Alfred Hitchcock

Film & Theater English-American 1899 – 1980 313 quotes

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 am a very patient person. I can wait for the right moment.

Interview 1960

I like to make films that are visually stunning.

Interview 1960

I am a very observant person. I notice everything.

Interview 1960

I like to make films that are emotionally engaging.

Interview 1960

I am a very curious person. I like to learn new things.

Interview 1960

I like to make films that are suspenseful.

Interview 1960

I am a very imaginative person. I have a vivid imagination.

Interview 1960

I like to make films that are original.

Interview 1960

I am a very determined person. I never give up.

Interview 1960

I like to make films that are memorable.

Interview 1960

I'm not against the police; I'm just afraid of them.

Interview 1970

To make a great film you need three things: the script, the script, and the script.

Speech 1950

In feature films the director is God; in documentary films God is the director.

Interview 1975

Dialogue should simply be a sound among other sounds, just something that comes out of the mouths of people whose eyes tell the story in visual terms.

Book 1963

There is nothing quite so volatile as a young man who has just been given a thrill.

Film notes 1940

Television has brought back murder into the home - where it belongs.

Speech 1964

The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it.

Interview 1960

Luck is everything. If you don't have it, you can't win.

Interview 1970

A good film is when the price of the dinner, the theatre ticket and the babysitter adds up to less than the worth of the evening.

Interview 1965

I always try to select the best from the worst.

Speech 1950