“A film is the life of which the boring parts have been cut out,” said a chubby English man born in London on the eve of the twentieth century. That man was Alfred Hitchcock, one of the most influential personalities in the history of cinema. The man obsessed with blondes, inventor of MacGuffin and extraordinary manipulator of suspense, the narrative tool par excellence of the thriller. His vast cinematography contains over fifty titles that are usually divided into two periods, the historical fracture of which is identified in his move from London to Hollywood in 1940. In his England Hitchcock has shown to possess skills not common to the camera while, in the city ​​of stars, has been able to shine like no one before him, entering the firmament of directing, becoming the acclaimed Master of the Thrill for film lovers of all latitudes.

niood lists the 5 best movies of Alfred Hitchcock:

1. Notorious (1946)

1946, Mystery & thriller, 1h 43m

Rotten Tomatoes AUDIENCE SCORE: 91% (25,000+ Ratings)

Storyline

In order to help bring Nazis to justice, U.S. government agent T.R. Devlin (Cary Grant) recruits Alicia Huberman (Ingrid Bergman), the American daughter of a convicted German war criminal, as a spy. As they begin to fall for one another, Alicia is instructed to win the affections of Alexander Sebastian (Claude Rains), a Nazi hiding out in Brazil. When Sebastian becomes serious about his relationship with Alicia, the stakes get higher, and Devlin must watch her slip further undercover.

Why we love it

Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant are at their best as the daughter of a Nazi spy who is persuaded by US intelligence to marry a Nazi big shot and the American agent who saves her. Featuring one of the longest and hottest kisses in the history of cinema and memorable sequences like that of the cellar and the staircase. Which practically everyone tried to redo.

2. Vertigo (1958)

PG 1958, Mystery & thriller, 2h 8m

Rotten Tomatoes AUDIENCE SCORE: 93% (100,000+ Ratings)

Storyline

Hitchcock’s romantic story of obsession, manipulation and fear. A detective is forced to retire after his fear of heights causes the death of a fellow officer and the girl he was hired to follow. He sees a double of the girl, causing him to transform her image onto the dead girl’s body. This leads into a cycle of madness and lies.

Why we love it

One of the best films in the history of cinema. Here is all of Hithcock. An intrigue thought out to perfection, the blonde Kim Novak, twists and the spectacular direction of him. A film about the double and about illusion.

3. Psycho (1960)

R 1960, Horror/Mystery & thriller, 1h 49m

Rotten Tomatoes AUDIENCE SCORE: 95% (100,000+ Ratings)

Storyline

Phoenix secretary Marion Crane (Janet Leigh), on the lam after stealing $40,000 from her employer in order to run away with her boyfriend, Sam Loomis (John Gavin), is overcome by exhaustion during a heavy rainstorm. Traveling on the back roads to avoid the police, she stops for the night at the ramshackle Bates Motel and meets the polite but highly strung proprietor Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins), a young man with an interest in taxidermy and a difficult relationship with his mother.

Why we love it

Contemporary horror starts from here. In the feature film there are all the director’s obsessions: the blonde heroine, the dominant matriarchal figure, the unreliable policeman, extreme voyeurism, the challenge to the Hollywood censorship code in force since the 1930s. And, as Leigh slips on the white bathroom tiles, a new kind of cinema is born: visceral, twisted, shocking.

4. North By Northwest (1959)

1959, Mystery & thriller, 2h 16m

Rotten Tomatoes AUDIENCE SCORE: 94% (50,000+ Ratings)

Storyline

This classic suspense film finds New York City ad executive Roger O. Thornhill (Cary Grant) pursued by ruthless spy Phillip Vandamm (James Mason) after Thornhill is mistaken for a government agent. Hunted relentlessly by Vandamm’s associates, the harried Thornhill ends up on a cross-country journey, meeting the beautiful and mysterious Eve Kendall (Eva Marie Saint) along the way. Soon Vandamm’s henchmen close in on Thornhill, resulting in a number of iconic action sequences.

Why we love it

The sensational sequence of Cary Grant running in the fields chased by the airplane would be enough to corroborate the thesis. But also the tone continuously suspended between screwball comedy, yellow-pink (the protagonist’s shoulder is Eva Marie Saint) and a James Bond film.

5. Rear Window (1954)

PG 1954, Mystery & thriller, 1h 52m

Rotten Tomatoes AUDIENCE SCORE: 95% (100,000+ Ratings)

Storyline

A newspaper photographer with a broken leg passes time recuperating by observing his neighbors through his window. He sees what he believes to be a murder, and decides to solve the crime himself. With the help of his nurse and wife, he tries to catch the murderer without being killed himself.

Why we love it

For Hitchcock, the meeting with Grace Kelly (the future princess of Monaco) was dazzling: between 1954 and 1955, in fact, he cast her in three films. James Stewart had previously worked with the thrill master a few years earlier on Knot at the Throat. Hitchcock manages to keep us in suspense by pinning his protagonist to a wheelchair, while observing an alleged murder in the courtyard below the house.