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North by Northwest

North by Northwest

List Price: $19.97
Your Price: $14.98
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Best Film Of All Time, In My Opinion
Review: Doesn't get any better folks. I've seen it at least 100 times. I can't wait to get the DVD.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: they don't get any better than this
Review: i just purchased the dvd...warner bros is to be congradulated on doing a excellent job..although the color is slightly faded,the sound and 5.1 is very good. the crop duster scene feels like the plane is going over you,if you are lucky to view it in surround. it has a isolated score with the great bernard herrmann music. ernest leyman does a good job of giving you his feelings on how he wrote the script and his relationship with hitch.. he gives great insite to how hitchcock worked and his readiness to shoot his picture..he knows exactly how he wants each scene to look..he cares about the movie goer. now with dvd you are back in the theater and feel the emotion,the spirit of north by northwest..it's humor,wit and adventure..if you love great movies,don't let this one pass you by.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: eat your heart out, bruce willis
Review: north by northwest is a prime cut of hitchcock from that fifties era when he could do no wrong. the master director was at the height of his powers and his reputation, and made the deep, draining vertigo immediately prior to this, and the shocking psycho, which re-invented the thriller yet again.

here, he takes something of a lighter touch. north by northwest is not profound but the sheer scale of it is breath-taking. it contains some of the most memorable scenes in celluloid history; even if you haven't seen the film, you have seen that scene with cary grant in the cornfield, being buzzed by the plane copied and parodied to death. likewise with the finale on mount rushmore.

north by northwest is an action thriller; it contains glorious set-pieces, and the premise is gloriously absurd - a case of mistaken identity leads grant into a nightmare world he could never have imagined. and cary is, of course, effortlessly cool throughout his ordeals and presents a much more amiable action hero than, say, bruce willis. it is, to some degree, hitchcock tying up some of his old, best tricks in one slick package. there are elements here in common with hitch films as early as 39 steps and blackmail. and with psycho just around the corner, hitchcock would never make another film quite like it. excellent. watch it. you deserve it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Hitchcock Rules
Review: As a fanatical Hitchcock fan, I loved North by Northwest. I have seen it more than 10 times. There is always something you see that you didn't the time before. Hitchcock's style of moviemaking just doesn't happen anymore. The viewer is lead through this movie with action, suspense and intrique, not sex, drugs and murder. You have to make this movie part of your collection if you are a diehard fan of Hitchcock.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Ultimate In Crackerjack Entertainment!
Review: Quintessential Hitchcock. Made just in between Hitchcock's best films; 'Vertigo' and 'Psycho'. 'North By Northwest' is more lighthearted and fun than those films, less psychologically oriented and more glossy good old fashioned entertainment. Hitchcock took the 'innocent man on the run' dilemma he practically invented in 'The 39 Steps' and then further explored in 'Saboteur, but perfected in this classic film. In one of the definitive Cary Grant roles, Grant was in peak form and at his most charming. It's hard to imagine anyone else as Roger Thornhill or any other person who can melt women with just a look, only Grant can do that. Endlessly entertaining and sprinkled with wit and intrigue, one of the classic screen entertainments. This time Eva Marie Saint is the 'icy blonde' a look that obviously appealed to Hitchcock and a lot of actresses are living proof of that; Grace Kelly, Kim Novak, Madeleine Carroll, Janet Leigh, etc. There is an incredibly sexy (and long) kissing sequence that could compare with the one Grand and Ingrid Bergman had in Hitch's 'Notorious', while not as tense or as unbearably sexy it's still as memorable. James Mason is excellent as the villainous Phillip Vandamme and this is one rare occasion when his voice does not seem distracting in fact it kind of fits appropriately. Martin Landau is also equally memorable as Vandamme's thug, there are some homosexual undercurrents to his character. Filled with many memorable scenes like the assassination in the UN, Cary Grant trying to drive a car while drunk and of course the now classic crop-dusting sequence that is pure Hitchcock genius all the way. The cliffhanger ending on Mount Rushmore is incredibly suspenseful and equally memorable. One of the most constantly entertaining films of all time, Hitchcock at his peak and at his most charming. Extras: Hitchcock's usual cameo; this time as the man who barely misses the bus in the beginning credits. From a scale of 1-10 I give this film a 10!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A Second-Tier, but Superb, Hitchcock
Review: It is indeed an extremely enjoyable movie, and the rapid cutting at the end, leading to the erotic train going through the tunnel, is one of the most brilliant visual conceptions of all filmdom. Yet the previous reviewers gush too much. As Hitchcock films go (and they go VERY FAR INDEED) this one is at a high level, alongside "To Catch a Thief," and better than "Marnie." "The Man Who Knew Too Much" (the James Stewart remake) is somewhat better, though slower, than "North by Northwest." But none of the films mentioned so far can compete with the sublime "Vertigo," or "Rear Window." Eva Marie Saint is OK in "North by Northwest," but oh how much better Grace Kelly would have been! When, oh when, are we going to get a decent DVD of "Dial M for Murder" in 3-D? To see Ms. Kelly in three dimensions, as well as to enjoy a Hitchcock movie that, seen in its original 3D, is even better than "North by Northwest" (unless you're a scenery buff), is a need that simply must be fulfilled by the folks who are turning out these DVDs.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Hitchcock's best film
Review: Forget "Psycho," disregard "The Birds." This is Hitchcock's finest movie. It has everything: marvelous, stylish acting by the incomparable Cary Grant, fine supporting performances by James Mason and Eva Marie Saint and a plot that will have you on edge throughout.

Yes, the plot is contrived and improbable and the Mt. Rushmore sets are obviously fake and unrealistic-looking, but these are minor annoyances. Cary Grant effortlessly charms his way throughout this movie (note the auction scene and Cary's comedic timing. His scens with Saint crackle with sexual innuendo, especially their famous train clinch.

This is a movie you watch again and again and you'll always find things you had missed during the previous viewings. If you love Cary Grant, Hitchcock or suspenseful thrillers, this is the movie for you.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: North by Northwest
Review: As an avid Hitchcock fan for almost 40 years (since being scared witless by "Psycho" on its first theatrical run), I have managed to see all of his movies and read a number of books about him. He is, I believe, the premier director in film history, and "North by Northwest" is his finest achievement. Even though the screenplay is simply an updating of "The Thirty-nine Steps," Hitchcock manages to make the movie fresh and inventive every step of the way, with suspense, humor, fine acting, literacy, and superior production values. It is a cinematic experience which no one should miss. Let's hope that the upcoming DVD version can do full justice to the movie's greatness. I know that I'll be among the first in line to buy it!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: style,suspense,romance,humour
Review: this is a great movie on so many levels. From the opening scene,no from the opening titles you are hustled through the film and ejected breathless at the end. It's definitely a film to keep and view again and again. It would be interesting to see a remake,but would need a director with flair. Luc Besson maybe? It would need style.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Perfection
Review: Compare this first-rate romantic comedy-thriller to Hitchcock's more "serious" works, and it might not seem like it amounts to much...and maybe it doesn't. For NORTH BY NORTHWEST was built for one purpose and one purpose alone--to entertain. But rarely do films entertain so intelligently, and so economically (even at 136 minutes, there isn't an unnecessary shot in the entire story). Beneath the seemingly lightweight surface bubbles the same craftsmanship, the same rigorous attention to detail that made such acclaimed masterpieces as VERTIGO and PSYCHO.

The story, featuring Cary Grant as an innocent man mistaken for a secret agent and Eva Marie Saint as the seductive blonde with her own mysterious agenda, is delightfully twisted, yet despite its complexity it's never confusing or overwrought. The script is not only perfectly paced but brilliantly witty (Grant in particular gets the best lines). Again, not a single shot is wasted. Almost every scene is memorable--the hilarious "drunk driving" sequence, the très risqué dinner chat on the train, the crop-dusting sequence, the auction, and of course, the chase across Mt. Rushmore...all this in a magnificent package shot with Hitchcock's trademark precision and typically warped sense of humor.

This is one of those movies where every single element works just right--the dialogue, the acting, the direction, the dazzling visuals, and Bernard Herrmann's pitch-perfect score. It's not one of those movies that require the viewer to sit through hours of boredom for ten minutes of great entertainment. Every moment of NORTH BY NORTHWEST feels like a separate payoff; every moment entertains. Does it have the psychological dimension and disturbing thematic weightiness of VERTIGO and PSYCHO? No. But for my money, it's the most enjoyable and satisfying movie Hitchcock ever made.


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