#ALFRED HOTCHCOCK TV#

Lawrence Olivier and Joan Fontaine play the leads effectively, and George Sanders is his usual slimy troublemaker as Favell, Rebecca’s “cousin”.

The dead ruling the living occurs again and again in Hitchcock and is given a fine treatment in this, his first American film. The film takes up what will become a major theme for Hitchcock, that of one’s identity becoming subsumed by one who is not there, who is in fact, dead. William Rothman remarked that “Hitchcock’s move to Hollywood is like Haydn’s move to London: for the first time, he has a great orchestra at his disposal.”Īlthough Hitchcock used the technological advancements he found in America to great effect – such great effect that the film would win the Academy Award in 1940 for Best Picture, the only Hitchcock film to do so – he would also later somewhat disavow himself of the film, telling Francois Truffaut “it’s not a Hitchcock picture” and that the film is “lacking in humor”.Īlthough many view the film as a struggle for control between the domineering producer Selznick and his new ‘employee’, Rebecca is an audacious American debut for Hitchcock, a film steeped in shadows and light, gloomy gothic atmosphere, and a tremendous performance from Dame Judith Anderson as Mrs. In March, 1939, Alfred Hitchcock came to America under a seven year contract with producer David O. Fortunately, most of Hitchcock’s American films have been restored and released on blu-ray and his 9 silent films have also recently been restored by the BFI. His career was divided into two distinct periods, the British (pre 1940) and American films, and this list is made up primarily of the American films.īut Hitchcock’s early British films are extremely important to his career, and anyone interested in learning more about Hitchcock should also see these honorable mentions: The Lodger, The Manxman, Blackmail, The Man Who Knew too Much (1934), Sabotage and Young and Innocent, as well as the two British masterpieces on this list. These then are the 15 essential films that anyone must see in order to begin to understand Hitchcock’s work and complex filmmaking technique. Since his death in 1980, Hitchcock’s legacy has been reappraised by both scholars and the general public, and he is now thought of as one of the most significant – if not THE most significant – filmmaker of the 20th century.īlending humor, suspense and drama with a genuine understanding of the foibles of the human condition, Hitchcock’s films have continued to rank higher and higher on the list of most critics and filmmakers, culminating with Vertigo’s selection in 2012 as the #1 film of all time in the Sight and Sound Critic’s Poll.

#ALFRED HOTCHCOCK TV#

During his lifetime, Alfred Hitchcock was thought of as a master showman who kept his audiences entertained with suspenseful movies and quirky TV shows.

Alfred hotchcock