Alfred Hitchcock
Master of suspense
Most quoted
"The audience is like a giant organ that you and I are playing. At one moment we play this note and get this reaction, and then we play that chord and they react that way. And someday we won't even have to make a movie — there'll be electrodes implanted in their brains, and we'll just press different buttons and they'll go 'ooooh' and 'aaahh' and we'll frighten them, and make them laugh. Won't that be wonderful?"
— from Interview with François Truffaut, 1966
"I'm scared of eggs, worse than frightened, they revolt me. That white round thing without any holes... have you ever seen anything more revolting than an egg yolk breaking and spilling its yellow liquid? Blood is jolly, red. But egg yolk is yellow, revolting. I've never tasted it."
— from Interview
"Fear isn't so difficult to understand. After all, weren't we all frightened as children? Nothing has changed since Little Red Riding Hood faced the big bad wolf. What frightens us today is exactly the same sort of thing that frightened us yesterday. It's just a different wolf."
— from Interview
All quotes by Alfred Hitchcock (313)
The cinema is a great place to escape from reality.
I like to surprise the audience.
I am a very disciplined director.
I don't like to leave anything to chance.
I am a very meticulous director.
I like to play with the audience's emotions.
I am a very patient director.
I don't like to rush things.
I am a very methodical director.
I believe in the power of suspense.
I like to keep the audience on the edge of their seats.
I am a very precise director.
I don't like to waste time.
I am a very organized director.
I believe in the power of the unexpected.
I like to keep the audience guessing.
I am a very efficient director.
I don't like to make mistakes.
Some films are slices of life. Mine are slices of cake.
The ideal movie is a silent movie, and the ideal director is one who can make it.
Contemporaries of Alfred Hitchcock
Other Film & Theaters born within 50 years of Alfred Hitchcock (1899–1980).