If you’ve ever wondered what was so great about Alfred Hitchcock, this is the weekend to find out. Was the master of suspense the greatest filmmaker of all time? The four films playing in Memphis this weekend make the strongest case possible for Hitch’s GOAT status.
Alfred Hitchcock
Saturday night, the Time Warp Drive-In will devote its season’s first full show to Hitchcock. Cinephiles will go round and round on which of his films is the best, but the Time Warp is leading with my pick: Rear Window. This amazingly compact work takes place in one giant set. It has Jimmy Stewart at his most laconic, literal queen Grace Kelly at her absolute sexiest, and a classic supporting performance by the great Thelma Ritter. Just look at the way Hitch introduces the setting and almost every character in the film in the opening three minutes.
It’s A Hitchcock Weekend! Time Warp Drive In and Turner Classic Movies Present Four Classics From The Master of Suspense
Next up is North by Northwest, the template for thousands of action movies. Check out this trailer, in which Hitch prefigured Deadpool‘s marketing campaign by six decades.
It’s A Hitchcock Weekend! Time Warp Drive In and Turner Classic Movies Present Four Classics From The Master of Suspense (2)
Next on the super-genius parade is The Birds, a deeply weird horror film that today can be read as a kind of proto-zombie movie. The events of the film are never really explained, but as you can see from this classic clip, these are some really pissed off birds!
It’s A Hitchcock Weekend! Time Warp Drive In and Turner Classic Movies Present Four Classics From The Master of Suspense (3)
On Sunday at the Paradiso, Turner Classic Movies presents a 60th anniversary screening of Vertigo, Hitchcock’s masterpiece which, in 2012, bumped Citizen Kane from the top spot of the decennial Sight + Sound Best Films Of All Times poll. You can judge for yourself at the Paradiso on Sunday, March 18 at 2:00 PM.
It’s A Hitchcock Weekend! Time Warp Drive In and Turner Classic Movies Present Four Classics From The Master of Suspense (4)
