The master of suspense, personally I find his films too long-winded, bogged down by lengthy explanations and excessive foreshadowing, undoing any viable suspense in the process. His reputation is untouchable though, so your mileage may vary.
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One of Hitchcock's earliest films. It's the first silent film I see of him and it's no surprise that I liked it quite a bit better than his talkies. I'll gladly admit that the lovely restoration helped, but the much stronger focus on mood and presentation over narrative gives this film a clear edge over his other work. A mysterious avenger is putting fear into Londoners, as he has already made seven victims. Daisy is a young, blond model who is the girlfriend of the detective (Joe) investigating the case. Daisy's mom is renting out a room to a mysterious stranger, who slowly works his way into Daisy's favor. Joe doesn't trust the man for obvious reasons. The intertitles were surprisingly fun, the restoration was slick and the more modern score added a bit of flair. But it's the fact that this is a silent film, which prevents characters from being over-talkative, that puts it above most of Hitchcock's other films. It's still pretty basic, but at least it was an easy watch.Read all
Not the biggest Hitchcock classic, but a very respected film nonetheless. I'm not a big Hitchcock fan and by now I'm pretty confident I'll never become one. This film too has a few typical things I just don't stomach very well, but at least it's not quite as dull and elaborate as some of his other films. Uncle Charlie comes to visit his niece, also named Charlie. He moves in with them for the time being, but soon enough two other fellas come around asking about Charlie's business. Charlie's niece can't believe her uncle could be wrapped up in some shady business, but when she starts her own investigation she quickly starts doubting his stories. Stilted acting, an overbearing soundtrack and a mystery that really isn't all that exciting. My main problem with Hitchcock though is that he is so obvious about his mysteries, dropping hints and winks whenever he can. At least the film stay well below the 2-hour mark, but it's far from a great film.Read all
I'll never be a big Hitchcock fan, but I clearly prefer it when he keeps it short and simple. There's also a bit more wit here compared to his later films, though it doesn't make that much of an impact. At least the British vibe makes the comedy a bit more palatable, apart from that it's just trademark Hitchcock. Richard Hannay tries to help a counter-espionage agent after a row in a theater, but when she gets killed he suddenly becomes the prime murder suspect. He decides to flee into the Scottish Highlands, but soon finds himself chained to a blond vamp who believes she's dealing with a real killer. Performances are decent but a little stiff, the comedy isn't tremendously funny but acceptable. The story is pretty bland though and the intrigue didn't really capture my attention. It's a good thing this is a pretty short film, if it'd run closer to 120 minutes then I sure would've disliked it a lot more.Read all
One of Hitchcock's final films. Not that I expected the film to be much different from his earlier work, but Hitchcock didn't strike me as a director that would be able to reinvent himself. Still, I was curious to see how and if his films had evolved after all those years. The result was pretty much what I expected. London is haunted by a serial killer. When Richard Blaney's ex-wife is killed, all clues seem to be pointing in his direction. Blaney claims he's innocent, but in order to prove it he can't rely on the police. He starts his own investigation to reveal the killer while trying to avoid getting caught. Like most Hitchcock films, there's too much dialogue, the thriller elements are overaccentuated and the pacing is excruciatingly slow. There's hardly enough material to fill 90 minutes, somehow the film ended up with 30 more. It's nice to see Hitchcock returned to the UK, that added a tiny bit of flair, but it's not enough to turn this into a worthwhile film.Read all
An incredibly talkative film that is high on conversation, low on thriller and horror elements. I'm not a big Hitchcock fan to begin with, The Birds only strengthened that opinion. Slow, dull and poorly written, with some terrible (often unnecessary) effects and empty characters. One of Hitchcock's poorer attempts, I'm at a loss how this film upheld its reputation.
A Hitchcock film that comes with an introduction of the man himself, stating that this is a true story, yet crazier than most of the twisty thrillers he'd made. What you actually get is a pretty crude drama about a rather dull court case, the kind that wouldn't even make a headline (and rightfully so). Manny and his wife are living a happy life, though money is scarce. When Manny goes to a bank to find the money for his wife's dental surgery, the clerk mistakes him for a bank robber. The police take Manny into custody and due to some unfortunate coincidences, they think Manny is in fact the real culprit. Hitchcock isn't a very capable drama director. The pacing is sluggish, the performances lack nuance and the plot really isn't as interesting as Hitchcock would make you believe. This might've worked a little better at half the runtime, but even then it would've lacked something to make it stand out. Bland's the word.Read all
A very typical Alfred Hitchcock production. Put a couple of people in a small boat and let the story play out. But the writing is predictable, the acting is stiff and the thrills are few and far between. In theory this could've been a nice film, in reality it's tepid, dull and boring. Like most of Hitchcock's films really.
One of Hitchcock's final pre-Hollywood projects. I can usually stomach them just a little better compared to his USA films, but The Lady Vanishes didn't do it for me at all. It's extremely one-note, setting up a rather simple mystery, then dragging it out for an entire film in typical Hitchcock fashion. When the Trans Europ Express stops because of bad weather, Iris gets to talking with misses Froy in a small hotel alongside the tracks. Once the train is back on its way, Iris notices Mrs Froy is absent from the train. She sounds alarm, but people pay little attention to her claims that and old lady is missing. A missing old woman and endless conversations that ponder the mystery of her disappearance. The train isn't a very exciting setting either, not in the least because Hitchcock loves working with cheap projections. There are some twists in the final part, but even that was a given 5 minutes in. I found this incredibly dull, par for the course for my journey through Hitchcock's oeuvre I'm afraid.Read all
An early post-war Hitchcock. The promise of Dali's involvement sounded somewhat promising, the reality wasn't quite as rosy. While these scenes are by far the highlight, they only represent a small part of the film. The rest is just endless talking on top of an overly sentimental score. Dr. Petersen, a psychoanalyst, falls in love with her now boss, Dr. Edwardes. One day she discovers he suffers from a strange phobia, and upon investigating further, she discovers he is an imposter. Petersen has reason to believe he may be a murderer, and so she continues her investigation to find out the truth. As is often the case with Hitchcock, the film drowns in endless dialogue, and it isn't exactly subtle about its mystery. Blatant visual cues and an overbearing soundtrack turn this into quite the ordeal, the runtime just adds insult to injury. I really don't care for Hitchcock's mysteries and characters, and that's all there is to Spellbound.Read all