Rating: 
Summary: An Unoffical Comedy
Review: "North by Northwest" is a perfect blend of humor and adventure. If the humor gets by you, it is still enjoyable as a chase film. Hitchcock lays the humor over this movie like a lace tablecloth. And Cary Grant, like no one else, plays the ludicrous situations to excellence. The shot that lingers on Cary Grant, standing on a dusty mid-western road, staring at the other man across the road, who is doing the same thing to him, had me doubled over laughing. It's one typical example of the not-so-obvious humor that might get by people. I say that because people have asked me why I think it's a comedy. Please get this film and watch pampered ad-exec. Roger (Grant) going from a theatre date with his mother to some of the absurdist situations in which one can find themselves.
Rating: 
Summary: Cary Grant - A Case of Mistaken Identity
Review: Cary Grant - even in middle age - makes most people, including movie stars, look like yesterday's laundry.Here, Grant plays advertising exec Roger O. Thornhill(ROT).
Poor Thornhill has been mistaken for a CIA agent named Kaplan and is pursued by murderous thugs. James Mason and Martin Landau, at his most evil-looking, try to eliminate Grant. But with the help of Eva Marie Saint, Grant manages to stay alive. Great fun.
Rating:
Summary: A distillation of everything that made Hitchcock great
Review: In a way, NORTH BY NORTHWEST is a glorious remake. Although he hadn't filmed this particular story before, Hitchcock had often told the story of a man falsely accused of a murder he did not commit forced to travel long distances in search of the real murderer and the proof of his own innocence. Both THE 39 STEPS and YOUNG AND INNOCENT in his English period featured such a hero, and he continued this in his Hollywood film SABOTEUR, with Robert Cummings traveling all the way from the West Coast to the Statue of Liberty. But NORTH BY NORTHWEST is a remake as well in that in this film he pulled out all the tricks he had honed and mastered over the years. After this film, he would actually invent new forms of shocking and surprising his viewers. Bernard Hermann is almost without debate the greatest film composer. Which film features his greatest work, however, is open to debate. Probably most would give the nod to his extraordinary score for PSYCHO, but my own vote would go for NORTH BY NORTHWEST. This music is so extraordinary that it has actually been assembled into a suite that is sometimes performed by symphony orchestras. Although Hermann could vary dramatically from score to score (compare his work on VERTIGO with that on CITIZEN KANE or PSYCHO), here he can vary sharply from scene to scene. I know of no more exhilarating score in film. Nonetheless, when Hitchcock filmed the most famous scene in the film, he used no music at all. What makes the classic crop duster scene work so magnificently is the silence in which he embeds it. This is one of the most influential scenes in the history of film, not least because of the patience he displays in allowing it to unfold. Compare this scene with the beginning of Sergio Leone's ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST, and you find the same kind of patience in allowing the action to take place at a snail's pace. I'm not aware of any director who took such time to wait on things to unfold so gradually for an action scene before NORTH BY NORTHWEST. It becomes common afterwards. Hitchcock was truly one of the great cultural wonders of the modern world. When he made this film, he had been turning out great classic films for over thirty years. Yet, he would go on to make even more classics like PSYCHO, THE BIRDS, and FRENZY. I personally like NORTH BY NORTHWEST as much as any of his films (though several manage to tie it in my affections, like NOTORIOUS and THE 39 STEPS). It has all his trademarks, from suspense to humor to hairbreadth escapes to the mild dirty jokes he was fond of (see the film's final shot).
Rating:
Summary: Cary Grant & Eva Marie Saint at their best.
Review: A grown-up thriller. I think this is some of the best of Hitchcock's work.
Rating:
Summary: A classic
Review: This movie can be considered as a predecessor to the James Bond films. A 'secert agent' dress up in a suit, who relies more on his wit than his physical power. Beautiful woman who fall in love with him. International villains who want him dead... You name it, they have it! Although this film is old, but it had aged very well.
Rating:
Summary: The Return of the Master
Review: I like to preface this review with one thing: I hate horror movies. 9 times out of ten they are cheesy (and not as in cheesy "that's what we are going for" but cheesy "we don't want that, it's a serious movie") and the 1 fails to live up to today's audiences. So, it's good Hitchcock is not a horror director. Just a supense man with horror elements. In what maybe his best American movie (and yes, better than Vertigo and rear Window), Hitchcock uses his arsenal of trademarks (an exciting score for Hermann, romance, spy thriller motifs, and exotic locales) to assembly the best man who knows too much (or little) movie. A essentail Hitchcok film.
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Summary: THE WRONG MAN GETS THE RIGHT TREATMENT ON DVD!
Review: Alfred Hitchcock was a master at placing the right man in the wrong circumstances and creating suspense and danger from the blend. In "North By Northwest" Roger Thornhill (Cary Grant) is mistaken for an FBI agent by the very men the FBI are actually monitoring and thus, marked for death. The hoods try everything to off the elegant Mr. Thornhill but the son of a gun just won't die quietly. Enter Eve Kendall (Eva Marie Saint)a cool blond with a hidden agenda, out to apprehend Roger before things get out of hand. How does it end? - with suspense, mayhem and one hell of a good chase across the faces of Mt. Rushmore. Co-stars James Mason, Jessie Royce Landis and Martin Landau.
In the intervening decades since its original 1959 release, this film has looked so terrible that I never thought there would be any hope in restoring it. I am pleased to say that I was quite wrong in that assumption. Warner Home Video has given us a glorious VistaVision print, digitally remastered from restored elements that positively sparkle. Colors are vibrant, accurate and consistent. Shadow and contrast levels are superb. Blacks are rich and deep. Fine detail is incredibly well represented. You simply have to see this film to believe the quality acheived. The sound has been rematrixed to 5.1 and, although exhibiting a dated fidelity, is remarkably effective throughout. There's a documentary on the making of this film that falls just a tad short of the brilliant ones done over at Universal for Pyscho and The Birds but it's still a pretty darn good view. Also includes a theatrical trailer and stills gallery. BOTTOM LINE: YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED BY WHAT YOU SEE!
Rating:
Summary: One of the best movies ever made
Review: I just watched my new DVD copy of North by Northwest. I already own it on CED video disc and VHS, but was intrigued by the extras that come in this collector's set. The picture and sound quality is nothing short of excellent.
My only complaint is the disappointing commentary that you can choose to run while watching the DVD. Having found that the commentary by Maureen O'Hara on the DVD "The Quiet Man" greatly enhanced my appreciation of that picture, I expected similar on the DVD of North by Northwest. In this case the commentary was provided by the scriptwriter, Ernest Lehman. Unlike the Maureen O'Hara commentary it is rambling and often has little to do with the scene currently on-screen, detracting from the scene. Very disappointing that Eva Marie Saint did not provide the commentary, especially since she did narrate an interesting documentary about this film that is also included on the disc. My advice is to skip the commentary and enjoy the film with the original sound track as well as the documentary and original movie trailers. Well worth buying.
Rating:
Summary: Classic Hitchcock
Review: North by Northwest is not one Alfred Hitchcock's most famous movies, but it should be. Hitchcock really delivers a sharp and well-toned thriller, aided by an amazing cast and an strikingly smooth and detailed plot. In addition to all this, you get the visuals and ground breaking camera work that makes Hitchcock Hitchcock. The plot is fairly familiar, but it is very effective in this movie. Cary Grant plays a common man in a situation way out of his league. An advertising executive, Grant is quickly caught up in a high stakes game of espionage and assassination. Framed for a crime he did not commit, Grant is forced to get out on the road, keeping one step ahead of his shadowy pursuers, who represent some kind of intelligence service. While on the run, he meets up with the enchanting Eva Marie Saint, a beautiful and seductive young woman who helps him in his escape from the law. However, she soon proves to be much more complex than she seems. Mixed up in all this is the CIA, which has its own reasons for tracking down Grant. The story itself is pure perfection, with some unbelievably tense scenes. There is of course the famous airplane scene, where Grant is pursued through a cornfield by a crop dusting plane. All kinds of well-rendered backdrops are used, including Mount Rushmore, which is the focal point for the dramatic finale. All in all, it?s just another example of what a visionary director and a great cast can accomplish.
Rating:
Summary: The gasping Mount Rushmore finale is unforgettable.
Review: This film may be a bit complicated to follow at first, but quite simply it's another classic Hitchcock cat-and-mouse story. This time it's Cary Grant on the run. The gasping Mount Rushmore finale is unforgettable. This DVD version is not the squeezy widescreen, but is almost a full-screen. There is a good documentary called "Destination Hitchcock: The Making of North By Northwest" hosted by Eva Marie Saint. Also on this DVD is the Hitchcock trailers and the tv spot. Alfred Hitchcock's traditional cameo appearance is at the start of this film, so you can sit back and totally relax and enjoy the picture.
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