Is the reason Hitchcock is so often considered to be (to use the really really fun sports word) the GOAT, because of how huge is influence is on "low brow" movies?

As in, the idea that, every horror movie, every action movie (of which the uber popular comic book movie inherently is), every thriller, all the movies that came to mostly dominate Hollywood since 1975, they all use the visual language of Hitchcock?

Versus the language of like John Ford or David Lean or whoever.

I also wonder if Hitchcock is often seen as #1 because of how he combined low brow "Thrills and chills" stories with genuine thoughtfulness and inquiry into the human condition. And just the fact that every movie of his was HIS. The most "auteur" of all the auteur's.

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AdmirableTurnip2245 t1_jeg2fd5 wrote on March 31, 2023 at 7:22 PM

Unanimously referred to as the Master of Suspense. That's what puts him in GOAT conversations. Certainly no one before him could influence an audience onto the literal edge of their seat the way Hitchcock could using cinema as his medium. There's now a long line of renowned directors who largely employ his methods to build that same sense of excitement and anxiety.

Ilikewaterandjuice t1_jeg2n8n wrote on March 31, 2023 at 7:23 PM

One of Hitchcock's things was suspense.

A bomb that explodes is not as terrifying as a bomb that does not explode.

These days it seems that 'suspense' is all jump scares, and with CGI, it is easy to have huge bombs going off everywhere.

Also you might have to fight off Kubrick's Droogs about who is the most 'auteur'.

Pal__Pacino t1_jegbnhk wrote on March 31, 2023 at 8:23 PM

In addition to great suspense, his movies are also very Freudian and layered in way most middle-brow entertainment isn't.

Like, on the surface Shadow of a Doubt is about a girl suspecting her uncle of being a serial killer, but on a subconscious level it's about a girl struggling with a taboo attraction she has to her uncle.

Hitchcock was a real sicko in a fun way.

A_Song_of_Two_Humans t1_jegvfc1 wrote on March 31, 2023 at 10:42 PM

For me it simply comes down to the fact that the guy made more 10/10 movies in his career than anyone else has managed. He made a LOT of movies and not all of them are great but there's at least ten that are masterpieces. Plus the fact that he was churning out pure gold on an annual basis at certain stages in his career is pretty impressive.