Do you put this movie in Hitchcock's top 5?
-
vballarat — 18 years ago(March 07, 2008 03:01 AM)
I'm not sure exactly why, but I suspect for me it has something to do with the fact that it seems to resemble a very twisted version of a Frank Capra movie. Maybe I feel that way, at least partially, just because of Henry Travers, who plays Charlie's father in Shadow of a Doubt. Since he also played the angel Clarence in It's a Wonderful Life, it adds even more to that Capraesque feeling I get at the beginning of the movie. You have a small town, a close and loving happy family, and then you have the very Hitchcockian psychopath in the form of a beloved uncle who walks into this Capra setting and brings with him darkness and fear. You have to love it.
Rear Window, Vertigo, The Lady Vanishes, To Catch a Thief, North by Northwest, etc., are great movies too, but Shadlow of a Doubt is a bit different in tone from all of these and is probably my favorite, or at least definitely in the top 5. -
gerald-flynn — 16 years ago(June 29, 2009 07:22 AM)
I have tried to pare my list down to my top five but still have eight that I can't quite decide which to drop. "Vertigo" is my #1 and "Shadow" #2. Beyond that, in no particular order are "Stangers on a Train", "Rear Window", "North by Northwest", "Psycho", "Rebecca" and "The 39 Steps".
Some other thoughts "The Birds" was great fun but kind of absurd and ridiculous; "Spellbound" is driven by a ridiculous pseudo-psychological premise that is too over the top to be believed but still thoroughly enjoyable; "To
Catch a Thief" is entertaining but not quite good enough to make this list; the same can be said for "Dial M for Murder". Also, after a lapse from "Marnie" through "Topaz", Hitch had a resurgence with teh truly diaboloical and evil "Frenzy", again, just short of the top 5 (aka 8). -
ladylavende — 18 years ago(March 23, 2008 06:32 PM)
Top 5 Hitchcock (his best, not necessarily my favorites) for me:
- Notorious
- Vertigo
- Psycho
- North by Northwest
- Rear Window
But I do think Shadow of a Doubt could merit a spot in the top 10.
No, not the bore worms!
http://www.imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=8093247
-
Goodbye_Ruby_Tuesday — 18 years ago(March 25, 2008 02:17 PM)
It's my #4, too. Just a great movie all around, fantastic acting, and there's also some sentimental value to itit was shot close to where I live, in Santa Rosa. I sometimes pass by the house after school.
- Vertigo
- Notorious
- Rear Window
- Shadow of a Doubt
- Rebecca
5 1/2: Psycho
.
I was born when she kissed me
I died when she left me
I lived a few weeks while she loved me
-
movieluvr4 — 17 years ago(July 22, 2008 03:11 PM)
I don't know about Hitchcock's overall top 5, but it probably makes it into my top 5 Hitchcock films (although, my top 5 seems to change upon repeated viewings of his films).
- Vertigo
- Notorious
- Strangers on a Train
- North by Northwest
- Shadow of a Doubt
My personal judgement of his films tends to largely be based on my ability to come back to them and discover new things and be as thrilled and haunted as the initial viewing. So my favorite Hitchcock movies are the ones I can watch over and over again with sustained interest.
-
jmbwithcats — 17 years ago(March 23, 2009 02:05 AM)
I'm confused by your statement. It begins saying no way would it even be in the top 5, then you say it's one of your favorites top 3 if not the best uhh huh?
www.kittysafe.net
Online Mews, Reviews, Poetry, Music, and Ideas -
Uvtha — 16 years ago(August 14, 2009 02:13 AM)
I personally like the film it has a place in my heart, but when I compare it with notorious, or strangers on a train, or psyco, or vertigo, or north by north west, it just cannot compare in quality on any level.
SO what I mean is that quality wise its not up to par with hitch's best, but it will always be a favorite of mine cause it just hit some part of me and stuck. -
narnia4 — 17 years ago(February 28, 2009 09:30 PM)
I'd say it's top 5. It's my personal favorite of his films, but others may be "better". I'd probably say it could rank #5. Above it would be Vertigo and Psycho, North by Northwest, and Rear Window (probably).
-
borodinrodin — 16 years ago(April 12, 2009 07:55 PM)
Have seen it twice in last two months on TCM and it really stands out as being ahead of its time.
I would defintely consider it in top 10.
It reminds me of Twilight Zone episode, I wonder if Serling saw this as inspiration to the episode where bank employee (guy from Bewitched) temporarily gets ability to read peoples minds when coin lands on edge. The comedic contrast between those who think bad thoughts with no intention of acting upon them (the clinically comedic dialogue between characters on how they would kill) [in twilight Zone episode it was the old bank clerk thinking of robbery and escape to tropical paradise] versus the over ingratiating personality (Jos Cotten) portrays to most of family (except for Young Charlie) and the strange relationship they share.
Also concur with others who suggest it may have been an influence on David Lynch, as it has that same undercurrent of what lies beneath the bucolic suburban middle class neighborhood.
In no particular order:
North by Northwest
Vertigo
Shadow of Doubt
Psycho
Notorious
Spellbound
Foreign Correspondent
Lady Vanishes
Rebecca
The Man Who Knew Too Much
Rear Window
A quality of Hitchcock I really appreciate is his taste in having some of the most naturally beautiful women to ever grace the cinematic screen appear in his films. -
BwlBoy — 16 years ago(April 15, 2009 01:17 PM)
This may have been Hitchcock's favourite but nowhere near mine. I've seen 22 of his films and I could only possibly place this above The Birds, The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956), Spellbound and Notorious to date. My top 5 so far would be Psycho, North by Northwest, Rebecca, Sabotage and The 39 Steps.