Alfred Hitchcock Movies: Essential Films
Alfred Hitchcock has made many great movies - here we've put together the very best, his greatest achievements and most influential works. Our curated selection begins with his British breakthrough The 39 Steps, which established his signature themes of the wrongly accused man and a cross-country chase.
Rebecca won the Oscar for Best Picture and showcased Hitchcock's ability to craft Gothic romance. Rope demonstrated his technical audacity with its experimental long-take approach, while Dial M for Murder perfected the mechanics of the locked-room thriller.
The 1950s brought his golden age: Rear Window became a masterclass in pure visual storytelling, Vertigo wove a hypnotic tale of desire and deception, and North by Northwest delivered the definitive spy thriller. Psycho revolutionized horror and shattered audience expectations, while The Birds demonstrated that nature itself could become the ultimate antagonist.
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List not ranked (sorted by Release Date)
The 39 Steps
Richard Hanney has a rude awakening when a glamorous female spy falls into his bed - with a knife in her back. Having a bit of trouble explaining it all to Scotland Yard, he heads for the hills of Scotland to try to clear his name by locating the spy ring known as The 39 Steps.
Rebecca
Story of a young woman who marries a fascinating widower only to find out that she must live in the shadow of his former wife, Rebecca, who died mysteriously several years earlier. The young wife must come to grips with the terrible secret of her handsome, cold husband, Max De Winter. She must also deal with the jealous, obsessed Mrs. Danvers, the housekeeper, who will not accept her as the mistress of the house.
Rope
Two young men attempt to prove they committed the perfect murder by hosting a dinner party for the family of a classmate they just strangled to death.
Dial M for Murder
When her American lover visits London, a wealthy woman’s jealous husband hatches a plan to murder her and inherit her fortune.
Rear Window
A wheelchair-bound photographer spies on his neighbors from his apartment window and becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.
Vertigo
A retired San Francisco detective suffering from acrophobia investigates the strange activities of an old friend's wife, all the while becoming dangerously obsessed with her.
North by Northwest
Advertising man Roger Thornhill is mistaken for a spy, triggering a deadly cross-country chase.
Psycho
When larcenous real estate clerk Marion Crane goes on the lam with a wad of cash and hopes of starting a new life, she ends up at the notorious Bates Motel, where manager Norman Bates cares for his housebound mother.
The Birds
Thousands of birds flock into a seaside town and terrorize the residents in a series of deadly attacks.
Other Film Series
Chernobyl
Feature films exploring the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster and its lasting impact on the exclusion zone.
Cults
Films exploring the manipulation, devotion, and darkness of religious and psychological cults.
David Lynch
Visionary surrealist filmmaker known for his exploration of dream logic, suburban darkness, and the mysteries lurking beneath everyday American life.
Hercule Poirot
Agatha Christie's famous Belgian detective has been adapted across multiple eras, from early talkies to modern star-studded ensembles.
Jason Bourne
An amnesiac CIA assassin discovers his deadly past while being hunted by his former agency.
Philip Marlowe
Film adaptations spanning eight decades featuring Raymond Chandler's iconic private detective Philip Marlowe, with different actors and interpretations across multiple eras.