North by Northwest

Rating:
Summary: Hitchcock, Grant, and Herrmann....WUNDEBAR!
Review: Wedged between two exercises in the psychosexual ("Vertigo" and "Psycho"), Alfred Hitchcock made a truly entertaining chase flick. "North by Northwest" features a cross-country joy ride of familiar landmarks as Cary Grant's "Roger Thornhill" tries to elude both the henchmen of James Mason (SUPERB!) and our own government (headed by Hitchcock stalwart Leo G. Carroll). Eva Marie-Saint, though not as alluring as other Hitchcock "blonds" adds the right blend of mystery and sex appeal to her character. Martin Landau, in an early role, is featured as Leonard, Mason's right-hand man.

The movie also sports a brilliantly exciting Bernard Herrmann score.

So, set your travel plans to include a trip "North by Northwest."

Rating:
Summary: North by Northwest
Review: One of Hitchcock's greatest masterpieces. It has so much in it. It has class, sophistication, humour, tension, sexiness, all in a great plot.
Although a bit dated, it stands up well to watching and rewatching, there is so much in it.
The documentary accompanying the film narrated by Eve Marie Saint gives fantastic insights into the behind-the scenes goings on with one of our great filmmakers.

Rating:
Summary: "Full of delightful Hitchcock touches and wily innuendos."
Review: Cary Grant stars in the definitive mistaken-identity caper. Full of delightful Hitchcock touches and wily innuendos. The end shot of the train speeding through the tunnel just after Roger and Eve kiss will make your jaw drop. Fabulous script and set-pieces. The now legendary crop-dusting sequence and Mount Rushmore chase are wonderful entertainment. James Mason makes for a delightfully slick and charming villian, and a young Martin Landau is particularily slimy. Superb choreography, especially during train kissing sequence.

Rating:
Summary: A really wonderful and entertaining film!
Review: I highly recommend this film! It is really
entertaining full of adventure!

Rating:
Summary: Hitchcock's Best - and worth another look due to 9-11 Attack
Review: I was fortunate to have studied this movie in detail during a college film class, and 20 years later, it remains my favorite all time Alfred Hitchcock flick (and the master justifies many of my favorites over time.) Very few films are able to retain the one-two punch of being classics within a genre and remain remarkably fresh, accessible and fun (yes, even fun!) Cary Grant is amazing throughout as the executive mistaken for someone else by both criminals and the authorities. Few of his contemporaries (or even actors since Grant's glory days) ever mastered the dual qualities of being both manly and approachable which Grant offers in spades. He is the everyday simple man, on the order of a James Stewart, and yet, a leading man matinee idol that has charmed viewers for decades. He lures you with his affect, but never in a way that feels tired or condescending, always with good nature and a crooked eyebrow that knows more about life than most full fledged characters ever placed on screen.

The movie moves from New York through the Heartland, to fields of corn, to a climax that is visually and emotionally stunning. The supporting characters all lend crediblity to the zig zag tale that rarely allows the viewer to catch his or her breath. Eva Marie Saint and James Mason are especially delicious, and the viewer is forced repeatedly to question whether they are good guys, bad guys or neither, which only adds to the fun.

Great actors and filmmaking aside, what makes "North By Northwest" especially important in today's world are its still-vital themes and how these relate to the ever-changing world we live in. Cases of mistaken identity are more present now than before, as Muslims and Arab Americans confront the spectacle of being reduced to second class citizens despite their long, proud history and embrace of American values, and the American Dream itself. Grant's character is literally hounded by both good and evil, but retains intact his inner virtues, and knows deep inside where he stands, like our Muslim and Arab countrymen, and most of the world's human population.

In addition, Grant's "everyman" could be any one of us which adds to the suspense and allows us to feel a bond with this character that is rare among Hitchcock leads. In fact, Hitchcock seems to have originated "racial profiling" here - albeit for the omnipresent "white man." If you think about it, mistaken identities are often the driving force behind racial profiling and the Master truly drives this point home. Again, knowing this only makes the film more impoactful and adds to its universality today.

Finally, in an era of bioterrorism and unprecendented disasters like the attacks on the World Trade Centers of 9-11, "North by Northwest" seems more contemporary now than even 30+ years ago. The cropduster scene takes on new resonance given what we're witnessing at the moment with anthrax, and the days immediately following the terrorist events, when cropdusters and other small planes were forced to suspend operation.

Plus, the events of September 11th appear supremely tied to what transpires at Mt Rushmore during near the end of the film. Think about it - like the hijacker's destruction of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, beloved icons for modern Americans, the Presidential busts carved into the side of the mountain as used in the film are literally extensions of our pride, patriotism, heritage and history. They represent all that "is good" in America, and applaud the democracy that has led the world for centuries to new, unparalleled glories. The evil characters in the film are foiled by the mountain, and the all-American Grant endures (as shall we.) While a mountain can't implode like the Towers themselves, the ground around them can be desacrated by murderers, and Hitchcock foreshadows the tragedies of 9-11 with uncanny vision. The four Presidents on the mountain seem to stare down at Grant and give him the power to go on, while at the same time toppling the assailants. Like them, our 6 living Presidents, from Ford to Bush, have crossed party lines and formed unilateral, unprecedented loyalty in the fact of terror. If only life were fiction like Hitchcock's tale, perhaps the themes he presents would not be as terrifyingly real as they actually feel at this fateful moment in time! I hate to read into this, but Hitchcock speaks volumes in this film about the nature of our culture, the values that sustain and inspire us, as well as the forces that would prefer to see us destroyed.

On DVD, "North by Northwest", reaffirms its status as the Master's truest work of art and renews his position as the greatest filmmaker of his day. You can escape with this movie, but realize that, more today than ever the film generates a passion and vision that is more real, more intense and far more frieghtening than ever before. Justice prevails, as it always does, yet Hitchcock makes the viewer go through hell first! Just like the world's civilized nations are coping with terror today, so does the Grant character. A joyous, supreme example of filmmaking that is unparalleled both in its cinematic achievment as well as its topicality.

Rating:
Summary: Innocent Fun
Review: Fun movie that fills me with a great sense of nostalgia every time I see it. Eva Marie Saint was a BABE.

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Summary: Exciting chase
Review: Cary Grant is Roger Thornhill, an advertising executive who gets mixed up in espionage when he is mistaken for a secret agent named George Kaplan. He meets up with the beautiful and mysterious Eva Marie Saint and the two embark on a dangerous game of cat and mouse that culminates in a chase across Mount Rushmore.

This is a suave and intelligently scripted entertainment, although it is quite contrived at times. After all, could anyone really cradle a dying man and pluck the knife out of his body by accident the way Grant does at the UN? And, handsome though he may be, Grant seemed a little old for a hottie like Eva Marie Saint to be throwing herself at him without an ulterior motive. It seemed odd to me that he never appeared to question that her attraction to him was spontaneous and genuine. Maybe I'm nit-picking. James Mason and Martin Landau are fantastic as the villains!

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Summary: Beautiful DVD, Exciting Movie
Review: Alfred Hitchcock made an extraordinary film in North By Northwest, and it includes some of his most amazing cinematography. It's astounding to think that the "special effects" are based on the real locations involved, since CGI was certainly not available in the day this was made. Cary Grant is excellent as a man on the run in a case of mistaken identity. I was hooked within the first 15 minutes of this excellent film. The DVD looks better than the film has looked in years. Likely as good or better than it did upon first theatrical release. The special features are just the icing on the cake.

Rating:
Summary: A superbly paced thriller.
Review: Alfred Hitchcock may be know for such classics as "Psycho" and "Notourious," but his best picture by far is the action thriller "North By Northwest."
Roger Thornhill (Cary Grant), is your run of the mill guy. He has a good job, he has two divorces and a loyal secretary. One day, in the Plaza Inn with some friends, he gets kidnapped by two thugs weilding guns. They think that he is a goverment agent named George Kaplan. The thugs take him to there boss, Mr.Vandamm (James Mason). After being forced to drink a glass of bourbon and drive home, he gets framed for the murder of a UN ammbasador and gets promptly arrested.
Then, if that wasn't enough, he meets a beautiful, sexy girl by the name of Eve Kendell (Eva Marie Saint). He later finds out some startiling secrets about Eve that kept me in my chair.
This witty film had all the makings of a classic: a big time actor, a stunning leading lady, and Alfred Hitchcock.
The two greatest scences, as expected, were the cropdusting scene and the Mount Rushmore scene.
Alot of people have speculated what the title means. I think it means that he has no general idea of whats going on, or no direction.

Rating:
Summary: I'M AN ADVERTISING MAN, NOT A RED HERRING...
Review: I won't bore you with the summary as I'm sure who ever is on this page has seen other reviews with the synopsis of North by Northwest. In my opinion, this and Psycho represent Alfred Hithcock at his apex and definitely NBNW is one of the greatest films of all time (it's in the AFI Top 100 Movies of all time). Sure maybe there are errors in it but no movie is perfect, nonetheless it comes close to perfection. It moves along, solid storyline, legendary actors and actresses (the always debonair Cary Grant; the beautiful Eva Marie Saint; the cool, calm, evil that James Mason exudes and the dark, sinister presence of Martin Landau) performing their parts to perfection. Hitchcock didn't need to use special effects, loud explosions or graphic violence to keep the viewers entertained. The characters and the storyline keep the viewers glued to the screen and the underlying espionage story was appropriate given the era of the Cold War. This was the template for future action/adventure/spy thrillers and I am even tempted to say that this could be a 1959 version of The Fugitive, ordinary man accused of a crime he didn't commit and has to exonerate himself! You forget this movie is over 2 hours long the way it moves briskly along. A perfect melange of comedy, action and suspense. See it if you haven't and buy it if you can, you WILL NOT regret it. A timeless classic!