This Was Alfred Hitchcock’s Best Movie, According To Our Poll
Universal Pictures By Ryan Scott/Feb. 24, 2022 3:56 pm EST
(Welcome to Survey Says, a feature where we conduct a movie-related survey for a random group of people and explain why they’re completely right, completely wrong, or somewhere in-between.) There are few directors who have ever lived or will ever live that can claim the same level of influence over the art form as Alfred Hitchcock. The man was one of the best to ever do it and has influenced not only hundreds of filmmakers since, but the way that films are made — with entire subgenres traced back directly to his films. There is nobody quite like Hitchcock and it’s hard to imagine that there ever will be again. But which of his films stands above the rest?
We decided to ask some film fans that very question to see what modern movie lovers feel about the man who made such classics as “Strangers On a Train” and “Dial M for Murder.” So let’s go over the results and have a reasoned discussion about what the numbers tell us, shall we?
Sometimes the obvious choice is the best choice
Paramount Pictures
All of that having been said, there is a damn good reason that “Psycho” has lasted in the cultural consciousness for more than 60 years and a damn good reason it topped this list. Plain and simple, it is an excellent movie filled with great performances, filmmaking that holds up to this very day, and a compelling story that keeps the audience guessing. It works like gangbusters for fresh eyes with no qualifiers. There are no outdated special effects and hardly any “good for it’s time” conversation that need be had, as is so often the case with classics that are relics of the era they were made in.
There is a reason that the shower scene alone from this movie can inspire an entire feature-length documentary. This is moviegoing for the masses at its very finest. Time has been extremely kind to “Psycho” and, while the results of this poll open an interesting discussion about the kinds of classics that may (or may not) endure, this is certainly one that is worthy of its reputation and worth keeping in the conversation for future generations of cinephiles.
This Was Alfred Hitchcock’s Best Movie, According To Our Poll
Universal Pictures
By Ryan Scott/Feb. 24, 2022 3:56 pm EST
(Welcome to Survey Says, a feature where we conduct a movie-related survey for a random group of people and explain why they’re completely right, completely wrong, or somewhere in-between.) There are few directors who have ever lived or will ever live that can claim the same level of influence over the art form as Alfred Hitchcock. The man was one of the best to ever do it and has influenced not only hundreds of filmmakers since, but the way that films are made — with entire subgenres traced back directly to his films. There is nobody quite like Hitchcock and it’s hard to imagine that there ever will be again. But which of his films stands above the rest?
We decided to ask some film fans that very question to see what modern movie lovers feel about the man who made such classics as “Strangers On a Train” and “Dial M for Murder.” So let’s go over the results and have a reasoned discussion about what the numbers tell us, shall we?
There are few directors who have ever lived or will ever live that can claim the same level of influence over the art form as Alfred Hitchcock. The man was one of the best to ever do it and has influenced not only hundreds of filmmakers since, but the way that films are made — with entire subgenres traced back directly to his films. There is nobody quite like Hitchcock and it’s hard to imagine that there ever will be again. But which of his films stands above the rest?
We decided to ask some film fans that very question to see what modern movie lovers feel about the man who made such classics as “Strangers On a Train” and “Dial M for Murder.” So let’s go over the results and have a reasoned discussion about what the numbers tell us, shall we?
And the survey says…
Paramount Pictures
In perhaps the most interesting entry on the list, “Vertigo” finished with a little less than 8% of the total vote which demonstrates the unscientific nature of a random, online survey, as many consider this to be one of the greatest movies ever made — if not the single greatest movie ever made, right up there with “Citizen Kane.” Last but not least, the final two entries were “Notorious” with a little more than 5% of the vote, and with a “hey we made it” number of votes at just a touch over 1% was “Shadow of a Doubt.”
The results are telling
MGM
Sometimes the obvious choice is the best choice
All of that having been said, there is a damn good reason that “Psycho” has lasted in the cultural consciousness for more than 60 years and a damn good reason it topped this list. Plain and simple, it is an excellent movie filled with great performances, filmmaking that holds up to this very day, and a compelling story that keeps the audience guessing. It works like gangbusters for fresh eyes with no qualifiers. There are no outdated special effects and hardly any “good for it’s time” conversation that need be had, as is so often the case with classics that are relics of the era they were made in.
There is a reason that the shower scene alone from this movie can inspire an entire feature-length documentary. This is moviegoing for the masses at its very finest. Time has been extremely kind to “Psycho” and, while the results of this poll open an interesting discussion about the kinds of classics that may (or may not) endure, this is certainly one that is worthy of its reputation and worth keeping in the conversation for future generations of cinephiles.
There is a reason that the shower scene alone from this movie can inspire an entire feature-length documentary. This is moviegoing for the masses at its very finest. Time has been extremely kind to “Psycho” and, while the results of this poll open an interesting discussion about the kinds of classics that may (or may not) endure, this is certainly one that is worthy of its reputation and worth keeping in the conversation for future generations of cinephiles.
