North by Northwest (1959) (1 Viewer)

[Tino]

Well??

It’s my favorite Hitchcock for sure.

 

[Tommy R]

I never quite got what the big deal about this film was. I've seen it a couple times, and it's fine, but nothing particularly special.

 

[Robin9]

I never quite got what the big deal about this film was. I've seen it a couple times, and it's fine, but nothing particularly special.

You're a very unlucky person. I'd hate to miss out on such an enormous scale.

 

[Johnny Angell]

I never quite got what the big deal about this film was. I've seen it a couple times, and it's fine, but nothing particularly special.

May I extend my deepest sympathies.

 

[Brian9229]

^lol

 

[Pete Battista]

I just found out that I had to go into the settings for the site to see when I get replies to the threads. That is fixed now.

 

[Pete Battista]

North by Northwest (1959/United States)
IMDb |Wikipedia |Trailer |

Warner Home Video (United States)
Director: Alfred Hitchcock (1899)
Writing: Ernest Lehman (Writer)
Length: 136 min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, French: Dolby Digital: Mono, Commentary: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround, Music Only: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround
Subtitles: English, French
Stars:
Cary Grant as Roger O. Thornhill/George Kaplan
Eva Marie Saint as Eve Kendall
James Mason (1909) as Phillip Vandamm
Jessie Royce Landis as Clara Thornhill
Leo G. Carroll as The Professor

Plot:
Cary Grant teams with director Alfred Hitchcock for the fourth and final time in this superlative espionage caper judged one of the American Film Institute's Top-100 American Films and spruced up with a new digital transfer and remixed Dolby Digital Stereo. He plays a Manhattan advertising executive plunged into a realm of spy (James Mason) and counterspy (Eva Marie Saint) and variously abducted, framed for murder, chased and in another signature set piece, crop-dusted. He also holds on for dear life from the facial features of the Presidents on Mount Rushmore (backlot sets were used). But don't expect the Master of Suspense to leave star or audience hanging.

Extras:

• Scene Access
• Audio Commentary
• Feature Trailers
• Featurettes
• Gallery
• Production Notes
• Closed Captioned
• TV Spot

My Thoughts:

What can I say? Wow! I really enjoyed this film. It has a great cast. It has an intriguing story. And it is directed by the great Alfred Hitchcock. While the film is a little on the long side... this is something you don't notice while watching. It felt like the time went by so fast. This one is a definite must see film.

Rating:

 

[Johnny Angell]

Methinks, Pete, that saying the film is a little on the long side, but you don't notice it...well that's kind of a bi-polar statement to me. Where would your trim?

 

[Pete Battista]

What I am saying is.... going by the running time it is a film that is on the long side. But when you watch it you don't notice how long it is... unlike some films feels long, this one does not. I didn't mean I thought there should be some things cut. I am saying the for me at least the sign of a good long film is when you don't even notice how long it is.

 

[Tino]

Again, a good film is never long enough while a bad film is never short enough.

 

[Keith Cobby]

There are too many contemporary long films for me. Very pleased therefore that Dunkirk was comparatively short.

 

[Nick*Z]

How does one pick a favorite "Hitchcock" when 'Hitch' gave us sooooo many stellar examples of his craftsmanship?

Yes, North by Northwest is on my 'short list' of his very best. But so is, Rebecca, To Catch a Thief, Rear Window, Dial M for Murder, Vertigo, Psycho, and, The Birds, with honorable mention to Notorious, Spellbound, The Man Who Knew Too Much, and, Frenzy which I consider 'second-tier Hitchcock. Having said that, 'second-tier Hitch' is better than 'first-tier' most everybody else. So, how does one judge a real/reel artist? First, by the love for his craft. A+ to Hitch here. Second, for the quality of the product itself. A+ again. Finally, for the longevity of its reputation. A+++ to infinity on this one. Bottom line: Hitchcock - a class act, a master storyteller, a true grammarian of the cinema language and finally, a peerless example of 'golden Hollywood' picture-making at its finest.

The only other directors I feel are in this exalted league: John Ford, George Cukor, Howard Hawks, and, William Wyler. Just thoughts. Yours?

 

[Osato]

How does one pick a favorite "Hitchcock" when 'Hitch' gave us sooooo many stellar examples of his craftsmanship?

Yes, North by Northwest is on my 'short list' of his very best. But so is, Rebecca, To Catch a Thief, Rear Window, Dial M for Murder, Vertigo, Psycho, and, The Birds, with honorable mention to Notorious, Spellbound, The Man Who Knew Too Much, and, Frenzy which I consider 'second-tier Hitchcock. Having said that, 'second-tier Hitch' is better than 'first-tier' most everybody else. So, how does one judge a real/reel artist? First, by the love for his craft. A+ to Hitch here. Second, for the quality of the product itself. A+ again. Finally, for the longevity of its reputation. A+++ to infinity on this one. Bottom line: Hitchcock - a class act, a master storyteller, a true grammarian of the cinema language and finally, a peerless example of 'golden Hollywood' picture-making at its finest.

The only other directors I feel are in this exalted league: John Ford, George Cukor, Howard Hawks, and, William Wyler. Just thoughts. Yours?

Agreed. I love so many of Hitchcock’s films.

 

[Tino]

How does one pick a favorite "Hitchcock" when 'Hitch' gave us sooooo many stellar examples of his craftsmanship?

Yes, North by Northwest is on my 'short list' of his very best. But so is, Rebecca, To Catch a Thief, Rear Window, Dial M for Murder, Vertigo, Psycho, and, The Birds, with honorable mention to Notorious, Spellbound, The Man Who Knew Too Much, and, Frenzy which I consider 'second-tier Hitchcock. Having said that, 'second-tier Hitch' is better than 'first-tier' most everybody else. So, how does one judge a real/reel artist? First, by the love for his craft. A+ to Hitch here. Second, for the quality of the product itself. A+ again. Finally, for the longevity of its reputation. A+++ to infinity on this one. Bottom line: Hitchcock - a class act, a master storyteller, a true grammarian of the cinema language and finally, a peerless example of 'golden Hollywood' picture-making at its finest.

The only other directors I feel are in this exalted league: John Ford, George Cukor, Howard Hawks, and, William Wyler. Just thoughts. Yours?

I would add Michael Curtiz along with Spielberg, Cameron and Scorsese.

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

Every director who has come around since Hitchcock owes something to his mastery of the medium. I just watched Split by M. Night Shyamalan and every frame almost seems like an homage. He even uses the push/pull technique (camera dollies opposite direction of zoom for weird compression) pioneered in Vertigo.

 

[Carlo_M]

I always found NxNW to be a squarely solid but not spectacular film...for Hitchcock. Which places it in the overall spectacular category for films in general.

I always find myself enjoying it when I watch it, but it's never the first Hitch film I pull out of my collection to re-watch. Does that make any sense?

 

[Johnny Angell]

I always found NxNW to be a squarely solid but not spectacular film...for Hitchcock. Which places it in the overall spectacular category for films in general.

I always find myself enjoying it when I watch it, but it's never the first Hitch film I pull out of my collection to re-watch. Does that make any sense?

Sure it does. It’s called personal preference.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I get what you're saying, Carlo. On one hand, it is seemingly the perfect example of both Hitchcock's craft and Grant's craft, but it's not the first film I pull off the shelf when I'm feeling like a movie from either one of them.

And yet, on its own merits, its a fantastic picture. So I find myself enjoying it more than I remembered whenever I do watch it, so that's not a bad side effect.

 

[Osato]

I’m way overdue to watch a Hitchcock film.
I feel like when I watch one, I end up watching several more at a time.

Where to begin this time?

 

[TravisR]

I’m way overdue to watch a Hitchcock film.
I feel like when I watch one, I end up watching several more at a time.

Where to begin this time?

It's tough to go wrong if you choose a Hitchcock movie from the 1950's.