While it is second on my ranking, if you have Vertigo as your #1, I'm certainly not going to argue with you.
Scottie Ferguson (Jimmy Stewart) is a retired detective who is hired to help prevent a friend's wife from committing suicide, which leads to a fascinating and slightly unsettling journey into human psychology. Vertigo is a weird and haunting film that shows Hitchcock's borderline obsession with exploring the human psyche reaching a beautifully bizarre peak. It examines fear and desire and all of the contradictions that come with those emotions in a way that leaves you with as many questions as answers. And it's all brilliant. This is Hitchcock at the height of his powers, as he displays complete mastery of his craft in a way that few filmmakers have ever been able to do. While it is second on my ranking, if you have Vertigo as your #1, I'm certainly not going to argue with you.