Paring down his work to five essential films was extremely difficult for me. I count at least 10 films of his that I consider masterpieces and I consider almost all of them essential viewing. But thinking about his general themes and visual style, I began to make some cuts. Hitchcock is often accused of making only suspense films. This is really an unfair criticism as suspense of some kind is essential to popular cinema. The breadth of Hitchock's work is vast if you get by the initial, easy categorization that "suspense" offers. Yet I still almost chose the underrated screwball comedy Mr. and Mrs. Smith, but ultimately decided that as good as it is, it isn't representative of what makes him great.
Hitchcock was a man of obsessions: staircases, women, police, the secrets of others, what it means to know someone, etc, etc. Most filmmakers have pet themes or subject matter, but Hitchcock seems like a man obsessed, unable to get past the issues presented onscreen. His work is the richer for it; no one else takes you as deeply into their neuroses. Understanding his work seems like understanding the man. It almost makes me want to buy into Auteur theory, but not quite. Instead he does what every artist I have ever loved does and that's make his work personal and universal at the same time. Each one is clearly Hitchcockian and yet also the work of collaboration. He injects his work with his own neuroses and experiences while making room for (for instance) Jimmy Stewart's persona, or the score of Bernard Hermann.
I'll try a numbered list this time. They're in chronological order, but watching them in that order isn't necessary even if it might be interesting.
1. The 39 Steps (1935)
This is Hitchcock's first great film and the best of the years he worked in Britain's film industry. It has a great performance from Robert Donat that manages to be sophisticated, comic, and romantic. But more important than the acting is Hitchcock's visual mastery and timing. It's an immersive film, and the first Hitchcock where I get the sense that he is in complete control of the audiences emotions. What he shows you, what he doesn't, and (most importantly) how he shows you are masterfully done. Make sure that you watch the Criterion version of the film as all the other versions I've seen have been awful.
This is the first film Hitchcock made in the USA. He benefits greatly from the improved casts and production values that working under David O. Selznick affords him. This is one of his more widely seen films, but also one of his more underrated. It is not merely a literary adaption and it doesn't appear to be overly compromised by Selznick's interference. Instead what we see is Hitchcock bend the material to his will to create a mystery which speaks to everyone. The experience of wondering what others are thinking and whether we can trust them is a universal one and is something that, in one form or another, appears in all his work. He is often accused of being misogynistic but, to me, that is a complete misreading. He loves women, he just feels alienated by them. Truffaut often said that Hitchcock was his favorite director and I see the influence on his alienated characters. There is a huge difference, of course, between the stodgy, British alienation of Hitchcock and the very French alienation of Truffaut. So, back to Rebecca... Hitchcock manages to weave the personal into the story without compromising the plot. It's a great example of his ability to combine the artistic and the commercial.
3. Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
I grew up in a small town much like those that appear in many of Hitchcock's films. One of his obsessions seems to be the dark heart of these towns, both as an allegory for humanity at large and for their own sake. This has always interested me, perhaps because of my small-town origins. Even though I never experienced this 'dark heart' for myself, I always had the sense that there was something hidden behind one of the picket fences no one wanted me to see. So naturally, this film and David Lynch's (seeming) followups to it (Blue Velvet, Twin Peaks) have always fascinated me. This film is Hitchcock's favorite among his own films and I think its probably because of how perfect each shot is. There isn't anything particularly complex about the film (he never tried to imitate Welles) but nothing is out of place, it seems to be the perfect boiling down of his visual style. I can see him screening the film and saying to himself, "I wouldn't change a thing". Well, I wouldn't change a thing either.
This is, for me and many others, the essential Hitchcock film. It is slow, complex, and really very weird, but ultimately it is a masterpiece. Each character in the film undergoes a transformation that is profound and meaningful. The use of color and lighting is nothing short of transcendent and the performances are electric. It is the clearest declaration of Hitchcock's themes in any of his films and feels extremely personal. I should stop gushing about this film, other than to say if you see one film on this list, make it this one.
The last of Hitchock's masterpieces is his most subversive and consequently his least understood. I don't want to go into the complex symbology which this film employs as it is basically the subject for a book, but suffice it to say that this is a film that rewards repeat viewings. On the surface it seems like a dated film, it seemed dated when it was made. It spouts Freudian psychology like its Gospel and has a ridiculous ending. Hitchcock was jumping into the recently possible sex-drama genre which he himself helped make possible with Psycho. It's a film that can't be explained away simply even if it is easily pigeon-holed. It doesn't hit as hard as Vertigo, Psycho, or even The Birds but its an experience not to be missed.
I skipped many really great and beloved films like Rear Window, Notorious, North by Northwest, Psycho, and The Birds. These and many others are also worth any movie lovers time, many maybe even being better than the films on my list. But I don't think they're the best representation of or introduction to Hitchcock. If you love the five films I listed above you should definitely go out and seek out those other films, as well as less known but equally good films like The Lady Vanishes, Suspicion, Under Capricorn, Stage Fright, Dial M for Murder, To Catch a Thief, and The Wrong Man.
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