Jump to: navigation, search

The Guardian (13/Jun/2001) - Psycho tops AFI thriller poll

(c) The Guardian (13/Jun/2001)

Psycho tops AFI thriller poll

Forty years on it still rules the roost as one of the most memorable movies ever made and now Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho has been officially declared the most thrilling film of all time in an American Film Institute (AFI) poll of the most suspenseful movies in history.

The shower power antics of Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh saw the 1960 classic edge out Steven Spielberg's "Jaws" and William Friedkin's "The Exorcist", which finished second and third respectively in "100 Years... 100 Thrills". Overall nine Hitchcock movies made it on to the list, the four other top 20 finishers being North by Northwest (4th), The Birds (7th), Rear Window (14th) and Vertigo (18th).

While most of the choices indicate the horror-heavy tone of the poll, the nerve-shredding credentials of The Wizard of Oz (43rd) and 12 Angry Men (88th) may not immediately spring to mind. But Jean Picker Firstenberg of the AFI said the content of the film rather than the genre was key. "It was so diverse, and I think what people are enthralled with is the juxtaposition of these, and how far and wide the range is for films that hit us the same way. A lot of people have questioned 12 Angry Men and I think it's one the most intense dramas of all time. But people don't always think of it that way. It's truly heart-pounding in terms of what occurs in that singular room."

The most thrilling decade to emerge is the 70s, with 22 features, followed closely by the 60s with 21. The 90s produced 12 entries. The list was compiled by a panel of 1,800 directors, screenwriters, actors and historians from a list of 400 nominated films which had to demonstrate "significant creative and/or financial production elements from the United States." The results were announced on CBS yesterday by Harrison Ford, who tied with Claude Rains as the most featured actor on the list with four films.

The AFI was set up to preserve American film heritage and has spawned a series of "best of..." lists over the past few years, including the 100 greatest movies, 100 greatest stars and the 100 greatest comedies.

Retrieved from ‘http://the.hitchcock.zone/w/index.php?title=The_Guardian_(13/Jun/2001)_-_Psycho_tops_AFI_thriller_poll&oldid=127748’