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)
I don't make messages, I make movies.
My films are not about reality, they are about illusion.
I am a storyteller, and my stories are meant to entertain.
I believe in giving the audience a good scare.
I am a master of suspense, but I am also a master of the mundane.
I don't make films to send messages, I make films to make money.
I like to manipulate the audience, to make them feel what I want them to feel.
I'm a great believer in people. I believe in their goodness, their strength, their intelligence. But I also believe in their capacity for evil, their weakness, their stupidity. It's a constant struggle, isn't it?
Fear isn't so bad. It's a reminder that you're alive, that you have something to lose. It's when you stop feeling fear that you should worry.
I am a man of my time, and I believe in the power of the individual to shape his own destiny, for better or worse.
The ideal is to have a beautiful woman who is also a good actress. But if you have to choose, choose the beautiful woman.
I don't say all policemen are stupid, just 99 percent of them.
I am scared of nothing, except women.
The more you know about human nature, the more you realize how little you know.
I try to get the audience to participate in the film. I want them to be scared, to be thrilled, to be excited.
I am a storyteller, and I tell stories about people who are caught in situations beyond their control.
The world is full of surprises, and most of them are unpleasant.
The only way to achieve true happiness is to embrace your fears.
I believe in the power of the subconscious mind. It's a powerful tool, if you know how to use it.
The human mind is a fascinating thing. It can create beauty, and it can create terror.
Contemporaries of Alfred Hitchcock
Other Film & Theaters born within 50 years of Alfred Hitchcock (1899–1980).