Especially those four! ALl from his British period of filmmaking, before he made the move to Hollywood in 1940, and all are great. The Lady Vanishes (1938) and the earlier The 39 Steps (1935) are two of his very best films.

Mick

Psycho.

I am still awaiting word from MGM about an upcomming DVD set with 8 of his best films in there:

"Rebbeca", "The 39 Steps", "The Paradine Case", "Notorious", "Spellbound","The Lady Vannishes", "Sabotage" and another film...

Rebecca, the 39 Steps, Notorious, Spellbound, and the Lady Vanishes can all be bought in a Criterion Box set. I got it some time last year at Best Buy for just over $120.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00008OM70/qid=1104644680/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-505909 0-2814412?v=glance&s=dvd

1. Vertigo (1958) - ****
A true masterpiece of cinema and IMO one of the 10 best ever. Hitchcock truly reached his peak here in direction, creating an enigma of love and loss. Not to mention Stewart's best film and performance.

2. Rear Window (1954) - ****
Hitchcock's second best, an excellent thriller and arguably the greatest set ever. The plot stays fresh through the whole movie, never getting dull.

3. Psycho (1960) - ****
Hitchcock's cult classic and although not really a horror, was a milestone in the genre inspiring many later works. Perkins gives an amazing performance as the infamous Norman Bates.

4. Rope (1948) - ****
An excellent Hitchcock film. The highlight is the real-time direction with the few cuts and black outs in zooming into bodies. I don't really think the homosexual hinting is something to add merit to as it gives nothing, although references to the school days adds to character development. The acting is great, especially by Stewart and Dall.

5. Notorious (1946) - ***1/2
A great thriller from Hitchcock, although I feel it is a little overrated. Even the kiss scene was not as big as I thought it would be, I am assuming it's the one when they first go to the room in Rio and after Grant exits? If so, it was probably better then what I thought as it was more meaningful. The highlight is the great cast from Grant to Rains and the direction.

6. North by Northwest (1959) - ***1/2
A great Hitchcock thriller, with many memorable moments, especially the crop duster scene. The Mt. Rushmore set is also very good. Grant adds this to his credit although he was better in Notorious.

7. Strangers on a Train (1951) (British version) - ***1/2
An elevator of feelings. I loved it first viewing, lost a little second viewing, and loved it third viewing. Granger is very good but does not top his performance in "Rope." The highlight is Robert Walker's performance as the insane Bruno, not to mention a blast of an ending only Hitchcock could pull off.

8. The Birds (1963) - ***
The plot falls short. Taylor and Tandy are both convincing while Hedren comes out with a little more charisma. The real aspect of this film that makes it good is the special effects/trick shots used to achieve the birds and chaos. The original ending would have made it much better.

9. The Wrong Man (1956) - ***
A good film, although it follows a pretty mainstream plot. Hell, the title itself screams mainstream. The ending is predictable although the direction was very good in several parts. Fonda being good in all I've seen from him also shines here, along with Vera Miles.