Alfred Hitchcock Quotes

There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it.

I have a feeling that inside you somewhere,there's somebody nobody knows about

There is something more important than logic: imagination

The ideal husband understands every word his wife doesn't say.

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

A good film is when the price of the dinner, the theatre admission and the babysitter were worth it.

The more successful the villain, the more successful the picture.

Film your murders like love scenes, and film your love scenes like murders.

Mystery is an intellectual process... But suspense is essentially an emotional process.

I have a perfect cure for a sore throat: cut it.

Revenge is sweet and not fattening.

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

Always make the audience suffer as much as possible.

A lot of movies are about life, mine are like a slice of cake.

A glimpse into the world proves that horror is nothing other than reality.

Disney has the best casting. If he doesn't like an actor he just tears him up.

Television is like the invention of indoor plumbing. It didn't change people's habits. It just kept them inside the house.

I'm full of fears and I do my best to avoid difficulties and any kind of complications. I like everything around me to be clear as crystal and completely calm.

Suspense is like a woman. The more left to the imagination, the more the excitement.

Our primary function is to create an emotion and our secondary function is to sustain that emotions.

Reality is something that none of us can stand, at any time.

Puns are the highest form of literature.

Drama is real life with all the boring parts cut out.

Give them pleasure - the same pleasure they have when they wake up from a nightmare.

Man does not live by murder alone. He needs affection, approval, encouragement and, occasionally, a hearty meal.

If I won't be myself, who will?

People don't always express their inner thoughts to one another; a conversation may be quite trivial, but often the eyes will reveal what a person really thinks or feels.

Conversation is the enemy of good wine and food.

The length of a film should be directly related to the endurance of the human bladder.

When an actor comes to me and wants to discuss his character, I say, 'It's in the script.' If he says, 'But what's my motivation?, ' I say, 'Your salary.'

If it's a good movie, the sound could go off and the audience would still have a perfectly clear idea of what was going on.

I am a typed director. If I made Cinderella, the audience would immediately be looking for a body in the coach.

Even my failures make money and become classics a year after I make them.

Drama is life with the dull bits cut out.

Blondes make the best victims. They're like virgin snow that shows up the bloody footprints.

Ideas come from everything

There is nothing to winning, really. That is, if you happen to be blessed with a keen eye, an agile mind, and no scruples whatsoever.

Television has done much for psychiatry by spreading information about it, as well as contributing to the need for it.

I enjoy playing the audience like a piano.

One must never set up a murder. They must happen unexpectedly, as in life.

When you can look forward, and the road is clear ahead, and now you are going to create something - that's as happy as I'd want to be.

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.

Never judge a country by its politicians.

For me, the cinema is not a slice of life, but a piece of cake.

Never turn your back on a friend.

I never said all actors are cattle; what I said was all actors should be treated like cattle.

Happiness is a small house, with a big kitchen.

Actually, I have no regard for money. Aside from its purchasing power, it's completely useless as far as I'm concerned.

In a good marriage each is the others better half.

The only way to get rid of my fears is to make films about them.