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Friday, August 13, 1999 Page:
Filmmakers, stars reveal their favorite Hitchcock movies
“Psycho” still makes the cut. So does “Vertigo” and “Rear Window.”
But “Shadow of a Doubt,” arguably Alfred Hitchcock’s best and most
personal picture, is not among the favorites routinely cited by today’s actors
and directorsThe Master of Suspense would have turned a 100 years old today.
To celebrate the centennial of his birth, we asked a handful of filmmakers the
not-too-simple question, “What’s your favorite Hitchcock movie?”
Giovanni Ribisi- “Well, `Psycho’ is perfect. A perfect movie. The acting,
the direction- everything is perfect. But my personal favorite is `Rope.’
The way the film was shot was genius, and James Stewart was brilliant.”
Kevin Kline- “I love `Rebecca’ because of Joan Fontaine and Laurence
Olivier. They gave terrific performances in that movie. `Suspicion’ is another
great one. And `North By Northwest.’ But it’s hard to pick one because it’s
like saying, `What’s your favorite Shakespeare?’ I like them all.”
Pat Hitchcock O’Connell- “My favorite of my dad’s pictures is `Notorious.’
But my dad himself liked `Shadow of a Doubt.’ He told me he got a kick out of
introducing menace into a small-town setting.”
Hugh Hudson (director of “Chariots of Fire”)- “I like `Strangers on a
Train.’ It’s much more chilling than `Psycho,’ which is just about shock
value.”
Will Smith- “I guess I gotta go with `Psycho.’ It made such a big impact on
me when I first saw it. I couldn’t shake it for days.”
Samuel L. Jackson- “I love Hitchcock’s TV show. I remember seeing it as a
kid. And now I have a lot of the shows on laser disc, and my daughter watches
them all of the time. Movie-wise, I really like `The Birds.’ Why? I’m a huge
Rod Taylor fan. I don’t know. It’s just a great movie.”
Ron Howard- “I’m a `North By Northwest’ man. I must admit I just love
seeing Hitchcock orchestrate all of those action sequences.”
Billy Bob Thornton- “I love `Vertigo.’ It created such a mood in the
theater when I saw it. I was nervous the whole time. And if a movie can keep
you in a weird mood for its entire running time, I think it’s successful
because that’s a hard thing to do. They’re all masterpieces, but `Vertigo’ is
the best one, better than `Rear Window.’ ”
Chris O’Donnell- “My favorite is `Rear Window,’ and that’s because of Jimmy
Stewart. He gives one of the best performances I’ve ever seen in the film.”
Garry Marshall- “I like so many of them. `Psycho’ was good, but frankly it
scared me too much. I like `The Birds’ because it has so many fascinating
things in it that I could never think up myself.”
Janeane Garofalo- “I like `The Birds.’ It’s a kid thing. But I don’t find
it scary now. Actually, it looks pretty hokey if you see it today.”
Joseph Stefano (“Psycho” screenwriter)- “`Rebecca’ is my favorite at the
moment. It just casts a spell over me every time I see it. A couple of years
ago my favorite was `Shadow of a Doubt’ and then it was `Vertigo.’ The great
thing about Hitchcock’s films is that you can keep going back to the them and
discovering something new.”
Rob Schneider- “My all-time favorite is `Vertigo’ because it’s about a man
going nuts right in front of your eyes. I love Hitchcock because he gives you
a little information and says, `That’s all you need to know right now.’ Today,
American films give you all the information in the first 10 minutes and then
10 minutes later, they remind you of all the information again.”
John Cusack- “The best Hitchcock is clearly `Notorious.’ I think its
elegant and gripping. It’s like being in a dream, that movie. It’s so good.”
Viggo Mortensen- “I was in the two Hitchcock remakes (`Psycho’ and `A
Perfect Murder’) but `Psycho’ and `Dial M For Murder’ aren’t my favorite of
his movies. For technical reasons, I like `Rope.’ It’s kind of an artificial
thing, but its fun to watch. Even though Hitchcock used a lot of great actors
like Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman and Grace Kelly, I was never blown away by the
performances in his movies. And I think that has to do with Hitchcock’s
approach to actors. The performances are fun and the movies are clever but
Hitchcock is not God almighty.”
Martin Landau- “I think `North By Northwest’ comes the closest to being the
quintessential Hitchcock movie, and I’m not saying that just because I’m in
the movie. I love `The Birds’ and `Rear Window’ and `Secret Agent,’ but `North
By Northwest’ is on a whole other level.”
Drew Barrymore- “My favorite is `Rope’ because I love how Hitchcock
constructed the whole movie out of 10 minute takes. It’s so cool to see each
scene end on somebody’s back and then see the camera pull back and start the
next scene. That was so clever! Hitchcock was a genius at making movies that
are pure escapist entertainment. You’ll often hear me screaming in my office,
`Where is Alfred Hitchcock today?’ “-
Amy Longsdorf