Hitchcock buffs (Palo Alto: hotel, house, theater)

[kyb01]

If there are any local Hitchcock buffs here, the Cinemark at 40th and Walnut, will be showing Vertigo today and Wed(3/21) at 2 and 7pm for its 60th anniversary.

[Pilot1]

Last time I was at 40th and Walnut, was at Smokey Joe's DECADES ago.

Big Hitch fan, but I watch them at home.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by Pilot1

Last time I was at 40th and Walnut, was at Smokey Joe's DECADES ago.

Big Hitch fan, but I watch them at home.

Of course I watch a lot of movies at home but I will always go to theaters as long as they continue to exist. The last time Vertigo was in theaters was in 1996 wrt to its complete restoration by Robert Harris and James Katz.

Kim Novak turned 85 last month.

[Hannah5555]

I remember watching that movie with my mother a hundred years ago. Never been so scared in my entire life Hitchcock was the master!

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by Hannah5555

I remember watching that movie with my mother a hundred years ago. Never been so scared in my entire life Hitchcock was the master!

Oddly I saw it when I was a kid too...years ago. My parents were movie buffs and I got dragged to some movies that were not really age-appropriate...this one definitely was not. There was no film rating system in 50s.

Anyway back then it was more about the fabulous music for me in Vertigo. Been a big fan of Bernard Herrmann ever since. The last film score he wrote was for Taxi Driver, I think.

[Pilot1]

I think "Psycho" was Hitch's scariest film. I was too young to see it when it first came out. The earliest movies I remember my parents dragging me to was "How the West was Won", and It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World", and of course "Gold Finger". No Hitchcock though. "The Birds" would have probably been the one, but I think they knew better.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by Pilot1

I think "Psycho" was Hitch's scariest film. I was too young to see it when it first came out. The earliest movies I remember my parents dragging me to was "How the West was Won", and It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World", and of course "Gold Finger". No Hitchcock though. "The Birds" would have probably been the one, but I think they knew better.

I didn't see Psycho when it was new but years later and have seen it multiple times. Never gets tired!
My favorite Hitchcock films are Vertigo, Rear Window, Strangers on a Train, Rope, Man Who Knew Too Much and North by
Northwest and, of course, Psycho. Lesser ones, imo, that I like are The Birds, Marnie and The Wrong Man.

How The West Was Won was in Cinerama, I think.

Goldfinger was the first James Bond movie I saw.

[briantroutman]

One of the things I treasured most about living in the San Francisco area was the Stanford Theatre in Palo Alto. It’s a 1925 movie house that was lovingly restored in the late ’80s by the Packard family (of H-P fame). The Stanford runs a nearly continuous schedule of films dating from the silent era up through the early ’60s.

Every year, the Stanford runs an Alfred Hitchcock festival with a different double bill of films each week over a span of about two months. The oldest film is usually no older than 1935 (The 39 Steps) and the newest film is typically The Birds. Rear Window, Vertigo, North by Northwest and Psycho are virtually guaranteed every year.

Seeing these films in a theater is a remarkably different experience than watching them at home—not only because of the much larger screen but also because of the of the raw energy that the audience provides. When Kim Novak screams falling from the tower in Vertigo, you can practically feel her death in the collective gasp surrounding you.

Even though Vertigo may be my favorite Hitchcock film, I think is the most exciting one to watch with a theater audience is Strangers on a Train. The moments of laughter, the tension—and then that final climactic scene on the carousel. It’s a wild ride.

[Hannah5555]

Since it hasn’t been mentioned yet, I have to put in a plug for To Catch a Thief with Cary Grant and Grace Kelly. Love that movie.

[Pilot1]

Originally Posted by Hannah5555

Since it hasn’t been mentioned yet, I have to put in a plug for To Catch a Thief with Cary Grant and Grace Kelly. Love that movie.

Another great one. One of my favorite scenes is when Cary Grant, and Grace Kelly are walking by a news stand outside their hotel, and Grace utters, "Nearly everyone reads the Bulletin" which I am sure many remember was the Evening Bulletin's tag line.

Hitch had a thing for attractive blonde women.