Alfred Hitchcock Movies to Check Out
Alfred Hitchcock is known as one of the best directors of all time, and it’s for a reason. His films are always expertly crafted and dripping with suspense. For anyone looking for well-directed mystery and suspense movies, Hitchcock’s are the ones to check out.
“Psycho” is Hithcock’s most iconic movie, known especially for the its infamous shower murder scene. The plot is somewhat unconventional at times, with an important character being killed off in the first 20 minutes, and it has a plot twist that’s not super surprising but still exciting. In this movie, after the protagonist, Marion Crane steals money from the bank she works at and is on the run from the police, she finds herself at Bates Motel, where things are not as they seem. The combination of nuanced acting and a thrilling musical score sets the mood for a greatly suspenseful movie.
“Dial M For Murder” is an underrated but incredible movie, and maybe even Hitchcock’s best. It takes place almost completely in one room. Despite there being very little mystery in this movie since almost all of the necessary information is given to you at the beginning, every scene is crafted to make the viewer lean forward with intrigue. There’s one standout scene that is twenty minutes long, takes place in one room, and just shows two men having a civil conversation, which in less capable hands could have made for a boring and uninteresting scene. However, thanks to the incredible directing, writing, and acting, the viewer won’t be bored for a second of it and will be hanging on to every word. In “Dial M For Murder,” a man plans to murder his wife because she is having an affair, but then has to scramble to cover his tracks from a detective when things don’t go according to plan.
“Rope” is a film that, while not as good as the others previously mentioned, is still worth watching. This movie, which also takes place in just one room, is solely built on suspense, so the plot is extremely bare. It centers around two men who kill someone because of a philosophical theory, then decide to hide his body in the room where they plan to hold a dinner party with the victim’s friends and family because of the sheer “excitement” of it. One impressive feature of “Rope” is that the entire movie is almost completely one continuous shot. This 80 minute long movie has only 6 or 7 cuts total that are disguised to look continuous, which is incredibly difficult and requires a huge amount of planning, practice, and precision. Throughout the film, the camera expertly moves from person to person in order to keep things interesting and prevent the need for cuts.
“Strangers on a Train” is a black and white thriller with a unique premise and consistently artful cinematography. In this movie, Hitchcock uses a variety of creative techniques in his direction, such as recording events through the reflection of someone’s glasses or through their shadows. This movie is about a tennis star named Guy Haines who meets a man named Bruno Anthony by chance on a train and humors him with a seemingly hypothetical conversation. Unbeknownst to Haines, this sets off a deadly chain of events as Anthony makes a plan to “exchange” murders with him. The lingering creepiness of Anthony jumps off the screen, while for Haines, it is easy to empathize with his unfortunate situation. This film moves at a steady pace and the tension rises throughout, with Haines’ internal conflict exacerbating his guilt and Anthony’s disturbed mind leading him to extreme actions.
Something unique about Alfred Hitcock movies is that the plots are usually fairly simple and straightforward. These mysteries don’t have plot twists left and right, overwhelming you with information and exposition until you get lost in a three hour muddle of a convoluted plot. Instead, he sets out to have one singular and relatively short story, and he puts his all into it, without anything extra. The succinctness of his movies and the fact that every detail must contribute to the overall story are some of the reasons why he has gone down as a legend in the film industry and why we still watch his movies today. These movies, while not always perfect, are a welcome reprieve from the all-too-common mindless action movies and soulless blockbusters (not to say that all action movies are bad, but Hollywood is oversaturated with failed attempts at this genre) that have been letting us forget what moviemaking is meant to do–not distract us with loud noises and empty CGI, but make us empathize with the characters, ask questions, and feel every emotion in the human experience.
