Have you any recommendations for someone who is coming to Hitchcock afresh?
Hm. The first one I ever saw was The Birds, but I wouldn't recommend it as an introduction . . . If you want to start with one of the stone classics, either The 39 Steps or Vertigo is probably your best bet; they are quite different in tone, one being a a crackling chase story and the other the kind of nightmare you can't wade out of, but they are both very representative of Hitchcock. I think you might also like Suspicion, which is precisely what its title indicates—a woman comes to believe that her husband is plotting her murder, and since she's a Hitchcock heroine, she might very well be right. It makes a good bookend with Notorious, also with Cary Grant. And if you want more screwball with your suspense, The Lady Vanishes. All recommended.
I recall watching a couple of movies of his when I was younger ("Niagara"
I don't think that's by Alfred Hitchcock.
and whatever the one is where the kid gets on the bus with the time bomb)
Sabotage (1936)? I've never seen that one.
And of course I'll be watching "The Man Who Knew Too Much" just because I like Peter Lorre.
Honestly, start with that one. Secret Agent (1936) also features Peter Lorre; if you see it before I do, please give a full report!
I'll bite. What should I watch by Powell and Pressburger?
My favorite in all respects is A Canterbury Tale (1944)—I wrote about it extensivelyin2007, so you should be able to tell whether it sounds like something that attracts you. After that, probably I like best The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943), I Know Where I'm Going! (1945), and The Small Back Room (1949), although Black Narcissus (1947), The Red Shoes (1948), and The Tales of Hoffmann (1950) are it if you want Technicolor phantasmagoria. I have written about most of these, and can again point you toward my reactions if you think it will help. They were just an extraordinary team.
no subject
Hm. The first one I ever saw was The Birds, but I wouldn't recommend it as an introduction . . . If you want to start with one of the stone classics, either The 39 Steps or Vertigo is probably your best bet; they are quite different in tone, one being a a crackling chase story and the other the kind of nightmare you can't wade out of, but they are both very representative of Hitchcock. I think you might also like Suspicion, which is precisely what its title indicates—a woman comes to believe that her husband is plotting her murder, and since she's a Hitchcock heroine, she might very well be right. It makes a good bookend with Notorious, also with Cary Grant. And if you want more screwball with your suspense, The Lady Vanishes. All recommended.
I recall watching a couple of movies of his when I was younger ("Niagara"
I don't think that's by Alfred Hitchcock.
and whatever the one is where the kid gets on the bus with the time bomb)
Sabotage (1936)? I've never seen that one.
And of course I'll be watching "The Man Who Knew Too Much" just because I like Peter Lorre.
Honestly, start with that one. Secret Agent (1936) also features Peter Lorre; if you see it before I do, please give a full report!
I'll bite. What should I watch by Powell and Pressburger?
My favorite in all respects is A Canterbury Tale (1944)—I wrote about it extensively in 2007, so you should be able to tell whether it sounds like something that attracts you. After that, probably I like best The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943), I Know Where I'm Going! (1945), and The Small Back Room (1949), although Black Narcissus (1947), The Red Shoes (1948), and The Tales of Hoffmann (1950) are it if you want Technicolor phantasmagoria. I have written about most of these, and can again point you toward my reactions if you think it will help. They were just an extraordinary team.