Throughout the history of film, several directors have made names for themselves thanks primarily to their work with thrillers. Fritz Lang, Brian De Palma, and David Fincher — these are just a few examples of the greatest directors the genre’s ever seen. But above all, one director stood out for being the master of suspense, and of course, that was Alfred Hitchcock. He became synonymous with the thriller genre thanks to films like Rear Window (1954), Vertigo (1958), and North by Northwest (1959).