Alfred Hitchcock’s Most Iconic Scenes!

Nick Bartlett at /Film came up with an interesting list of The 14 Most Iconic Alfred Hitchcock Scenes Of All Time.  Bartlett’s list is a good one.  It includes my top five which are below…

The shower scene — Psycho (1960).  I was pretty sure that this would be Bartlett’s number one Hitchcock iconic scene (and it is). It is my #1 as well.  Bartlett goes on to say:  “Not only is this the most iconic scene of Hitchcock’s career, but arguably the most impactful single scene in cinema history.”  I’m not sure I would go that far, but maybe that scene is the most iconic in cinema history.  (Sounds like another list for Bartlett to post!)

Crop dusting — North by Northwest (1959).  When people talk about North by Northwest, this is the scene that gets the most attention.  And rightly so.

Crows on the playground — The Birds (1963).  This scene is so frightening thanks to Hitchcock.  The first thing he did was compress time.  There is no way that many birds could get to the playground in so short a time.  Also his non use of sound of the birds arriving, makes the sound of their wings flapping all that scarier when they begin their attack.

The diner scene — The Birds (1963).  The birds-eye view of the town below is ALWAYS a scene that people mention when they talk about The Birds.

Lisa gets caught — Rear Window (1954).  This scene is chilling.  A wheelchair bound Jimmy Stewart is watching from across the courtyard when his girlfriend is caught in the apartment of a man who killed and cut up his wife!  Not only is Stewart helpless to do anything, but when his girlfriend secretly signals to Stewart she is caught by the killer… who then realizes he is being watched by Stewart.  Hitchcock breaks an unwritten rule of directing: actors are not to look straight into the camera.  When the killer does it appears he is looking directly at us.  Chills every time!