This week, we discuss the often-overlooked French film, Mauvaise Graine (Bad Seed), which marked the start of a legendary directorial career for its co-director, Billy Wilder.
SPOILER ALERT We will be talking about this movie in its entirety, so if you plan on watching it, we strongly suggest you do so before listening to our takes.
An independent French production. Released on July 5, 1934 (France). Co-directed by Billy Wilder and Alexander Esway. Screenplay by Billy Wilder, Jan Lustig, Max Colpet, and Claude-André Puget. Featuring the voices of Pierre Mingand (Henri Pasquier), Danielle Darrieux (Jeannette), and Raymond Galle (Jean-la-Cravate). Score by Franz Waxman and Allan Gray.
This week, we discuss Disney's bizarre update of a classic fable, Chicken Little.
SPOILER ALERT We will be talking about this movie in its entirety, so if you plan on watching it, we strongly suggest you do so before listening to our takes.
A Walt Disney Pictures release from Walt Disney Feature Animation. Released on November 4, 2005. Directed by Mark Dindal. Screenplay by Steve Bencich, Ron J. Friedman, and Ron Anderson, based on a story by Dindal and Mark Kennedy, and the original fable. Featuring the voices of Zach Braff, Garry Marshall, Joan Cusack, Steve Zahn, and Dan Molina. Edited by Dan Molina. Score by John Debney.
This week, we discuss Walt Disney Animation Studios' recent flop, Wish.
SPOILER ALERT We will be talking about this movie in its entirety, so if you plan on watching it, we strongly suggest you do so before listening to our takes.
A Walt Disney Pictures release from Walt Disney Animation Studios. Released on November 22, 2023. Directed by Chris Buck and Fawn Veerasunthorn. Written by Jennifer Lee and Allison Moore, based on a story by Lee, Buck, Veerasunthorn, and Moore. Featuring the voices of Ariana DeBose, Chris Pine, and Alan Tudyk. Score by Dave Metzger. Original songs by Julia Michaels, Benjamin Rice, and JP Saxe.
This week, we discuss the groundbreaking and enduringly popular computer-animated feature film, Toy Story.
SPOILER ALERT We will be talking about this movie in its entirety, so if you plan on watching it, we strongly suggest you do so before listening to our takes.
A Walt Disney Pictures release from Pixar Animation Studios. Released on November 22, 1995. Directed by John Lasseter. Written by Joss Whedon, Andrew Stanton, Joel Cohen, and Alec Sokolow, based on a story by John Lasseter, Pete Docter, Andrew Stanton, and Joe Ranft. Featuring the voices of Tom Hanks and Tim Allen. Edited by Robert Gordon and Lee Unkrich. Score and original songs by Randy Newman.
For our season finale, we look back upon our year-and-a-half journey through the films of Alfred Hitchcock.
This week we talk about what may be Alfred Hitchcock's most enduringly popular film, Psycho.
***SPOILER ALERT*** We do talk about this movie in its entirety, so if you plan on watching it, we suggest you watch it before listening to our takes.
A Universal Picture. Released on September 8, 1960. Produced and directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Written by Joseph Stefano, based on the novel by Robert Block. Starring Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles, Martin Balsam, John Gavin, and Pat Hitchcock. Cinematography by John L. Russell. Edited by George Tomansini. Score by Bernard Hermann.
Ranking: 1 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It’s also fun. And it’s a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranked lists from critics, fans, and magazines Psycho got 3,094 ranking points
This week we turn our lens to Alfred Hitchcock's 1954 classic Rear Window. Jimmy Stewart stars as a photographer stuck in his apartment while recovering from an injury who takes to watching his neighbors.
***SPOILER ALERT*** We do talk about this movie in its entirety, so if you plan on watching it, we suggest you watch it before listening to our takes.
A Paramount Picture. Released on September 1, 1954. Produced and directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Written by John Michael Hayes, based on the short story, “It Had to Be Murder” by Cornell Woolrich. Starring James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Thelma Ritter, Wendell Corey, Raymond Burr, and Judith Evelyn. Cinematography by Robert Burks. Edited by George Tomansini. Score by Franz Waxman.
Ranking: 2 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It’s also fun. And it’s a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranked lists from critics, fans, and magazines Rear Window got 3,077 ranking points.
This week we discuss Vertigo. Arguably Hitchcock's most critically acclaimed film, it follows a former detective who reluctantly takes up a new case at the behest of an old college friend. What follows is a tale of romance and obsession.
***SPOILER ALERT*** We do talk about this movie in its entirety, so if you plan on watching it, we suggest you watch it before listening to our takes.
A Paramount Picture. Released on May 9, 1958. Produced and directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Written by Alec Coppel and Samuel Taylor, based on the novel D’entre les morts by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac. Starring James Stewart, Kim Novak, Barbara Bel Geddes, and Tom Helmore. Cinematography by Robert Burks. Edited by George Tomasini. Music by Bernard Herrmann.
Ranking: 3 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It’s also fun. And it’s a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranked lists from critics, fans, and magazines Vertigo got 3,066 ranking points.
This week we discuss the classic 1959 cross-country thriller, North by Northwest. Enjoy.
***SPOILER ALERT*** We do talk about this movie in its entirety, so if you plan on watching it, we suggest you watch it before listening to our takes.
An MGM Picture. Released on July 1, 1959. Produced and Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Written Ernest Lehman. Starring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason, Martin Landau, and Jessie Royce Landis. Cinematography by Robert Burks. Edited by George Tomasini. Music by Bernard Herrmann.
Ranking: 4 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It’s also fun. And it’s a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranked lists from critics, fans, and magazines North by Northwest got 2,963 ranking points.
The focus of this week's podcast episode is Alfred Hitchcock's 1946 romantic spy thriller Notorious. We are into the top five, and this is probably the least well-known of the top five. But don't sleep on it! Check out this gem and come back and listen to our yapping about it.
***SPOILER ALERT*** We do talk about this movie in its entirety, so if you plan on watching it, we suggest you watch it before listening to our takes.
An RKO Radio Picture. Released on September 6, 1946. Produced and Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Written Ben Hecht. Starring Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman, Claude Rains, Leopoldine Konstantin, and Louis Calhern. Cinematography by Ted Tetzlaff. Edited by Theron Warth. Music by Roy Webb.
Ranking: 5 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It’s also fun. And it’s a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranked lists from critics, fans, and magazines Notorious got 2,764 ranking points.
This week we return once again to Manderley. We podcasted about Rebecca a while back during our Best Picture Oscar countdown, and now we encounter it again in our Hitchcock countdown. Tune in to hear us discuss how the film has held up for us.
***SPOILER ALERT*** We do talk about this movie in its entirety, so if you plan on watching it, we suggest you watch it before listening to our takes.
A Selznick International Picture. Released on April 12, 1940. Produced by David O. Selznick and Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Written by Robert E. Sherwood, Joan Harrison, Philip MacDonald, and Michael Hogan based on the novel by Daphne du Maurier. Starring Joan Fontaine, Laurence Olivier, Judith Anderson, George Sanders, Gladys Cooper, Reginald Denny, C. Aubrey Smith, and Florence Bates. Cinematography by George Barnes. Edited by Hal C. Kern and James E. Newcom. Music by Franz Waxman.
Ranking: 6 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It’s also fun. And it’s a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranked lists from critics, fans, and magazines Rebecca got 2,730 ranking points.
This week's podcast covers Alfred Hitchcock's classic murder swap thriller, Strangers on a Train. A tennis player has a chance meeting on a train that suddenly turns his world upside down.
***SPOILER ALERT*** We do talk about this movie in its entirety, so if you plan on watching it, we suggest you watch it before listening to our takes.
A Warner Brothers Picture. Released on June 30, 1951. Produced and Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Written by Raymond Chandler, Czenzi Ormonde and Whitfield Cook based on the novel by Patricia Highsmith.Starring Farley Granger, Robert Walker, Ruth Roman, Patricia Hitchcock, Kasey Rogers, Leo G. Carroll, and Marion Lorne. Cinematography by Robert Burks. Edited by William Ziegler. Music by Dimitri Tiomkin.
Ranking: 7 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It’s also fun. And it’s a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranked lists from critics, fans, and magazines Strangers on a Train got 2,722 ranking points.
This week we dive into Shadow of a Doubt. This is Alfred Hitchcock's 1943 thriller about a small California town that get shaken up by a visitor from the city.
***SPOILER ALERT*** We do talk about this movie in its entirety, so if you plan on watching it, we suggest you watch it before listening to our takes.
A Universal Picture. Released on January 12, 1943. Produced by Jack H. Skirball and Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Written by Written by Thornton Wilder, Sally Benson and Alma Reville (Mrs. Hitchcock) based on an original story by Gordon McDonell. Starring Teresa Wright, Joseph Cotton, Patricia Collinge, Henry Travers, Macdonald Carey, and Wallance Ford. Cinematography by Joseph A. Edited by Milton Carruth. Music by Dimitri Tiomkin.
Ranking: 8 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It’s also fun. And it’s a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranked lists from critics, fans, and magazines Shadow of a Doubt got 2,582 ranking points.
Our Hitchcock series takes us to the master's famous long-take, single-setting, real time macabre thriller Rope. Loosely inspired by the real-life Leopold and Loeb case (depending on who you ask), we follow to cold-blooded students as the host a very unusual dinner party.
***SPOILER ALERT*** We do talk about this movie in its entirety, so if you plan on watching it, we suggest you watch it before listening to our takes.
A Warner Bros. Picture. Released on September 25, 1948. Produced and Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Written by Arthur Laurents and story by Hume Cronyn, based on the play of the same name by Patrick Hamilton. Starring John Dall, Farley Granger, James Stewart, Joan Chandler, Cedric Hardwicke, and Constance Collier. Cinematography by Joseph A. Valentine and William V. Skall.
Ranking: 9 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It’s also fun. And it’s a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranked lists from critics, fans, and magazines Rope got 2,547 ranking points.
Our Hitchcock countdown takes us one last time into his British era. This week we discuss the 1938 classic, The Lady Vanishes.
***SPOILER ALERT*** We do talk about this movie in its entirety, so if you plan on watching it, we suggest you watch it before listening to our takes.
A Gainsborough Picture. Released October 7, 1938. Produced by Edward Black. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Screenplay by Sidney Gilliat and Frank Launder, based on the 1936 novel The Wheel Spins by Ethel Line White. Starring Margaret Lockwood, Michael Redgrave, Paul Lukas, May Whitty, Cecil Parker, Linden Travers, Naunton Wayne, and Basil Radford. Cinematography by Jack E. Cox. Edited by R. E. Dearing. Music by Louis Levy and Charles Williams.
Ranking: 10 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It’s also fun. And it’s a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranked lists from critics, fans, and magazines The Lady Vanishes got 2,519 ranking points.
The Breakfast Club is a movie.
We're taking another break from our Alfred Hitchcock series to bring in our final Chaplin checkpoint: Charlie Chaplin's 1952 drama Limelight. This is Chaplin's swan song, thematically at least--he would still go on to make three more feature films. It features an aging performer and his friendship with a struggling young ballerina. This film is a bit of a departure for the Tramp. It's more melancholy than his normal faire. Yet many of his familiar themes come through, as well as his characteristic sentiment.
This week we take a look into Hitchcock's popular chamber room mystery, Dial M for Murder. Set in a luxurious London flat, a marital drama unfolds that leads into blackmail and murder.
***SPOILER ALERT*** We do talk about this movie in its entirety, so if you plan on watching it, we suggest you watch it before listening to our takes.
A Warner Bros. Picture. Released May 29, 1954. Produced and directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Screenplay by Frederick know, based on his 1952 play. Starring Ray Milland, Grace Kelly, Robert Cummings, John Williams, Anthony Dawson. Cinematography by Robert Burks. Edited by Rudi Fehr. Music by Dimitri Tiomkin.
Ranking: 11 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It’s also fun. And it’s a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranked lists from critics, fans, and magazines Dial M for Murder got 2,510 ranking points.
This week we discuss Hitchcock's 1963 thriller about birds attacking humans.
***SPOILER ALERT*** We do talk about this movie in its entirety, so if you plan on watching it, we suggest you watch it before listening to our takes.
A Universal Picture. Released March 28, 1963. Produced and directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Screenplay by Evan Hunter based on the short story by Daphne du Maurier. Starring Tippi Hedren, Rod Taylor, Jessica Tandy, Veronica Cartwright, and Suzanne Pleshette. Cinematography by Robert Burks. Edited by George Tomasini.
Ranking: 12 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It’s also fun. And it’s a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranked lists from critics, fans, and magazines The Birds got 2,479 ranking points.
This week, we did into one of the films that helped put Alfred Hitchcock's name on the map to international audiences, the spy thriller The 39 Steps.
***SPOILER ALERT*** We do talk about this movie in its entirety, so if you plan on watching it, we suggest you watch it before listening to our takes.
A Gaumont-British Picture. Released June 6, 1935. Produced by Michael Balcon and directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Written by Charles Bennett and Ian Hay, based on the 1915 novel The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan. Starring Robert Donat, Madeleine Carroll, Lucie Mannheim, Godfrey Tearle, Peggy Ashcroft, John Laurie, and Wylie Watson. Cinematography by Bernard Knowles. Music by Louis Levy.
Ranking: 13 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It’s also fun. And it’s a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranked lists from critics, fans, and magazines The 39 Steps got 2,430 ranking points.