Tag: Rear Window

Top Ten: Alfred Hitchcock Films

On August 21, 2013

Alfred Hitchcock, celebrating what would have been his 114th birthday last week, is undeniably my favorite director. I’ve seen almost all of his filmography, barring a few scattered ones here and there and most of the silents, and even though there are a few I’m not that crazy about (looking at you, Under Capricorn), by and large I’m going to be at least entertained and often blown away by his work. In fact, an Alfred Hitchcock film is my #1 of all time, and three Hitchcock films are in my Top Twenty, more than any other filmmaker by far. Looking farther down, all of my Top Ten Hitchcock films are in the top 15% of my Flickchart, and I have 16 Hitchcock films in my Top 1000 (basically the top 1/3 of my chart). Not too shabby for the Master of Suspense.

Flickchart is a movie ranking website that pits two random films against each other and asks you to choose which one is better, meanwhile building a list of your favorite films. I rank according to what I like the best, prioritizing personal preferences and emotional connections, so my Flickchart is in no way meant to be objective.

10 – The Trouble with Harry (1955)

The Trouble with Harry is my go-to recommendation for underrated Hitchcock films. In a small New England town, one of those places where everyone knows everyone else, a man ends up dead in the woods and no one seems particularly upset about it. In fact, several people are fairly convinced they’re the ones who killed him. The dark comedy side of Hitchcock is in full view here, and it’s gleefully macabre and dry. Also, Shirley MacLaine’s screen debut. So there’s that.

9 – The 39 Steps (1935)

The sole British film on my list, The 39 Steps epitomizes the witty charm that characterized Hitchcock’s British period while also foreshadowing many of the themes that would run throughout his career – mistaken identity, the wrong man on the run from shadowy pursuer, a forced entanglement leading to a romance, a cool blonde, etc. Robert Donat is the man mistaken for a spy who ends up handcuffed to Madeleine Carroll while they suss out the spy ring threatening England.

Top Ten: Roger Ebert’s Great Movies

By Jandy

On June 18, 2013

In Film

Today would have been Roger Ebert’s 71st birthday had he not recently passed away. What better way to celebrate his life than to remember the films that he singled out for particular praise in his Great Movies series? Ebert did not rank these films; in fact, he added them only after he had a chance to reevaluate them and write about them, so there’s no hierarchy here at all. The ones he identified as Great Movies are likely only a fraction of what he would consider the Greatest Movies of All Time, and possibly not even the top fraction. But because the list of Great Movies is unranked by Ebert, it’s a perfect filter for Flickchart, letting us see how I personally and Flickchart users globally rank the conglomerate.

10 – The Thin Man (1934)

I’ve said it before, and I’m sure I’ll say it many more times in the future – Nick and Nora Charles are my favorite on-screen married couple. They flirt and joke with each other, get through disagreements and have friendly competitions, are totally secure in each others’ love, and each is ready to take a bullet for the other if it becomes necessary. And oh, it does, because this is a murder mystery that crosses the Hammett-style detective story (Hammett actually wrote the novel the film is based on) with a touch of Agatha Christie, and a whole lot of ’30s-style witty comedy. The balance is perfect, and this is a film I can watch over and over and never get tired of.

9 – Vertigo (1958)

Alfred Hitchcock is my favorite director, and a whole bunch of his movies are in my Top 100, so it’s not surprising to find two on this list. First up, Vertigo, which is one of the first Hitchcock films I remember watching, when my cousin decided we should watch it when I was probably much too young for it. I liked it anyway, and I’ve only liked it better with every (frequent) rewatch. I love everything about this movie – the dark side of Jimmy Stewart, the lush and unrealistic colors, the slow burn, and perhaps especially the tragic Midge, who gave Scottie everything she had knowing he’d give her nothing in return. The fact that Midge’s story exists alongside and underneath the Scottie/Madeline/Judy story simply shows the breadth and nuance of Vertigo.

50DMC #1 – My Favorite Movie

By Jandy

On June 29, 2011

In Film

The 50 Day Movie Challenge asks one question every day, to be answered by a few paragraphs and a clip, if possible. Click here for the full list of questions.

Today’s prompt: What is your favorite movie?

When you first meet someone and they find out you’re in to movies, it’s not long before “so what’s your favorite movie” gets asked. Nice of this challenge to just jump right into to the point and get it over with. I probably speak for a lot of film buffs in saying that in one way, you pretty much end up just choosing something to call your favorite when people ask, because really, once you’ve seen several hundred or thousand widely varied films, it’s difficult to be sure. Services like Flickchart help a lot, though, building a ranked list by asking you to simply choose between two movies over and over. In this case, my rote chosen answer and my Flickchart agree: my favorite film of all time is Hitchcock’s Rear Window.

It’s a film I’ve seen probably fifteen times, and yet if I ever happen to flip by it on TV, I’m going to watch it to the end, no question. There are just so many layers to it that even now, I’m seeing and focusing on different things every time I watch it. It’s a great mystery film as Jeff tries to figure out whether his neighbor across the courtyard has killed his wife. It’s a great suspense film as the murder gets a little too close to home. It’s a great experimental film as Hitchcock confines his camera in the room with Jeff, binding our perspective to his.

It’s a great romance as Jeff and Lisa muddle their way through their comfortable yet troubled relationship. It’s a great ethical think piece as we consider the implications, both negative and positive, of Jeff’s observing his neighbors. It’s a great character study as we explore Jeff’s personality and how it affects everyone around him. It’s a great meta-film as we notice how similar Jeff watching his neighbors from afar is to us watching the movie itself (and what a shock it is when Jeff’s “entertainment” threatens his loved ones and then himself). It’s a great comedy thanks to Thelma Ritter’s impeccable support and Hitch’s own sly wit. And it’s great because it pulls all these disparate elements together in such a way that they complement, comment on, and build on each other to create what I think is honestly a pretty much flawless film.

Favorite Films, One Letter at a Time

By Jandy

On November 7, 2008

In Film

I rarely organize my collections alphabetically, at least not as the major organizational tool, since the letter the title starts with is usually less meaningful than the year it was made or the genre that it’s in. But there’s a meme going around film blogs (starting with Blog Cabins) to choose one favorite film that starts with each letter of the alphabet. Forcing you to pick something from each letter is generating some interesting results, so I thought I’d give it a try. (Other entries I’ve seen include: Only the Cinema, Film Doctor, The House Next Door, and Spoutblog.)

Shameless self-promotion – this task was made a lot easier since I recently completed a full list of all the films I’ve ever seen over at my archive site. Still working on the ancillary lists organized by year and rating, but the by title one is done.

A – The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938; Michael Curtiz & William Keighley)
B – Band of Outsiders (1964; Jean-Luc Godard)
C – City of Lost Children (1995; Jean-Pierre Jeunet)
D – The Double Life of Veronique (1993; Krzysztof Kieslowski)
E – Election (1999; Alexander Payne)
F – The Fountain (2006; Darren Aronofsky)
G – Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953; Howard Hawks)
H – A Hard Day’s Night (1964; Richard Lester)
I – In a Lonely Place (1951; Nicholas Ray)
J – JFK (1991; Oliver Stone)
K – Key Largo (1948; John Huston)
L – Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels (1998; Guy Ritchie)
M – Mulholland Drive (2001; David Lynch)
N – The Naked Kiss (1964; Samuel Fuller)
O – O Brother Where Art Thou (2000; Joel & Ethan Coen)
P – Persona (1966; Ingmar Bergman)
Q – The Quiet Man (1952; John Ford)
R – Rear Window (1954; Alfred Hitchcock)
S – Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927; F.W. Murnau)
T – The Thin Man (1934; W.S. Van Dyke)
U – The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964; Jacques Demy)
V – Vertigo (1958; Alfred Hitchcock)
W – The Women (1939; George Cukor)
X – X-Men (2000; Bryan Singer)
Y – Young Frankenstein (1974; Mel Brooks)
Z – Zodiac (2007; David Fincher)

Anyone else reading this, please feel free to post your own. Consider yourself tagged.