North by North West: Film Review

North by Northwest

1959

Alfred Hitchcock

Run time:  136 minutes

Figure 1: Movie Poster

A suspenseful, classic Hitchcock caper/thriller. Seen as one of the most entertaining films of Hitchcock's career. North by Northwest is a wonderful mix of suspense, mystery, comedy and romance that keeps the audience on the edge of their seat's the entire time."It has all the classic elements of a Hitchcock film - well timed suspense, an overall mystery, a compelling cast and some brilliantly conceived scenes"(Carr,2011). Reuniting with Carey Grant and Eva Marie Saint, two actors Hitchcock had previously worked with, North by Northwest has a cast and story that is charming on so many levels and will capture your hearts and minds. Leaving you wanting more by the end of it.

Simply the movie is a foray into the mistaken Identity and unlikely hero aspects that many of Hitchcock's films detail. When a man is mistaken for a government agent and taken by a group of foreign spies, he is chased around the country in an attempt to uncover the mystery behind the elusive George Kaplan and what Ms Kendall has to do with everything that has been happening.

Figure 1: Carey Grants Roger Thornhill

As previously mentioned this move is just one big caper which continues to escalate as the time progresses."North by Northwest, Alfred Hitchcock's very own adrenalin-fuelled action blockbuster"(Maher). Starting with a kidnapping, the story quickly moves into the territory of attempted murder and mystery. The pace at which this plot moves is breathtaking in the literal form. escalating time and time again. There is a rare few moments where we see the character Roger Thornhill not running from police, a plane or foreign gunmen. Carey Grant makes this movie the adventure that it is, as an actor, Grant is incredibly charming and enthusiastic. Much like Sean Connery and Roger Moore as bond. Grant makes us believe that a man can woe strange ladies on the train, even if she was secretly working for the man trying to kill him, that a man can escape capture by causing a mini riot in an auction just to be taken away by the police. There is something so charming about Grant as an actor that makes the audience want him to get the girl and save the day. Whilst Grant is the highlight of this movie there is another important person in this film that needs touching on. Eve Marie Saint as Eve Kendall. This lady is another of Hitchcock's blonde Bombshells that he place in all of his movies. Initially starting out as a mysterious character how seems to fall in love with Grant out of nowhere actually turns out to be an incredibly strong character, working as a double agent trying to foil the villain, played by James Mason, plans. This duo make the film what is and make the climax of the movie just so much better.

Figure 2: Grant and Saint share and Intimate moment

Throughout this movie, Hitchcock used a number of great set pieces and environments for his events to unfold. Starting with the scene on the train. Being confined in such a small area, with policemen coming in from either side creates a huge amount of tension and the way he manages to escape them is a work of genius, leading into a seemingly rushed display of affection between Saint and Grant. The next set piece being one of the most remembered moment from any Hitchcock movie, being emulated in many different shows including the Simpsons."North By Northwest's expert pacing, intriguing characters and outlandish plot are often cited as the reason for its enduring popularity. The crop-duster scene cheerfully took all of these elements and combined them with masterful editing to create a truly unforgettable action sequence and a wonderful piece of cinema."(Onanuga,2013) This scene is incredibly complex and includes a ton of different camera angles, around 61 different shots in total. The scene is so exhilarating, watching Grant trying to escape the onslaught of a Crop duster in an area with seemingly no cover makes the entire event so much more exciting. The question "how is he going to escape" was running through my mind the whole time and when we finally see how it blew my mind in only a way that Hitchcock could. Tricking the plane to crash into a passing vehicle was just amazing.

Figures 3-4: Grant running from the Crop duster and the different camera shots for the scene marked out.

Ultimately with this movie we see a seemingly normal character in Grants, Roger Thornhill become a suave and charming character that we all root for near the end of the Film.

Bibliography

Kevin Carr, 7(m) Pictures, http://www.7mpictures.com/inside/reviews/dvdblitz60_review.htm#northbynorthwestbd, June 27 2011

Tola Onanuga, The Guardian, http://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/sep/30/north-by-northwest-grant-hitchcock, 30 September 2013

Kevin Maher, The times, 19 June 2009