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THE
TOP 5
PROJECT

WEEK NO. NINETEEN
Main Page (including links to all past Top 5 weeks)

THE TOP 5 Hitchcock Films:

view full results       see how points are awarded
Rank Film Points L #1
#1 Vertigo (1958) 121 28 13
#2 Psycho (1960) 87 25 8
#3 Rear Window (1954) 78 26 4
#4 North by Northwest (1959) 47 17 3
#5 The Birds (1963) 26 9 2
L=How many lists each film appears on             #1=How many number one votes each film recieves

And to no one's great surprise, Vertigo takes down all contenders for the top prize this week. A top prize in record smashing style. We recieved 30 lists this week, breaking the old record of 22, and Vertigo won with (a possibly steroid-induced) 121 points - demolishing the record set last week of 64 points. Coming in second was Psycho (my personal pick) with 87 points, and in third was Rear Window with 78 points (both breaking the point total record as well). In fourth place came North by Northwest with 47 points.

It was these four films that so strongly dominated voting this week. Out of 30 lists, these four films accounted for all but 4 first place votes (Rope, The Birds (twice) and Shadow of a Doubt account for those 4).

Finally, following those four powerhouses, The Birds comes in fifth place, with a distant 26 points. Overall, this was the most prosperous week yet here at The Top 5 Project, and hopefully the participants are having enough fun to keep them coming back for more. As for next week, I had contemplated asking for the Top 5 Brian De Palma Films...just kidding...come back and see...

Individual lists:

Albert H. Muth
Auteurophile

  1. Vertigo (1958)

  2. Notorious (1946)

  3. Psycho (1960)

  4. Strangers on a Train (1951)

  5. The Birds (1963)



Jonathan Rosenbaum
Film Critic, Chicago Reader
Author, Essential Cinema, Movie Mutations and many others

  1. Rear Window (1954)

  2. North by Northwest (1959)

  3. The Wrong Man (1957)

  4. The Trouble with Harry (1955)

  5. Family Plot (1976)



Michael Wilmington
Film Critic, Chicago Tribune
Professor & Film Scholar, University of Chicago

    Hitchcock Top Five:

  1. Vertigo (1958)

  2. Psycho (1960)

  3. North by Northwest (1959)

  4. Notorious (1946)

  5. Rear Window (1954)

    Next Five:

  6. The Lady Vanishes (1938)

  7. Strangers on a Train (1951)

  8. The 39 Steps (1935)

  9. Shadow of a Doubt (1943)

  10. Rebecca (1940)

    Top Five Neglected Hitchcocks:

  1. Four O'Clock (1957) - TV

  2. The Lodger (1926)

  3. Rich and Strange (1932)

  4. Under Capricorn (1949)

  5. Young and Innocent (1937)



Kent Jones
Editor-at-Large, Film Comment

  1. Vertigo (1958)

  2. Notorious (1946)

  3. North by Northwest (1959)

  4. Rear Window (1954)

  5. Sabotage (1936)



David Sterritt
Chairman, National Society of Film Critics

  1. Vertigo (1958) - The most profound, most haunting, and in some ways most experimental film of Hitch's career.

  2. Psycho (1960) - Also profound, haunting, and experimental, and great fun to watch no matter how many times you've seen it.

  3. Rear Window (1954) - Ingenious, inspired, invaluable.

  4. Blackmail (1929) - Hitch's first talkie makes tremendously imaginative use of sound as well as image, telling a psychologically and philosophically engrossing story into the bargain.

  5. Strangers on a Train (1951) - Endlessly fascinating. Make this a tie with The 39 Steps, Shadow of a Doubt, Notorious, The Wrong Man, North by Northwest, The Birds and Frenzy.



Carrie Rickey
Film Critic, Philadelphia Inquirer

  1. Shadow of a Doubt (1943)

  2. Rear Window (1954)

  3. Notorious (1946)

  4. North by Northwest (1959)

  5. The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)



David Ehrenstein
Film Critic & Entertainment Writer
Author, Open Secret: Gay Hollywood 1928-1998

  1. Rope (1948)

  2. Vertigo (1958)

  3. Rear Window (1954)

  4. Psycho (1960)

  5. North By Northwest (1959)



Jeffrey M. Anderson
Film Critic & Freelance Entertainment Writer
San Francisco Examiner, Las Vegas Weekly, Oakland Tribune

  1. The Birds (1963) - Hitchcock's most viciously streamlined film, pure style, done without a traditional score, and with a stripped-down screenplay and acting more along the lines of Bresson's models than traditional Hollywood stars.

  2. Vertigo (1958) - The master's most painfully personal work -- obsession taken so far you get the shakes.

  3. Rebecca (1940) - Gorgeous. Joan Fontaine won an Oscar the following year for "Suspicion," but I suspect it was a make up for this one; my heart just aches for her here.

  4. The Trouble with Harry (1955) - One of the funniest films I've ever seen.

  5. Rope (1948) - To many a "failed experiment," but to me a fine film.

PS: This list leaves out the silent era and early British talkies, but frankly, (aside from "The 39 Steps" and "The Lady Vanishes") I've never seen them anyplace but on horrid, public domain videos and DVDs. Someone needs to remaster these things and get them out there in proper condition.

PPS: Good grief! I've also left out all four Cary Grant movies. How did that happen?


Christopher Null
Founder, Publisher & Editor-in-Chief, Filmcritic.com

I've seen every film Hitchcock made, most of them a dozen times or more. You want the best? Here's the best.

  1. Vertigo (1958) - Not just Hitchcock's most impressive and layered work, but also one of the best films ever made. When technicians spiffied up the film with its original color palette, which frequently paints Jimmy Stewart in green neon to make him look like he's nauseous, they created one of the best film restorations I've ever seen. This mindbender is one I can watch over and over and never get tired of.

  2. Rear Window (1954) - Is Raymond Burr a murderer or just interested in gardening at night? By trapping our hero (Stewart again) in his apartment with a broken leg, Hitchcock creates a sense of claustrophobia that many directors have tried to imitate but few have succeeded at.

  3. Rope (1948) - My last Jimmy Stewart pick, I promise. Inspired by the Leopold and Loeb murders and meant to appear as a single take (the first time, I believe, that this effect was ever done), Rope is, ahem, taut and perfectly paced. Generally underrated and I'm not sure why.

  4. Psycho (1960) - You just can't argue with this one. Kill off your heroine a third of the way into the movie? That just wasn't something people did. Shocking.

  5. North by Northwest (1959) - So tough to pick this over Notorious and Rebecca, but Cary Grant's one-sided conversation with his mother ("These two men, they poured a whole bottle of bourbon into me. No, they didn't give me a chaser!") gets me every time. Extra points for having the stones to having your big finale play out on Mt. Rushmore.



Erik Childress
Film Critic, efilmcritic.com

  1. Rear Window (1954)

  2. Vertigo (1958)

  3. Psycho (1960)

  4. North by Northwest (1959)

  5. Shadow of a Doubt (1943)



Rick Curnutte
Film Critic & Editor, The Film Journal

  1. Psycho (1960)

  2. Vertigo (1958)

  3. Family Plot (1976)

  4. Rear Window (1954)

  5. Frenzy (1972)



David Oppedisano
Film Critic, Radio Times
Author, Who’s Who of Contemporary Hollywood

  1. Vertigo (1958)

  2. Rebecca (1940)

  3. North by Northwest (1959)

  4. Marnie (1964)

  5. Psycho (1960)



Kelley Baker
Filmmaker

  1. The Birds (1963) - I picked this one first because after watching it as a kid it scared me so bad, that I still have a fear of birds. They freak me out! Yes, some of the matte shots are pretty funny now, and I have laughed when I have seen it recently, but I am still scared of birds. I still think they are going to peck my eyes out! This film has stuck with me all these years.

  2. Strangers On A Train (1951) - good plot and the performances are amazing.

  3. Psycho (1960) - I admit it, I was the Sound Designer on Gus Van Sant's remake! I also worked a couple of jobs when I was younger with the Supervising Sound Editor on both Psycho and The Birds. I learned a lot from him. Tearing his work apart then rebuilding it gave me more appreciation for the original. What we did pales in comparison. (But it did make me enough money to finish my first feature Birddog...)

  4. Rear Window (1954) - I love this movie. Jimmy Stewart is one sick dude...

  5. North By Northwest (1959) - Cary Grant trying to figure out what is going on. Ordinary man thrown in the middle of something he doesn't know anything about. This film has influenced my own writing to a great extent.



J.E. Snavely
Home Theatre Cinephile

The first four films on my list, available in the Hitchcock Masterpiece Collection, are much improved over the original individual releases. Most notable are Vertigo and Psycho that have finally been remastered in anamorphic widescreen though Vertigo has a slight color error in the opening sequence. Strangers was remastered a few years ago and released in a 2-disc Special Edition (part of the Hitchcock Signature Collection) and is the one to own. Both of these sets must be a part of any cinephile's DVD collection!

*It is truly unbelievable that not one of these films was honored with a Best Picture Academy Award.

  1. Vertigo (1958) - James Stewart playing against type as an impulsive, demanding, and manipulative ex-cop who can't accept his new love as she truly is; he must recreate her in every detail to the girl he "lost". The haunting Bernard Hermann score underlines the tension and brings us to the edge of our seats. This film may be more deliberately paced than his other thrillers but packs an unexpected emotional punch unlike any of his other films. This is one Hitchcock film that blurs the lines between good and evil and asks us to examine our own biased motivations in our relationships. Truly a masterpiece.

  2. Shadow Of A Doubt (1943) - Joseph Cotton plays a serial killer who invades small town America! His favorite niece is superbly portrayed by Theresa Wright whose doe-eyed unconditional love for her uncle is soon put to the test when she begins to suspect that he may be the "Merry Widow Murderer". The tension is nearly unbearable as we hope young Charlie discovers and accepts the truth before her Uncle suspects. All of this and a grisly finale!

  3. Psycho (1960) - Anthony Perkins is perfect in this role as the soft-spoken deranged, maniacal, split-personality serial killer Norman Bates. I recently read the novel by Robert Bloch and Hitch's film mirrors large chunks of the story; it's a shame Mr. Bloch made only a few hundred dollars from this film. This film begins with a plot hook that disappears by mid-point and leads us into a darker labyrinthine path of psychological despair. Another unforgettable Bernard Herman score.

  4. Rear Window (1954) - Jimmy Stewart in a more likable role as an injured photo-journalist who is laid-up in his New York Apartment so he begins to do what he always does; watch the world through his camera. When he suspects that his neighbor may have committed a brutal murder he involves his beautiful girlfriend (Grace Kelly) and his physical therapist. It's interesting how Stewart's character doesn't seem connected to people unless he's watching them through his lens...the ultimate voyeur.

  5. Strangers On A Train (1951) - What if two complete strangers swapped murders? It could be the perfect crime. Robert Anthony is chilling as the deranged stranger who murders the cheating wife of a tennis phenom (played by Farley Granger) but will he reciprocate? This film takes us on a merry-go-round of suspense and anxiety...and ends on one.



Peter Sobczynski
Film Critic, eFilmCritic.com

  1. Psycho (1960)

  2. Vertigo (1958)

  3. Rear Window (1954)

  4. Notorious (1946)

  5. Marnie (1964)



Eric Enders
Film Critic, Out There in the Dark

  1. Vertigo (1958)

  2. Shadow of a Doubt (1943)

  3. Rear Window (1954)

  4. Psycho (1960)

  5. The Lady Vanishes (1938)



Dan Jardine
Film Critic, Cinemania

  1. Rear Window (1954)

  2. Vertigo (1958)

  3. North by Northwest (1959)

  4. Notorious (1946)

  5. The Lady Vanishes (1938)



Film Prophet
Film Critic, FilmProphet.com

  1. Psycho (1960)

  2. Vertigo (1958)

  3. Shadow of a Doubt (1943)

  4. Rear Window (1954)

  5. Dial M for Murder (1954)

Other rank #5 contenders: Strangers on a Train (1951), Rope (1948), The Wrong Man (1956)


Rory L. Aronsky
Film Critic, Film Threat

  1. Rear Window (1954)

  2. Psycho (1960)

  3. Vertigo (1958)

  4. Lifeboat (1944)

  5. Rope (1948)



Carter Liotta
Filmmaker

  1. North by Northwest (1959) - "My name's not Kaplan, it's Thornhill!"

  2. Strangers on a Train (1951) - "I'm not going to shoot you, Mr. Haines. It might disturb Mother."

  3. Psycho (1960) - "Norman!"

  4. The 39 Steps (1935) - "What are the 39 Steps?"

  5. Blackmail (1929) - "KNIFE!"

An honorable mention goes to Topaz. While certainly not a GREAT Hitchcock film, it's worth watching just to see the ballgown unfurl like blood on the floor.


Michael Parent
Film Student

Being a Huge fan of the Master of Distress this Top 5 has been a real torture to myself. I didn't list any Runners-Up for this week because all of his films would have been there. So I ended up with a list of 10 films and had to choose from them the 5 I liked the most. Well this is it:

  1. Vertigo (1958)

  2. Rear Window (1954)

  3. The Birds (1963)

  4. Psycho (1960)

  5. Shadow Of A Doubt (1943)



Adam Trovillion
Film Enthusiast

  1. Vertigo (1958)

  2. Psycho (1960)

  3. Rear Window (1954)

  4. Notorious (1946)

  5. North by Northwest (1959)



Jason Mlinarsik
Film Enthusiast

  1. North By Northwest (1959)

  2. Vertigo (1958)

  3. Psycho (1960)

  4. Rear Window (1954)

  5. Strangers on a Train (1951)



Jeff Cardarelli
Film Enthusiast

  1. Psycho (1960)

  2. Rear Window (1954)

  3. Vertigo (1958)

  4. The Birds (1963)

  5. Rebecca (1940)



Matt Severson
Film Enthusiast

  1. Psycho (1960)

  2. Vertigo (1958)

  3. Rear Window (1954)

  4. North by Northwest (1959)

  5. The Birds (1963)



Billy Wilson
Film Enthusiast

  1. Psycho (1960)

  2. The Birds (1963)

  3. Strangers on a Train (1951)

  4. Vertigo (1958)

  5. Rear Window (1954)



Andrew Horbal
Film Enthusiast

  1. Vertigo (1958)

  2. Suspicion (1941)

  3. The Trouble with Harry (1955)

  4. The Birds (1963)

  5. Rear Window (1954)



Kevin Cassidy
Film Enthusiast

  1. Vertigo (1958)

  2. North by Northwest (1959)

  3. Marnie (1964)

  4. Notoriuos (1946)

  5. Strangers on a Train (1951)



Doug Pratt
DVD Critic, DVDLaser.com

  1. Vertigo (1958)

  2. I Confess (1953)

  3. Psycho (1960)

  4. North by Northwest (1959)

  5. Rear Window (1954)



Paul Hood
Film Critic, Harrisburg Online

  1. North by Northwest (1959)

  2. Vertigo (1958)

  3. The Birds (1963)

  4. Rear Window (1954)

  5. Psycho (1960)

Honorable Mention: Family Plot

Rod Armstrong
Film Critic, Reel.com

  1. Psycho (1960)

  2. Vertigo (1958)

  3. Rear Window (1954)

  4. Rebecca (1940)

  5. Marnie (1964)



Kevyn Knox
Film Critic, Essayist + Historian

All five of these films appear on my Top 100 Films of All-Time List. Psycho placing number four of all-time. In fact it was my first real love in movies. The only film class I have ever taken was in my Senior year of high school, and the teacher went through the film almost frame by frame, analyzing it to the nth extreme - and I loved every second of it. And to show its power on the viewer, my mother, who saw the film originally in 1960, has never since taken a shower while she was alone in the house. In fact all five of these films are extremely powerful in so many different ways at once. What a filmmaker.

  1. Psycho (1960)

  2. Vertigo (1958)

  3. Rear Window (1954)

  4. Rope (1948)

  5. Shadow of a Doubt (1943)

As for runners-up, there is quite a slew of them. In fact, pretty much any damn Hitchcock film will do, but to name a few somewhat higher placed picks: North by Northwest, The Birds, The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956 version), Rebecca, Notorious, Lifeboat, Saboteur and The Wrong Man. Well I suppose when all is said and done, that is my version of an Alfred Hitchcock Top Thirteen List.

*points are given as follows: for numbered lists, first place recieves 5 points, second place recieves 4, third place 3, fourth place 2 and fifth place gets 1 point; for unumbered lists, each film will recieve 3 points; total points are then tallied up and a comprehensive Top 5 list is created


The Next Topic is:
Name The Top 5 Performances by an Actress

e-mail me at kevynknox@thecinematheque.com with your picks for week #20,
no later than 4pm on Sunday, Aug 27, 2006.

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