Tag: Alfred Hitchcock

The Grey Suit Chronicles – Why North by Northwest is still so much fun today

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Cary Grant in a scene from "North by Northwest" Margaret Herrick Library photo
Cary Grant in a scene from “North by Northwest”
Margaret Herrick Library photo

North by Northwest” screens tonight in the Sunken Gardens as part of UCSB Arts & Lectures free Hitchcock screenings, and even if you have seen this classic before, it’s always worth the revisit.

Just think: after Alfred Hitchcock delivered his finest, most psychologically dense film, “Vertigo,” he decided to return to the chase, the travelogue in essence, to go back to “The 39 Steps” with this film. “North by Northwest” features a lot of familiar themes from Hitchcock: the innocent man accused, a blonde femme fatale, and familiar landmarks like the United Nations building and Mount Rushmore. This is why video essayist Thom Anderson called Hitchcock a “high tourist” director, for his love of such.

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Master of Suspense – Films at the Courthouse return with a summer of Hitchcock

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Alfred Hitchcock Margaret Herrick Library photos
Alfred Hitchcock
Margaret Herrick Library photos

Roman Baratiak’s longtime dream of screening summer movies in the Sunken Garden came true some four years ago, and he’s been watching the crowds come every year since. For the first three years, this Arts & Lectures summer series has stuck with genre films: One year it was musicals, another it was science fiction, and another was classic monster movies. But this year is the first time Mr. Baratiak & Co. have settled on the works of one director: Alfred Hitchcock. Starting this Wednesday with arguably Mr. Hitchcock’s best film, “Vertigo,” the summer series will screen eight of the director’s best suspenseful works, ending with “Strangers on a Train” on Friday, Aug. 23.

Most of the films — except for “Shadow of a Doubt” — screen on a Wednesday at UCSB’s Campbell Hall, for those who want to have a more traditional moviegoing experience, but on the Friday following, bring your blankets and chairs and get ready for some classic films.

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