Rating: 
Summary: Cary Grant on the Run in Hitchcock Masterpiece!
Review: 'North by Northwest' is the ONE Hitchcock movie no film lover's collection should be without! Suspenseful, funny, sexy, exciting, it works perfectly on so many levels that the film just gets better and better with repeated viewings!The story is really quite simple; a successful New York ad executive (Cary Grant, in superb form!) is mistaken for an American espionage agent by a group of Soviet spies (led by the ruthlessly suave James Mason, and his aide, a youthful yet sinister Martin Landau! ), and a cat-and-mouse cross-country chase begins, culminating on top of Mount Rushmore. Along the way, Grant is ridiculed by his mother (Jesse Royce Landis, who is hilarious, if actually YOUNGER than Grant!), seduced by double-agent Eva Marie Saint (in the sexiest role of her career!), chased across a cornfield by a lethal cropduster (in one of the greatest scenes in film history!), and recruited into the intelligence community (represented by future 'Man from U.N.C.L.E.' boss, Leo G. Carroll!), while Bernard Herrman's unforgettable music punctuates each scene! Yes, the film has it's faults and a few technical gaffes, but for sheer excitement and fun, you can't top 'North By Northwest'! Hitchcock and Grant both considered this to be one of their favorite films, and you'll fall in love with it, too!
Rating:
Summary: "This can't be good, we're on top of the monument . . "
Review: One of the best of Hitchcock (although as far as his films go, Hitch probably has the best track record of any director living or dead). This film is basically the original "Fugitive" and follows pretty closely the plot to his "The 39 Steps" from 1935 - a man is mistaken for a CIA agent and is caught in a "deadly game of cat and mouse," as it were. I LOVE the music and the visuals that start out the film - it makes me wish I had been alive to see it in a movie theater in the 50's. And although this film is over 2 hours long, there's no way you can be bored - the suspense is so intense you'll be chewing your nails the whole time (I did the first time I saw it). Cary Grant is excellent as always, James Mason plays one of the most sinister of Hitchcock's villains (I would LOVE to have this guy's voice) and Eva Marie Saint looks gorgeous and plays her part well. I also enjoyed seeing Martin Landau in an early role as one of James Mason's henchmen and Jessie Royce Landis (the mother from "To Catch a Thief") as Grant's mother (although both were very near the same age at the time). And I love any film score by Bernard Herrmann - this guy should have had a mantle covered with awards, but as luck would have it, most of his scores went not only un-awarded but un-nominated (as this one did). By all means, if you don't own it, pick it up today - and by the way, good job for FINALLY releasing it on DVD, MGM.
Rating:
Summary: 7 parking tickets
Review: Some strange, witless, mentally challenged reviewers want this film to be serious, logical, with a believable plot. How Vandam dim dumb can you get? There isn't a single Hitchcock film with a halfway realistic, believable story. Vertigo? Psycho? Strangers on a Train? Notorious? The Man Who Knew Too Much? Laughable. That's not what he's about. He sells entertainment, often with a dollop of Freudianism thrown in. I'm not sure he believed in Freud, either, but in any case in this film the Viennese witchdoctor takes a back seat --- except for the last shot. And the mother, of course. This is just a very funny film, and the jokes, visual and scripted, are great. The set-ups are goofy, hilarious, and they stay that way. Like the secret service committee man says, why does he feel like laughing? It's The Big Lebowski of the 1950s: a man of his time who hasn't grown up gets dislocated out of his normal pointless, aimless existence. Grant even mentions bowling balls. Madison Avenue, for heaven's sake: ROT, and the O stands for nothing. The red-capped station baggage-handler clone scene was stolen by Nabokov a couple of years later for his comic masterpiece, Pale Fire. This is probably Cary Grant's most perfect role.
Rating:
Summary: Never been surpassed
Review: This is the first movie I ever saw in a theater. I was five years old and went with my older sister. I thought the movie was stupendous. It still is. As we had no color TV in 1958, I never forgot the shock of the colors on screen. Bright primary (Taxicabs), gray (Cary's suit). This movie is still visualy rich. The story unfolds like a delightful puzzle. The performances, direction, production are superb. The DVD has an informative "making of..." feature. The screenwriter portion is especially rich. Alas, there was only one Hitchcock.
Rating: 
Summary: Many highlights underscore classic Hitch thriller
Review: Cary Grant did well in Hitchcock's thrillers as his usual suave self, that playing himself to perfection. North By Northwest makes Grant's fourth and last Hitchcock film, the others being Suspicion, Notorious, and To Catch A Thief. In this one, he plays Roger Thornhill, who early in the film is mistaken by some sinister men for a certain George Caplan, a double agent. He is unexpectedly hijacked and taken to a manor house, and interrogated by two men, a Mr. Townsend (James Mason) and his assistant Leonard (Martin Landau). Before long, Thornhill is falsely accused of murdering a UN official and goes on the lam. Fortunately, he gains an ally in Eve Kendall (Eve Marie Saint), a slender, sophisticated-looking blonde, who conceals him aboard a train, and all because he has a nice face. However, she seems to be playing more than just one side, as he discovers later. Things build to a point when Thornhill says, "I'm an advertising man. ... I've got a job, a secretary, a mother, two ex-wives, and several bartenders dependent upon me, and I don't want to disappoint them all by getting slightly killed." The U.S. Intelligence Agency is aware of Thornhill's innocence, but decides to use him as a decoy to protect their double agent, now infiltrating Van Dam, the villain of this movie. There are lots of innuendos in this film that are pretty risque for 1959. Eve tells Roger, "I'm a big girl." He says, "And in all the right places too." In fact the seduction scene in Eve's sleeping car is steamy for the era, but the Hays Code rears it head at the last moment when at the mention of one bed, she makes it clear Thornhill will sleep on the floor. However, Hitchcock uses Freudian dream symbolism to thumb his nose at the Hays Code when in one scene, he has a train going into a tunnel. Figure that one out! The suspense element involving Thornhill escaping one situation after another, having a brief pause, only to have to hide or face some new danger keeps this film going. And the climactic scene at Mount Rushmore is a classic, as is that now-famous scene that innocuously begins when a man waiting at the same bus stop as Thornhill remarks "that plane is dusting crops where there ain't no crops." Hold on to your hats! Oh, and the auction scene is both humorous but clever, once one realizes the motive for Thornhill's actions. One funny scene involves a familiar portly older man missing the bus after the opening credits. Guess who that is? And Thornhill's lie to Eve on why the police are chasing him: "Seven parking tickets." However, I've observed some ridiculous things. One, the best way to conceal yourslf if you're a wanted murder is to wear dark glasses. Uh-huh, right! Another is, if the person you're talking to suddenly gets killed by a thrown knife, don't touch the knife--you'll be blamed for the murder. Other assets here include Bernard Herrman's music score. I wonder if Phillip Glass got some inspiration here for Koyaanisqatsi, as some of the frantic violins in NbNW echo that over movie. Herrman's score at the beginning has echoes of Stravinsky, matching the drawn grid patterns that gradually turn to the glass windows of a New York skyscraper. A lengthy thriller with some slow pauses inbetween.
Rating:
Summary: A case of mistaken identity
Review: Perhaps Hitchcock's most acclaimed work, "North by Northwest" is an entertaining adventure of espionage, mistaken identity, and a typical 50's romance. Cary Grant plays the unpresuming Roger Thornhill, and advertising executive who inadvertently gets sucked into a ring of spies who believe he is a man named George Kaplan. Not knowing who Kaplan is, Thornhill tries to escape the spies and find out the truth. In doing so, he is framed for murder, and his flight across the country begins! On his way, he meets the mysterious Eve Kendall (played exquisitely by Eva Marie Saint), a glamorous blond who tries to set Thornhill up and then falls for him. The entire story is one big chase, leading to the infamous "face-off" on scenic Mount Rushmore. The story by Lehmann and the direction by Hitchcock make this movie a true masterpiece. The DVD features an interesting commentary, theatrical trailer, and featurette about the making of "North by Northwest" hosted by Eva Marie Saint herself. If you see no other Hitchcock movie, see this one! They truly don't make ones like this anymore.
Rating:
Summary: The mark of genius
Review: There is little I can add to the reviews of this masterpiece except to say that no matter how many times you see it, you're never 100% certain Roger isn't going to get hit by that truck - the mark of genius.
Rating:
Summary: Ever had one of those bad days?
Review: Cary Grant's Roger Thornhill has one of those in Alfred Hitchcock's renowned thriller. In twenty-four hours, he has been kidnapped, mistaken for another man, intoxicated with alcohol and arrested for drunk driving and assaulting an officer. To top it off, he is framed for murder, which leads to a nationwide search. Let's also not forget when he is attacked by a cropdusting plane. Throw in a dangerous villain (James Mason) and his mistress (Eva Marie Saint), superb direction from Hitchcock (Who makes a brief cameo in the film's beginning) and an exciting Bernard Hermann music score, you have yourself quite a ride. The movie has several clichés that were later exhausted in other movies, but that doesn't detract from the fun. Considering that it is bargain priced, the DVD of "North by Northwest" is a great buy. The film is presented in a Widescreen Anamorphic transfer that's so well done its almost impossible to tell that it is over forty years old. But the extras are really what set this above. "Destination Hitchcock", hosted by Eva Marie Saint, is a documentary about the making of this movie featuring interviews with Hitchcock's daughter Patricia and screen writer Ernest Lehman (Who also does an audio commentary). A theatrical trailer, a "Hitchcock Trailer", a TV spot, a photo gallery, cast and crew bios and an isolated version of Hermann's music score complete this excellent package. Whether you are a fan of one of the stars or of Hitchcock, admire great films or just like entertaining movies, "North by Northwest" should be added to your personal library. Favorite quote:
"I have two ex-wives, a mother and several bartenders depending on me."
-Roger Thornhill
Rating:
Summary: "This can't be good, we're on top of the monument . . "
Review: One of the best of Hitchcock (although as far as his films go, Hitch probably has the best track record of any director living or dead). This film is basically the original "Fugitive" and follows pretty closely the plot to his "The 39 Steps" from 1935 - a man is mistaken for a CIA agent and is caught in a "deadly game of cat and mouse," as it were. I LOVE the music and the visuals that start out the film - it makes me wish I had been alive to see it in a movie theater in the 50's. And although this film is over 2 hours long, there's no way you can be bored - the suspense is so intense you'll be chewing your nails the whole time (I did the first time I saw it). Cary Grant is excellent as always, James Mason plays one of the most sinister of Hitchcock's villains (I would LOVE to have this guy's voice) and Eva Marie Saint looks gorgeous and plays her part well. I also enjoyed seeing Martin Landau in an early role as one of James Mason's henchmen and Jessie Royce Landis (the mother from "To Catch a Thief") as Grant's mother (although both were very near the same age at the time). And I love any film score by Bernard Herrmann - this guy should have had a mantle covered with awards, but as luck would have it, most of his scores went not only un-awarded but un-nominated (as this one did). By all means, if you don't own it, pick it up today - and by the way, good job for FINALLY releasing it on DVD, MGM.
Rating:
Summary: WOW
Review: What a great movie!! It works on so many levels. Actually one of the last movies both Hitchcock and Grant made in their respective careers. In a way, a synthesis of everything Hollywood had taught them about making movies. Hitchcock's mastery of mood, camerawork, nuance and dialogue are in full force here. Several iconic and frequently copied and imitated moments. The crop duster scene was stolen almost immediately for the helicopter scene in From Russia w/ Love. itchcock may have been the best American director ever.
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