break both your legs.

4½ types of relationships out of 5

HITCHCOCK/TRUFFAUT [2015]

A Letter to Elia director Kent Jones pieces together this audio/visual companion piece to what is probably the most essential book for film-lovers everywhere, Hitchcock/Truffaut.
Director François Truffaut interviewed Alfred Hitchcock over a period of 8 days on the subject of his impact on cinema and then published it as a book in 1966.  This film explores some of the more interesting bits of conversation and the influence it had on many of the modern visually-driven directors of today.  Jones manages to turn the subject matter into something tantalizing to the well-educated film connoisseur as well as clearly giving informative insight into the craft for those who are new to film as a finely tuned art.  Pair this one with De Palma and you have a wonderful evening of master suspense film-makers talking about what they do best.

4 lite entertainers or masterful storytellers out of 5

DIAL M FOR MURDER [1954]

Director Alfred Hitchcock's 1954 crime drama, Dial M for Murder, is generally known for being the last of The Golden Age of Cinema's run of 3D films.
It's the tale of a wealthy London man who hatches a plan to have his wife murdered while he's out having some drinks with the boys, only she evades her attacker and the man must scramble to uphold his false illusion of innocence.   Mostly constrained to being set in one room, Hitchcock's camerawork is forced to play with strict inventiveness.  It's clever little piece that doesn't quite have the enthusiasm inserted into it as some of the fat man's other works.  The normally wonderful Grace Kelly is reduced to a dull pawn to Ray Milland's delightfully cold performance.  From a technical standpoint the film is a joy to watch but the rest leaves much to be desired.

3 not-so perfect murders out of 5

FRENZY [1972]

Alfred Hitchcock's penultimate film Frenzy isn't necessarily essential viewing but will probably please fans of the film-maker's work.  

The Fatman gets his inner pip-pip on with this unsettling thriller that follows a wrongfully accused man of raping and strangling a long string of snotty bints who may or may not have deserved it.  With the way the females are poorly portrayed in this film, one might suspect Hitchcock felt they all deserved it.  Unfortunately the suspense is shot in the head pretty quickly due to some sloppy storytelling and poor characterizations.  However with some diabolically dry humor and Hitch's precise technical creativity it's still an interesting watch amidst it's prominent flaws.

3 sacks of potatoes out of 5

The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)

Hitchcock remade his own film. It’s preferable to someone else doing it, I suppose. The 1956 version improves on the 1934 version by having Jimmy Stewart as the leading man, but by the same token it’s weakened in not having Peter Lorre as the antagonist. The story is similar (well, duh) but also different enough to keep people who've seen the previous version unsure of the outcome. The extra length allows for heightened tension, but at other times it drags on too long and becomes unnecessary. In many ways it’s a balancing act between improvements in one area vs change for the sake of it in another. Thankfully, when the scales come to a stop they favour the former. It’s a better film, but the plot is still a bit crap.

3½ moments in life out of 5

Rope (1948)

Hitchcock’s experimental stage play on film is a post-murder story that takes place in real time. The long takes and minimal editing would've been a logistical headache for everyone involved, but the result is a fine example of how groundbreaking the director was. It also highlights how closely linked the stage and screen used to be.
The pressure on the actors to hit their marks at the correct time and not screw up the shot for everyone else must have been immense. It does sometimes feel like that preoccupation is preventing them from giving the performance 100%, even Jimmy Stewart isn't exempt, but that shouldn't detract from the masterful way everything is orchestrated.

5 artistic signatures out of 5

The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)

TMWKTM is notable for being the film that boosted Hitchcock’s profile internationally. When put into context and compared to other films of the same era, it’s a brisk paced and tense thriller that made excellent use of the available technology. Hitch had spent time in Germany years before where he’d studied expressionist cinema; he uses that knowledge to give the film a dramatic aesthetic. And yet, despite all that, I'm not a fan of it.
Note: Score reflects personal preference only. If I took technical ability into account it'd rank higher, but I chose not to do that on this occasion to enable the better Hitch movies to rise to the top of the list.

2½ pieces of paper out of 5

THE GIRL [2012]

Coming out the same year as the Anthony Hopkins led Hitchcock is a bit unfortunate for director Julian Jarrold's Alfred Hitchcock biopic The Girl.
While Hitchcock covered the relationship between The Fatman and Janet Leigh on the Psycho set, The Girl explores the director's bizarre obsession with Tippi Hedren while making The Birds and Marnie.  Unlike Hopkins & co, Toby Jones and Sienna Miller never really distract you with their starpower and instead allow the viewer to believe in the parts they're playing.  Unfortunately the film doesn't really do a great job at evenly juggling the two leads and instead fails in really letting us inside the lives of either of them.  Still, it's better than Hitchcock but could have benefited from not feeling so rushed.

3½ mechanical birds out of 5

HITCHCOCK [2012]

Screenwriter Sacha Gervasi sits in the director's chair for the lightfare "biopic" Hitchcock.  Telling the story of the making of Alfred Hitchcock's slasher classic Psycho, the film never seems to be concerned with the facts.  It merely touches on Hitchcock's tyrant like behaviour towards his actresses to get the best possible performance and opts for more of genuine portrayal of his mind and manners.  It's a bit frustrating to see how it's all portrayed but once you get past that, it's quite an enjoyable little film that's more a nod to the fat man's filmmaking rather than his actual life.

3 famous silhouettes out of 5

Vertigo (1958)

Everyone has their favourite Hitchcock film. Vertigo is mine.
A retired detective reluctantly takes on a new case at the request of an old friend. It’s an unusual case that leads him into a spiral of doubt and conflicting emotions. To the casual viewer it doesn't matter that it explores the fat man's favourite themes from a different perspective, or that it’s full of technical innovation, because the plot is fantastic and it has Jimmy Stewart as the leading man. That’s recommendation enough.
Hitchcock aficionados will happy-clap at every turn and change in lighting.

5 sentimental souvenirs out of 5

NORTH BY NORTHWEST [1959]

Director Alfred Hitchcock teams up with The Sound Of Music screenwriter, Ernest Lehman to craft the finest of paranoid thrillers, North By Northwest.
Dressed in some mighty slick suits: Cary Grant, James Mason and Martin Landau make for some fascinating chemistry with their game cat & mouse while Eva Marie Saint brightens things up a bit with one her best performances apart from On The Waterfront.
Laying down the formula for many paranoia thrillers after it, Hitchcock still does it best, showcasing some iconic backdrops, deafening silence at all the right times and stunning style that equals the substance.
The perfect blend of humor and suspense makes for one of Hitchcock's most audience friendly films in his career.

4 Big girls in all the right places out of 5

PSYCHO [1960]

This film is my favorite film of all time. Hitchcock is at the top of his game with Tony Perkins' performance portrayed to awkward perfection. The string only score from Bernard Herrmann is a one of a kind and has been copied but never topped since. Saul Bass' frantic titles design mixed with Herrmann's skiddish Psycho theme is pure gold that puts the viewer on edge from the very get go.
George Tomasini and Hitchcock's editing job (particularly the shower scene) is breathtaking. Segueing from motel to house is mixed flawlessly.
...and yes the house. Oh yes, the house. Just as iconic as the "screeching" violins bleeding all over the torn shower curtains.
In an era where the audience feared getting to know the killers all too well, like in The Collector, Peeping Tom & Twisted Nerve, Hitchcock's Psycho did it best.
If I could I'd give it a 6.

5 Cars In The Marsh out of 5

THE BIRDS [1963]

Alfred Hitchcock wraps himself around the classic story of man against nature in this colorful and eerie thriller.

Tippi Hedren and Rod Taylor lead the cast, rounded out by Jessica Tandy (was she ever young?), Suzanne Pleshette and a very, very young Veronica Cartwright.

Hitchcock has a wonderfully brilliant way of "watching" people, setting scenes up and inserting his wicked humor at the best moments.

4 ½ gouged out eyes out of 5