Most of the time Netflix likes to tout its own original movies, but there still a ton of great classic movies on Netflix that the streamer has available to highlight film history. As of right now that includes six movies from one of the greatest directors of all time, Alfred Hitchcock, which Netflix is putting a special focus on with what it is calling the “Alfred Hitchcock Collection.”
Netflix announced this planned spotlight on Hitchcock back in late April in addition to a special six-week screening series it was doing on Hitchcock at the Netflix-owned Paris Theater in New York City. But for those not in New York, the Alfred Hitchcock Collection serves as a way to sample the work of the often-called “master of suspense.”
Among the Hitchcock movies on Netflix right now are a quartet of his most iconic movies in Vertigo (widely cited as one of the greatest movies of all time), Rear Window (No. 2 on WTW’s 100 best movies of all time), The Birds and The Man Who Knew Too Much. The special collection is also going to feature the last two movies of Hitchcock’s career, Frenzy and Family Plot.
These are in addition to Psycho, which has been on among the best Netflix movies for a little bit now.
“Horror and suspense continue to dominate entertainment and we’re tracing back to the roots of this enduring appeal,” reads the official announcement of the collection from Netflix. “The influences that Hitchcock drew from and the techniques he pioneered during his career still cast a long shadow over modern audiences’ ever-growing thirst for thrills and chills.”
In addition to Hitchcock’s own movies, Netflix has added Hitchcock, a 2012 biopic where Anthony Hopkins plays the titular director during his time making Psycho, as well as movies that Netflix cites as having been influenced by Hitchcock’s work, including Jordan Peele’s Us and Zach Cregger’s Barbarian.
Don’t know where to start with these six Hitchcock movies? I’d personally recommend Rear Window or Psycho, but here is a quick synopsis for each Hitchcock movie available on Netflix right now to see if anything in particular catches your attention.
Rear Window (1954)
“As his broken leg heals, a man becomes absorbed with life outside his window and soon fixates on a mysterious neighbor who may have committed murder.”
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)
“An American doctor and his wife, a former singing star, witness a murder while vacationing in Morocco, and are drawn into a twisting plot of international intrigue when their young son is kidnapped.”
Vertigo (1958)
“A former San Francisco police detective juggles wrestling with his personal demons and becoming obsessed with the hauntingly beautiful woman he has been hired to trail, who may be deeply disturbed.”
Psycho (1960)
“In Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpiece of suspense, a young woman on the run with stolen cash checks into a creepy hotel run by proprietor Norman Bates.”
The Birds (1963)
“A wealthy San Francisco socialite pursues a potential boyfriend to a small Northern California town that slowly takes a turn for the bizarre when birds of all kinds suddenly begin to attack people.”
Frenzy (1972)
“A serial murderer is strangling women with a necktie. The London police have a suspect, but he is the wrong man.”
Family Plot (1976)
“A phony psychic and her cab driver boyfriend encounter a pair of serial kidnappers while trailing a missing heir.”
To watch the Alfred Hitchcock Collection on Netflix you of course need a Netflix subscription.