Get ready to scream: Netflix is bringing a collection of Alfred Hitchcock films to the streaming service this June — and, despite chief Ted Sarandos’ belief that the movie-theater biz is “outdated,” the company will showcase the legendary filmmaker’s work at its Paris Theater in New York City in a six-week series.
Starting June 1, a collection of classic Hitchcock films will be available to stream in the U.S. Those will include “Vertigo,” “Rear Window,” “Frenzy,” “The Man Who Knew Too Much,” “Family Plot” and “The Birds.” Currently, U.S. customers can stream Hitchcock’s genre-defining masterpiece “Psycho,” now available on Netflix in the country.
In addition, Netflix’s Hitchcock collection will include films inspired by the British-born director, such as Jordan Peele’s “Us” and Zach Cregger’s “Barbarian,” as well as narrative feature “Hitchcock” directed by Sacha Gervasi.
Meanwhile, Netflix’s Paris Theater will present “HITCH! The Original Cinema Influencer,” running from May 16 through June 29, co-presented by the New York Film Critics Circle. The screening series will feature more than 50 films, 36 directed by Hitchcock himself. Of those, 35 films will have showings in 35mm, including Hitchcock’s “Rear Window,” “Vertigo” and “North by Northwest” as well as Francois Truffaut’s “The Bride Wore Black” and Henri-Georges Clouzot’s “Dialbolique.”
The Paris Theater opened in 1948, built by French distributor Pathé as a showcase for its films. It remains Manhattan’s only single-screen movie theater. Netflix acquired the 545-seat venue in 2019 and says the theater “is the home for exclusive theatrical engagements, premieres, special events, retrospectives and filmmaker appearances.” Netflix also owns L.A.’s Bay Theater and Egyptian Theatre.
Speaking at the Time100 Summit last week, Sarandos said the “communal experience” of the movie-theater business is “an outmoded idea” — noting that most people in the U.S. are unable to “walk to a multiplex and see a movie.” So why did Netflix buy the Paris Theater (which Sarandos said Netflix prevented from becoming a Walgreens)? “We didn’t save it to save the theater business,” he said. “We saved it to save the theater experience.”
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