Hitchcock film recommendations?
 

Hello all, out of these Hitchcocks which I have not seen, which five or so would you recommend?
My favorites of the ones I've seen include Vertigo, Psycho, Notorious, Rebbeca, Strangers on a Train, The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956), Dial M for Murder.

I've already seen Rear Window, please stop recommending it.

The Lodger (1926)
Rich and Strange (1932)
The 39 Steps (1935) <--- I already own this one, intend to watch
Sabotage (1936)
The Lady Vanishes (1938)
Foreign Correspondent (1940)
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941)
Suspicion (1941)
Saboteur (1942)
Lifeboat (1944)
Spellbound (1945)
Rope (1948) <--- I really feel like I'm missing out here, probably will watch
I Confess (1953)
To Catch a Thief (1955)
The Wrong Man (1956)
The Birds (1963) <--- Always been a bit skeptical if it holds up today or if I'd be bored?
Marnie (1964) <--- Always been curious about this one, how is it?
Frenzy (1972)
Family Plot (1976)

Definitely watch Rope. It may not be one of his best, but it's a fulfilling experience, technically and cinematically. As for the others, well, I think I have to crack open the old Masterpiece Collection pretty soon, myself.

I recommend them all, but if you want to prioritize here are my suggestions:
The 39 Steps
The Lady Vanishes
Lifeboat
The Wrong Man
The Birds
Frenzy

No Rear Window? That should be first.

I've already seen it, hence why it's not on the list of... films I haven't seen.
(It's just not one of my favorites)

I would pick:
The Lodger (1926) "the first flim that deals with a Jack The Ripper like story"
And Rear Window is a must!!

I recommend
Lifeboat
The Wrong Man
The Birds
Saboteur
Spellbound (1945)

I recently watched all of Hitchcock's films in chronological order. Of the movies on your list, here are my ratings, for what they're worth...

1) I Confess
2) Foreign Correspondent
3) The Wrong Man
4) The Lady Vanishes
5) Saboteur

just watch all of them, it's too hard to pick just 5 from that list.

Foreign Correspondent (1940)
Lifeboat (1944)
Rope (1948)
The Wrong Man (1956)

OK, I'm realizing that I probably ought to watch half of the movies from the list, but I've received some mixed results about Spellbound.

What do you guys think about that one? I won't buy it since it's expensive, but skippable or worth checking out?

Out of the ones I've seen I'd rank them like this

North by Northwest
Psycho
Vertigo
Rebecca - great twist even though it starts off a little slow
Foreign Correspondent - extremely underrated
The Lodger - a great movie and the only Hitchcock silent movie I've seen
Strangers on a Train - very suspenseful
The Birds - maybe dated but if you're a Hitchcock fan it won't bother you
Rear Window - very good but overrated compared to some of his other films
Notorious
I Confess - very underrated
Family Plot - his last movie and very underrated. Just fun to watch.
The 39 Steps - the best of the pre-Hollywood Hitchcock movies
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) - superior to the remake
Marnie - starts off slow but is great by the end
Frenzy - his most graphic by far
To Catch a Thief
The Lady Vanishes
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) - remake is better but this is still good
Dial M for Murder - surprisingly little suspense except early on
Mr. and Mrs. Smith (1941) - decent comedy but it's Hitchcock in name only
Jamaica Inn - decent but not one of best
Lifeboat - overrated
Rope - even with Jimmy Stewart my least favorite Hitchcock movie but still solid

I haven't seen these but I bought most of them in the recent DDD sale and plan to see them soon:
The Paradine Case, Sabotage, Saboteur, Shadow of a Doubt, Spellbound, Stage Fright, Suspicion, Topaz, Torn Curtain, The Trouble with Harry, Under Capricorn, The Wrong Man

I enjoy Spellbound
I would recommend Spellbound, Lifeboat, The Birds, Marnie, Saboteur, Rope

Lifeboat, Saboteur, Rope, The Birds

The only Hitchcock movie i've ever seen was The Birds, which I just watched about a week ago actually. I enjoyed it very much and don't see see any reason it wouldn't hold up today.

I'm currently making my way through Hitchock's works as well!

My recommendations, based upon the list you provided:

1. The Lady Vanishes (just watched this myself and loved it!)
2. Frenzy (balances darkness and humor very well)
3. The 39 Steps (starts slow, but stay with it -- it builds momentum)
4. Rope

Personally, I didn't care much for the following titles:

Marnie: the ending (last five minutes) was the only part that really worked
The Birds: its okay, but not in the same league as his best work
To Catch a Thief: surprisingly weak and un-engaging all around
Saboteur: a very poor remake of "The 39 Steps", don't bother with it
Lifeboat: too much is given away too soon, hard to believe the characters' actions

My personal favorites are:
1. Vertigo
2. Psycho
3. Rear Window
4. Dial M For Murder.
Surprisingly, I don't care much for the 1956 version of Man Who Knew Too Much -- Jimmy Stewart just doesn't work in this role for me. I'm planning to watch the original version soon to see if I like it better.

I have not yet seen the following:
Rebecca (where to find this?)
Notorious (where to find this?)
Spellbound (where to find this?)
Family Plot (own, just haven't watched yet)
I Confess
The Wrong Man
Suspicion
Mr. and Mrs. Smith
Foreign Correspondent

--Mike

North by Northwest is my fav.

moonraker, I don't know your stance on downloading movies in general, but personally I have no problem with downloading one or two 65-year-old movie that are difficult to come by legitimately (Rebecca, Notorious, etc.). Sure, you're not going to get Criterion image quality, but at least you're watching the movie right?

Alternately, check to see if your local libraries have copies of those movies you can check-out.

Shadow Of A Doubt. Next to Psycho this is my favorite Hitchcock film.

It's also Hitchcock's own personal favorite.

Well, from the ones you haven't seen I'd rank them

01. The Wrong Man
02. The 39 Steps
03. The Lady Vanishes
04. Lifeboat
05. Shadow of a Doubt
06. Marnie
07. The Birds
08. Frenzy
09. Rope
10. Spellbound

Also, North by Northwest should be #1 if you haven't seen that..figured you had.

I've seen most of his 50s/60s ones but need to see more of his 30s/40s.
It's an obvious choice but i can't deny it, Psycho is my fav. Perkins is mesmerizing, great pacing, Herrmann's score is phenomenal as usual

I blind bought Rope after hearing how it was shot. Technically speaking, I thought it was pretty amazing, but I've always dug the long shots like that, usually only found on television.

The Rope and The Birds for me, two of my favorites.

Foreign Correspondent is similar to, and nearly as good as, North by Northwest and yet it gets very little credit. It's a must-see.

Foreign Correspondent has always been one of my favorites of his "lesser known" films.

The 39 Steps, Young and Innocent, Foreign Correspondent, Saboteur, The Wrong Man and North by Northwest are all very similar; all dealing with mistaken identity and/or man on the run.

Also check out his TV series "Alfred Hitchcock Presents".
Hitchcock has many witty opening and closing comments.

I decided to buy the Masterpiece Collection earlier today from Amazon for $60.99, which contains many of these films that I had not seen such as Marnie and Rope and Frenzy and The Birds and Saboteur, so that will aid me in delving further into the master's body of works.

I made a note about the other ones you guys have mentioned (in particular, Foreign Correspondent and The Wrong Man seem to have gotten the strongest positive response).

Marnie and The Trouble With Harry.

RE: Rope - Just like the protagonists of the film kill for no reason other than to kill, Hitchcock uses a "single take" illusion for no reason other than to use it, which results in some pretty rediculous transitions. Not a "bad film" by a longshot, but I would certainly recommend Marnie and The Trouble With Harry ahead of it along with the others that people have mentioned.

All of them.

While not a Hitchcock film in name, I watched Charade earlier today and enjoyed that one. It felt a lot like a continuation of North By Northwest with the ever-charming-even-at-age-60 Cary Grant. The dialogue at times was a little bit too snappy and too cute for me, but the editing in the movie was great and the suspenseful climax was great. Loved it. It had everything of a Hitchcock thriller except the wrongfully accused man trying to prove his innocence.