Vertigo

1958.

#61 / #9

Nominated for 2 Academy Awards.

John "Scottie" Ferguson (Jimmy Stewart) is a cop, deathly afraid of heights. He becomes a private investigator, hired to investigate the behavior of "Madeleine Elster" (Kim Novak). Scottie falls in love with her, then she throws herself out of a bell tower. You can imagine old Scotty's surprise when he sees a spitting image of Madeleine in the form of Judy Barton.

Eddie: VERTIGO is one of the all-around best movies ever made. It's tough to classify VERTIGO into a genre, because it encompasses so much. To me, the movie is about finding your place in the world, and poor Scottie Ferguson never gets a grasp on it. He can't decide if he's crazy or sane, if his name's John or Scotty, or if he's chasing a ghost or the woman of his dreams. The fear of heights and VERTIGO's most famous camera trick add plot and suspense, but what makes the movie great - what separates it from a hundred TV movies about secret identities - is Jimmy Stewart's honest portrayal of a man who's lost.

Oh, and Kim Novak as Madeleine/Judy may be one of the most beautifully photographed actresses in any movie of any era.

Sarah: Oh Eddie, Kim Novak is not just a pretty picture. She also shows her range in this film, and it is her acting that largely builds the suspense and creepiness. As long as we are talking female leads, Barbara Bel Geddes is also great as Scottie's hopelessly devoted side-kick, Midge. Poor Midge. Too bad HE'S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU hadn't been written yet. It would have saved her a world of pain.

I think what makes this movie so memorably disturbing is the idea of a haunted past. Scottie could have been happy with Judy, if only he wasn't always trying to turn her into Madeline. His obsession is familiar and irksome to the audience. Exploring a loved one's past can only lead to insecurity and a sense of being haunted. (Right? This is not just me, right? I mean look at CLOSER or REBECCA).

And if anyone knows how to haunt, it's Hitchcock.

Why You Should See It: After Madeleine's death, Scottie re-visits all of their old haunts. It's heartbreaking to see Jimmy Stewart wandering the streets of San Francisco like a sad puppy. Well, Eddie thinks it is heartbreaking. Sarah just finds it creepy.

North by Northwest

1959.

#40 / #55

Nominated for 3 Academy Awards.

Roger Thornhill (Cary Grant) is pursued across the country after he is mistaken for an international spy, who, it turns out, doesn't even exist.

Eddie: This is perhaps one of Hitchcock's best films, although it is tough to find a bad one. This is also my introduction to Cary Grant, who I firmly believe is one of the most charismatic people to ever be captured on film. Famous for the crop duster scene, NORTH BY NORTHWEST accomplishes so much with so little. Hitchcock draws out the audience's suspense with simple, seemingly benign objects - a crop duster, a train, Mount Rushmore.

Sarah: I'm pretty sure this movie has the first shot of a train going into a tunnel as a sexual innuendo, so props for that. However, I think this is a silly Hitchcock film. It is more ridiculous than suspenseful. It doesn't compete with his horror films. Watching this, I was never worried or anxious. I was just wondering how a woman could scramble over Mount Rushmore in heels.

The good thing is it has Cary Grant, and he can make anything charming and sexy. But I have a feeling if they had cast anyone else, it wouldn't be on the list.

Why You Should See It: The crop duster scene. No question. Pay particular attention to Cary Grant's socks. Grant costumed himself in all of his films, and whether its intentional or not, his light-colored socks in NORTH BY NORTHWEST draw your eyes to his feet, highlighting the fact that he is a man on the run.

Rear Window

1954.

#42 / #48

Nominated for 4 Academy Awards.

L.B. "Jeff" Jeffries (Jimmy Stewart) is confined to a wheel chair after he breaks his leg. He takes up spying on his neighbors through his camera lens to pass the time. He and his girlfriend Lisa (Grace Kelly) begin to suspect one of their neighbors of murder.

Sarah: My first viewing of this was at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, which is really the perfect place to see this thrilling movie. I think this is the simplest and most Hitchcock of the Hitchcocks. It is relatively simple, but the suspense builds so slowly and pleasantly that it is very satisfying.

I think Thelma Ritter adds a lot of comedy to the film as the nosy and brassy housekeeper Stella. She is one of my favorite character actresses of that time period.

Also, the movie is fun for Grace Kelly's fashion. I want her huge-ass charm bracelet.

Eddie: Alfred Hitchcock went his entire career without winning an Academy Award. It's movies like REAR WINDOW that make it clear that he should have won the Nobel Prize. Hitchcock's mastery of suspense leaves you watching the film like a child watching a meteor shower for the first time. You are filled with wonder, dread, and excitement, all rolled into one draining and fulfilling emotional experience. The constraint of REAR WINDOW - most of the movie takes place within Jeff's apartment - frees Hitchcock to underplay the film's suspense, twisting the audience into a knot, until he's ready to let it explode.

REAR WINDOW is in the company of only a few other suspenseful movies - M, NORTH BY NORTHWEST, ROPE, JAWS, SILENCE OF THE LAMBS - in terms of its whole quality. It's damn good.

Why You Should See It: When Mr. Thorwald (Raymond Burr) burns the lens with his stare, you will scream.