The MacGuffin

If I had to name the three directors most responsible for my love of movies, I would list Alfred Hitchcock, John Carpenter, and Woody Allen. (You can throw in Ernst Lubitsch and Michael Curtiz to round out the top five, if you’d like.) Hitchcock is always at the top. Shadow of a Doubt is probably my favorite, but the film I go back and forth on the most is Psycho. I love it, but that last scene at the end just drives me crazy. I did, however, have the wonderful experience of watching it with my daughter when she was about 15 and had no knowledge of the story’s plot. About a third of the way in, when the person she assumed was the protagonist dies a grisly death, my daughter turned to me and asked “What the freak [not the word she used] kind of movie is this?” An awesome one, Little Bug. Upon watching the new movie Hitchcock, directed by Sacha Gervasi, I asked myself the same question. “What kind of movie is this?” I’m not sure I know the answer to that.

Another Top 5 segment from The MacGuffin. This time Brandi and Ben share their top 5 worst chemistry.

This segment is also available on Stitcher, iTunes and from here. After you’ve watched the video please vote in our poll and share which one you think is the best.

Another Top 5 segment from The MacGuffin. This time Allen and Brandi share their top 5 doomed romances.

This segment is also available on Stitcher and iTunes. The audio version can be downloaded directly from here. After you’ve watched the video please vote in our poll and share which one you think is the best.

He is known as “The Master of Suspense,” or quite simply, “The Master.”  His influence can be seen from filmmakers all over the world, in movies made as recently as today.  Even people who are not film buffs recognize his name; he has become a staple of modern pop culture, equal to the likes of Marilyn Monroe or James Dean.  Alfred Hitchcock is one of the few great directors that successfully fused an artistic sensibility with suspenseful, high entertainment.  He did this so well and so often, in fact, that he could be accused of being a one trick pony, which couldn’t be any further from the truth.  Hitchcock was a master of film technique, priding himself in the ability of manipulating an audience to think and feel whatever he wanted them to.  This is seen in many, if not all, of his films, none more so than his masterpiece, Vertigo (1958).