Alfred Hitchcock is the
undisputed King of Suspense Thrillers and I’ve included
several of his movies in our list. A new Hitchcock is on
the horizon though and he’s made his talent and presence
known through The Sixth Sense and Signs.
The Fourth Kind:
Releasing November 6, 2009
M. Night Shyamalan shows Hitchcock’s
uncanny ability to combine psychology, spirituality and
intrigue into hair-raising, spine-chilling stories that tap
into our deepest fears while peppering the plot with humor
and common sense humanity. Both of these movies made our
list and I can’t wait to see what he comes up with next. Some movies are missing
such as Die Hard, Terminator Two, and the Tom Clancy films.
Though these can also be considered Thrillers, I’m saving
them for the Action, Adventure and Science Fiction
sections. Others like The Shinning, Rosemary’s Baby and
The
Exorcist I set aside for the Horror section.
Below are our picks for
the best Suspense Thrillers of All Time that couples will enjoy
watching together based upon storyline (does it keep you
guessing?), believability and the old fashion white-knuckle
effect. Many of these are Academy Award® Winners. All are
at least 4 star movies and you will love, (or be scared) by every one of them.
Presenting: Couples
Company’s Top 25 Suspense Films of All Time
1962: PG-13
Starring:
Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey,
Janet Leigh, Angela Lansbury, Henry Silva, James
Gregory and Leslie Parrish
Director:
John Frankenheimer 129 minutes:
The Manchurian Candidate
Surprise! Why
Manchurian Candidate for number one? Numerous reasons, the most notable
is this is the most unusual suspense thriller you will ever see and by
far Frank Sinatra's best on screen work. How many movies are
so convincing that they have to be pulled out of the theaters because
what they cover not only could happen but also does?
Released in 1962 and
retracted after the Kennedy Assassination (one month later)
not to be seen again until 1986, The Manchurian Candidate
is the ultimate political thriller encompassing
brainwashing, communism, treason, assassins, politics and
the most powerful man in the world. This is one movie you have to watch
from beginning to end and you will not be able to take your eyes off the
screen. You also will not know the ending until 90 seconds before the
movie completes. It’s smart, sexy, frightening, eerie, bone chilling
and one hell of a wild ride. Angela Lansbury was nominated for the Academy Award® for
her portrayal of the anti-hero Raymond Shaw’s (Lawrence Harvey) mother
(in real life she and Harvey are only a two years apart).
1991: R
Starring:
Jodie
Foster, Anthony Hopkins Director:
Jonathan Demme
118 Minutes
Winner Best Picture 1991 Academy Awards®
and Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director and
Best Actor (Hopkins)
The Silence
of
the Lambs
Anthony
Hopkins, "Hello Clarice" rolls off his tongue
with such lascivious evil the words will ring
through your head like a rendition of Small
World until the day you die.
This is a psychological
crime thriller in which FBI candidate Clarice Starling
(Jodie Foster) is put on the trail of unknown serial killer
called Buffalo Bill with an unusual fixation for
murdering large size young women and carving their skin in
patterns. To create a psychological profile of this
killer, Starling must consult with psychopathic psychiatrist and convict serial killer Dr "Hannibal The
Cannibal" Lecter.
What follows is a tit-for-tat
quid-pro-quo of mutual psychoanalysis as the killer
continues to abduct women and Starling attempts to probe
Hannibal's brain for the identity of the killer. A
nail-biter right to the end, this film has received
accolades from the film industry and condemnation from the
homosexual community due to Buffalo Bill's transgender
identity.
Some scenes are pretty gory, be warned.
Try not to eat rare meat before consuming this classic.
Number 3:
The films of Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred
Hitchcock has created so many excellent suspense thrillers, this list
could have easily become a tribute to him. Rather than include all of his
films I've chosen North by Northwest and Psycho to
represent the body of his work. One thing is for sure, whether these two
films or others including The Birds,
Topaz, Vertigo or The Thirteen
Steps, rent a Hitchcock and you know
you've got a great night and a great
film!
1959: PG
Starring:
Cary Grant, Eva
Marie Saint, Claude Rains Director:
Alfred Hitchcock
136 Minutes
North by Northwest
North by Northwest follows the ultimate spy-thriller of intrigue and conspiracy
where an Advertising Executive (Cary Grant) through happenstance
acquires the identity of a fictional agent. His life spins out of
control as he attempts to understand what is happening and escape the
spies chasing him. The end of the movie occurs on the face of Mt.
Rushmore. As is Hitchcock's trademark, symbolism and metaphors guide the
story throughout the film.
1975: PG
Starring: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss
Director:
Steven Spielberg
125 Minutes
Jaws
Number four on our countdown is JAWS,
the film that made beaches all over the world ghost towns in 1975 and
launched Spielberg into stardom.
JAWS the book is inspired by the real life shark attacks
on the Eastern Coast of the US in 1916, which claimed five lives over
the course of two weeks.
What makes this movie great is the story. It's not about a
shark that eats people; As in the Great story of Moby Dick,
JAWS is about men, friendship and ultimately
testing man's ability to fight and control nature and the demons within
himself.
Our favorite scene takes place midway through the movie when Scheider,
Shaw and Dreyfus do a little male bonding by comparing past injuries,
each trying to out do the other with a more disastrous scar. It reminds
us that men never do grow up and ingratiates each of us to the characters.
1940:
G
Starring:
Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine,
George Sanders, Judith Anderson Director:
Alfred Hitchcock
130 minutes
Winner Best Picture 1941 Academy
Awards®
Rebecca
Rebecca is Alfred Hitchcock's first
American film and deserves to be recognized apart from his other work.
It is the haunting story of a marriage of convenience and void of love between a young woman (Joan Fontaine) and the emotionally unavailable
rich widower (Laurence Olivier).
The young wife becomes consumed
with the sheltered secrets and questionable death of his first wife,
Rebecca. Trying to fit in, Fontaine's character must run the gauntlet of
contempt and vicious sabotage orchestrated by Olivier's vindictive housekeeper (Judith Anderson). Classic film noír this film climaxes in
a ball of fire and the destruction of myth. The images of Rebecca will
haunt you for a lifetime.
1967:
PG
Starring:
Audrey Hepburn, Alan Arkin, Richard Crenna,
Efrem Zimbalist Jr. Director:
Terence Young
108 Minutes
Wait Until Dark
Directed by Terence Young ("Dr. No" and "From Russia
With Love"), Blind woman (Audrey Hepburn), unknowingly acquires a
child's doll filled with heroin. Three con men (Alan Arkin, Richard
Crenna, and Jack Weston) scheme to locate the doll in her apartment.
Playing on the universal fear of being alone in the
dark while only being able to hear what is happening, the suspense grows
to one terrifying moment of confrontation when Hepburn must defend and
defeat the threesome foe she cannot see. Men will enjoy the
vulnerability of a woman they want to protect and women will applaud her
cunning and inner strength.
1987:
R
Starring:
Michael Douglas, Glenn Close, Anne
Archer
Director:
Adrian Lyne
119 Minutes
Fatal Attraction
Men often call this movie a "Horror Film", and if 63% of
all men cheat on their wives, then Glen Close's character Alex is every
philanderers worse nightmare!
Explicit in its exploration of
obsession and raw lust, the story builds as Alex falls further and
further into unrequited lust bridging insanity. Michael Douglas becomes the
sympathetic victim, which normally a cheating husband would not be.
Nominated for 6 Academy Awards® in 1987 including Best Picture and Best
Actress. If you've ever thought of cheating on your spouse, you won't
after seeing this thriller!
1971:
R
Starring:
Clint Eastwood, Jessica Walter, Donna Mills
Director:
Clint Eastwood
103 Minutes
Play Misty For Me
Before Fatal Attraction, there was Play Misty For Me
with the original psychotic "girlfriend" Evelyn, (Walter) who is
every man's worst nightmare in curves as she stalks San Francisco DJ
David played by Clint Eastwood.
A nail biter to the end, this
film includes one of the most sensual and romantic love scenes
between Eastwood and Mills ever seen on film, played out to the love
song "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face". You may have to pause
the film the scene is that steamy.
1972: R Starring:
Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ned
Beatty, Ronny Cox Director::
John Boorman
Deliverance
If you want to scare the you-know
-what out of your man, Deliverance
ranks up there as a man's most
frightening films. Of course this isn't one
that's going to put him in the mood
later, so if a little cuddling is in
the plans for after, skip this one.
The most famous scene is the dueling
banjos towards the beginning of the
film. Performed and arranged
by Eric Weissberg and Steve Mandell.
It's magical. Without giving
away the plot, the film follows four
buddies on a camping/fishing/hunting
trip. During the trip, their
worst nightmare happens and the film
becomes an ever reversing cat and
mouse game. This is a scary
one, especially for men, so be
prepared!
1971: R Starring:
Gene Hackman, Roy Scheider Director:
William Friedkin
Academy Awards® for Best Actor (Hackman), Best Director and Best
Picture 1972
The French Connection
Based on the true story of two New York City narcotics
officers who collar the largest heroin smuggling crew in history. Popeye
Doyle (Gene Hackman) holds no bars, even coercion or violence to make a
bust. Cloudy (Roy Scheider) his partner balances out the team.
French Connection is the ultimate cat and mouse game and contains the
most famous car
chase ever filmed. This is the film gritty television shows like
NYPD Blue and Hill Street Blues took lessons from and even decades later
it is still as fresh and relevant as the day it was filmed.
"Who is Keyser Söze?" If I told you, you'd miss the entire
point of the movie. Got to love Kevin
Spacey. I first became a fan of his in the TV show Wiseguy.
In
this film he's even more demented! Spacey plays a club-footed con man who recounts
the criminal bedtime story of
Hungarian mobster Keyser Söze. Gabriel Byrne plays the quiet
intellectual criminal to a T and the rest of the cast is incredible.
The
overriding story line is Who is Keyser Söze? Then again, maybe
this story is a red herring. Underlining the Keyser theme is the planned
heist of an entire shipment of cocaine. Here's the twist.
Blink and you'll miss the plot, the clues and the point of the movie
because there are several plots and subplots moving about. I had
to watch it twice to get it and a third time to really love it!
This is a movie you'll need to think through and the ending, like
Manchurian Candidate won't be known until the last minute of the
film. Worth the time and the investment, this is storytelling at
its finest.
2002:
PG-13 Starring:
Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix Director:
M. Night Shyamalan
107 Minutes
Signs
It's been a long time since a movie
frightened us enough to scream and
the surround sound is something you
have to experience.
Shyamalan
is a fan of Steven Spielberg and he
has obviously studied his thriller
technique of mixing human stories
with humor, horror and fear.
Our favorite scene has Mel Gibson
walking into his family room to find
his two children and adult brother
wearing tin foil hats to keep the
aliens from reading their minds.
It's sweet silliness. What I
really love about this movie, aside
from its unpredictability is the
underlying message of never losing
faith in God. Gibson plays a
disillusioned minister who has
turned his back on God after the
death of his wife. Through the
film he struggles with this until
ultimately in the end he comes to
realize God hasn't abandoned him and
everything does happen for a reason.
This film boasts a complex mix of positive messages with humanity, humor and fear.
1944: G Starring:
Gene
Tierney, Dana Andrews, Vincent Price Director:
Rouben Mamoulian, Otto Preminger 88 Minutes
Laura
Laura continues to define film
noir and combines romance, suspense and sophistication
to create a movie that plays on your emotions and
explores the motivations, lusts and anger of men.
Dana Andrews discovers
the beautiful advertising executive Laura, (Gene
Tierney) is missing and one look at her portrait causes
him to fall in love with her. Unknown to him behind the
scenes the strings are being pulled by snobby columnist and (Clifton
Webb)
who too is in love with Laura but attempting to place
the blame on her fiancé (Vincent Price) whom is loveable
but not too bright.
I don't want to give
away the movie but this love quatro gets an unexpected
surprise half way through the movie that will keep you
guessing to the very end. This is the first and
considered the best by many of the Otto
Preminger murder mysteries. If you've never seen
Laura, do. Though over sixty years old, this
movie plays as Ill today as it did back then.
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