Alfred Hitchcock is one of the most important directors in the history of world cinema, if not the single most important. He made nearly sixty movies in his career, most of them rightly regarded as classics and all of them sterling examples of craft. Watch Hitchcock’s films closely and learn; it’s as simple as that. Notice how durable so many of them are; allow for some period details such as vernacular and costuming and otherwise revel in how watchable these films remain. Consider seriously and admire the many filmmaking challenges Hitchcock set for himself — in LIFEBOAT, setting an entire film inside a lifeboat adrift at sea where the camera’s orientation never left the boat [save for one solitary shot]; in ROPE, setting a film in one location, taking place in real time, shooting in less than a dozen long takes; in REAR WINDOW, setting the entire film in one apartment, where the main character solves a murder in a nearby building yet never leaves the location. These are some of the more extreme examples: Hitchcock was constantly exploring the possibilities of the medium of film and challenging his audience while at the same time, delivering to that audience supreme entertainments which manipulated their emotions and reactions masterfully.

Hitchcock was a showman as much as a craftsman — his fun director cameos in his features, his droll introductions to his TV series Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and his iconic profile all combined to make Hitchcock as famous as his films. At the height of his powers, he had the ability to remake one of his own films (THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH) and to control the very conditions under which his landmark 1960 horror film PSYCHO was released and shown. He worked with many of the biggest and best stars of the studio era and made several of his own. He released some of the most mainstream and thrillingly fun movies of all time (i.e. NORTH BY NORTHWEST) and some of the most esoteric (i.e. TORN CURTAIN).

Alfred Hitchcock’s career, taken as a whole, virtually spans the first century of the art form — his first directing job was in 1922 and his last, in 1976. His professional acquaintances ran from F.W. Murnau to Bruce Dern, from German expressionism to the “New” Hollywood, from the silent era to the dawn of the blockbuster. Decades after his death, Hitchcock’s work is lionized and pored over by any currently working director worth a damn.

The great people at New York’s Film Forum are presenting a legitimately epic survey of the grand master’s filmmaking career this March; in truth the series has already begun and several important movies have been shown in the past week alone, but there’s still plenty of time to revel in this abundance of cinematic eminence.

This slate is so extensive that, short of a massive cut-and-paste, the only way I can think to present it to you is to give you a gallery of keen poster art from most of the most famous films. Just click on the poster and it will take you to the corresponding page on the Film Forum site with showtimes and tickets. Again, this here is still incomplete! Go to Film Forum’s official site for the full schedule. If you’re anywhere near the tri-state area and enamored with the majesty of cinema, your cup is running over.

And if that’s not enough Hitchcock for you, you’ve got to see Steven Soderbergh’s recently-released project, editing together Hitchcock’s PSYCHO and Gus Van Sant’s shot-for-shot revisionist remake from 1998. CHECK IT OUT HERE! And if you have twenty minutes to spare, ask me why I call Van Sant’s version “revisionist.”

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NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959)

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THE LODGER (1927)

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TO CATCH A THIEF (1955)

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THE WRONG MAN (1950)

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MR. & MRS. SMITH (1941)

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SABOTEUR (1942)

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STRANGERS ON A TRAIN (1951)

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REAR WINDOW (1954)

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DIAL M FOR MURDER (1954)

*** IN 3-D! ***

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REBECCA (1940)

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THE PARADINE CASE (1947)

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ROPE (1948)

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I CONFESS (1953)

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NOTORIOUS (1946)

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UNDER CAPRICORN (1949) 

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THE 39 STEPS (1935)

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THE LADY VANISHES (1938)

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JAMAICA INN (1939)

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THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH (1934)

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THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH (1956)

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PSYCHO (1960)

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VERTIGO (1958)

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LIFEBOAT (1944)

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STAGE FRIGHT (1950)

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FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT (1941)

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TORN CURTAIN (1966)

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MARNIE (1964)

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SHADOW OF A DOUBT (1943)

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THE BIRDS (1963)

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SPELLBOUND (1945)

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TOPAZ (1969)

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THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY (1956)

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FAMILY PLOT (1976)

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FRENZY (1972)

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Jon Abrams

Editor-In-Chief at Daily Grindhouse

Jon Abrams is a New York-based writer, cartoonist, and committed cinemaniac whose complete work and credits can be found at his site, Demon’s Resume. You can contact him on Twitter as @JonZilla___.

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Tags: Alfred Hitchcock, Film Screenings, Hitchcock, Horror, New York, Programs, Retrospectives, Suspense