7tavern: North by Northwest (1959)

North by Northwest (1959)

Sound (3)
3
Plot (3)
2.9
Cast (3)
3
Special Effects (3)
3
Length & Pace (3)
2.9
Cinematography (3)
3.3

Directors: Alfred Hitchcock

Writers: Ernest Lehman (written by)

Release: 17 September 1959 (Japan)

Tagline: A 3000 MILE CHASE . . . That blazes a trail of TERROR to a gripping, spine-chilling climax !

Plot: A New York advertising executive Roger O. Thornhill is mistaken for a government agent by a gang of spies. Thronhill must find CIA agent George Kaplan, whom he is mistaken for, to clear his name of a murder. In the persuit, he was aided by a beautiful lady called Eve Kendall and eventually reaches Chicago where Kaplan is.

Cast: Cary Grant - Roger O. Thornhill, Eva Marie Saint - Eve Kendall, James Mason - Phillip Vandamm, Jessie Royce Landis - Clara Thornhill, Leo G. Carroll - The Professor, Josephine Hutchinson - Mrs. Townsend, Philip Ober - Lester Townsend, Martin Landau - Leonard, Adam Williams - Valerian, Edward Platt - Victor Larrabee, Robert Ellenstein - Licht, Les Tremayne - Auctioneer, Philip Coolidge - Dr. Cross, Patrick McVey - Sergeant Flamm - Chicago Policeman, Ed Binns - Captain Junket (as Edward Binns)

Runtime: 131 min

Country: USA

Language: English

Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Links: IMDb Profile

Categories: Adventure, Thriller

Main

Trailer

Squish
Reviews: 740
Points: 0 (Level 1)
Reviewer

Sound:
Plot:
Cast:
Special Effects:
Length & Pace:
Cinematography:

2.5

North By Northwest (1959)

Hitchcock! Hitchcock! Hitchcock!

"So, are you here waiting for your flight too?" "Haha, no way buddy. I'm here for the floorshow, I hear it's about to begin..."

Genre: Adventure Mystery Thriller

Starring: Cary Grant (An Affair To Remember • Notorious), Eva Marie Saint (Superman Returns • Exodus)

Directed By: Alfred Hitchcock (Marnie • The Birds)

Overview: A case of mistaken identity turns an average ad man into a prime target from all sides: the bad guys, the good guys, and even the love-interest lady guys.

Performance:

Cary's flair and style in this role is just perfect bang on. My favorite scenes were the ones that were the most outrageously played by Cary, not those full of suspense. I was impressed with the performance so much that I get the feeling this role was written specifically for him. And a pretty nice leading lady to boot!
Rating: 9

Cinematography:

Well here's where a lot of the fame came from. That fantastic scene out in the middle of nowhere with the crop-duster, the tension-building drunk-driving scene at the beginning, and the classic Mount Rushmore climax are just the tip of the iceberg for the visual afficionado. I think you'll find that more than anything, the constant air of suspense due to terrific editing keeps the dramatic at the high end of the spectrum.
Rating: 9

Script:

It's not all grit and hard-boiled dialogue. We have a main character with a dysfunctional mother, situations that if they weren't dangerous would be hilarious, and a fantastic scene where the wisecracking Grant who, seeing imminent danger, decides to protect himself at an auction by making a complete ass of himself in public. It's really nice to have dialogue that's a little different rather than all plot and circumstance, which this film explains wonderfully as well.
Rating: 8

Plot:

The story opens up with Cary Grant all proud and successful getting bamboozled into a situation he has no control over. From there, the whole first half of the film is his trying to weasel his way out of something he doesn't even understand. Finally, we, the audience figure out that someone trying to kill him with a crop duster might just have an interesting reason to do it. A nice multi-layered tale of paranoia made truth.
Rating: 8

Mood:

I saw an interview with Hitchcock where he made every attempt to shatter the Film Noir stereotypes in that scene with the crop-duster in the field (picture above). Hitch smugly described how he did the exact opposite thing that a Film Noir would do, while still keeping all the panache of the suspense style. North By Northwest is considered one of the best film classics ever made, and that drawn-out scene is well worth the whole thing. Suspense and thrill is really all over this movie, and though pigeonholed into certain things, most likely for the audiences of the era, this is a refreshing thriller indeed, and worthy of its status.
Rating: 9

"You wouldn't shoot someone standing like an old man would you!? 'Urrh! I have no teeth, help me pull my pants up higher!' "

Overall Rating: 86% (Down-Right Fantastic!)

Aftertaste:

Some have said that they didn't like this one due to the fact that the film had this particularly strange feel of cockiness. I attribute that solely to Cary Grant, because he's always been a cocky guy in Hitchcockian film. Big cocky. Cocky till the cows come home. Cock-tastic even.
Yep. As for me, I loved it. Real memorable.

Recommendations: Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino, 2009), Requiem for a Dream, Dawn of the Dead

2010-05-16 01:55:39

Squish
Reviews: 740
Points: 0 (Level 1)
Reviewer

North By Northwest (1959)

Hitchcock! Hitchcock! Hitchcock! "So, are you here waiting for your flight too?" "Haha, no way buddy. I'm here for the floorshow, I hear it's about to begin..." Genre: Adventure Mystery Thriller Starring: Cary Grant ( An Affair To Remember • Notorious ), Eva Marie Saint (Superman Returns • Exodus) Directed By: Alfred Hitchcock ( Marnie • The Birds ) Overview: A case of mistaken identity turns an average ad man into a prime target from all sides: the bad guys, the good guys, and even the love-interest lady guys. Performance: Cary's flair and style in this role is just perfect bang on. My favorite scenes were the ones that were the most outrageously played by Cary, not those full of suspense. I was impressed with the performance so much that I get the feeling this role was written specifically for him. And a pretty nice leading lady to boot! Rating: 9 Cinematography: Well here's where a lot of the fame came from. That fantastic scene out in the...

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2010-05-16 01:55:39

AlexDelarge
Reviews: 71
Points: 0 (Level 1)
Reviewer

North By Northwest: Unveiled Eroticism

A case of mistaken identity leads Roger Thornhill/George Kaplan on a race for his life, wanted by the police for a murder he didn’t commit, pursued by Russian spies, and eventually into the arms of a seeming femme fatale. Alfred Hitchcock’s vogue thriller doesn’t veil its eroticism, as Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint’s one night stand is blatantly exposed, the innuendo as subtle as a sledgehammer. The story’s adrenaline rush from an ordinary luncheon with friends to a shootout atop Mount Rushmore is fantastic, whiplash suspense around every turn as we hope Thornhill can escape from his pursuers and clear his name; meanwhile, the government agency seems callous to risk his life for a “greater cause”. The MacGuffin is the stolen microfilm, a plot device that is of no value except to give the antagonists a reason to flea the country under cover of darkness. Grant plays the part of hunter and prey with a subtle humor and existential dread, the...

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2010-02-27 06:52:28

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