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 am a very meticulous filmmaker. Every detail matters.
I believe in the power of the subconscious. It's a powerful tool for storytelling.
I am a very patient man. I will wait for the right moment to strike.
The cinema is a dream factory. I am the dream weaver.
For me, the cinema is not a slice of life, but a piece of cake.
A good film is when the price of the dinner, the orchestra, and the opera ticket is forgotten.
I am a storyteller, and I tell stories in pictures.
I am scared easily, here is a list of my fears: 1. The police. 2. Crowds. 3. Being alone. 4. The dark. 5. Being in a room with a lot of people.
To make a great film, you need three things: the script, the script, and the script.
The ideal movie is a silent movie, with the audience reading the dialogue and the director telling the story with pictures.
I never said all actors are cattle; what I said was, all actors should be treated like cattle.
Fear isn't so bad when it's just a game.
I don't understand how people can be afraid of a movie. It's just a movie.
I am a purist. I believe in the power of the image.
I try to get the audience to participate in the film.
I am a very visual person. I think in pictures.
Casting is character.
I don't believe in happy endings. I believe in realistic endings.
I am an agnostic, but I am not an atheist. I believe in something, but I don't know what it is.
I am not interested in reality. I am interested in what reality can be.
Contemporaries of Alfred Hitchcock
Other Film & Theaters born within 50 years of Alfred Hitchcock (1899–1980).