North By Northwest (DVD)

...1,283rd time). That film is North By Northwest. And yet every year I would somehow manage to tune in 45 minutes after the start of the film and in my Allen-esque way, refuse to watch the rest (it's incomprehensible by then anyway). A hangover, a DVD and a year later, and having seen and loved it, this year... I tuned in right on time. :) Hitchcock's suspense/romantic comedy/drama is a film deserving of its classic masterpiece status. A case of mistaken ...
...enforced drunkenness, cropdusting, mysterious ice queens and Mount Rushmore. The mastermind behind the plot is the shadowy Van Damm (James Mason with his eerie sidekick Leonard portrayed creepily by Martin Landau) and the Hitchcock blonde is the elusive Eve Kendall (Eva Marie Saint). (I'm behaving myself, so I won't quote "Rattlesnakes" here). Arguably Cary Grant's finest hour, this is one of his most natural, charming and cool performances - think ...

ruth_cole 29.12.2004 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of North By Northwest (DVD)

North By Northwest is, at number 23 on the IMDB's greatest films list, one of Alfred Hitchcock's most enduringly popular movies. Made in 1959, it stars Cary Grant as a suave advertising exec fleeing from the police after being caught in the middle of a CIA undercover operation, even though Grant was about 55 years old when it was made! He plays Roger Thornhill, an average kind of guy, albeit with a very well paid job and his own personal secretary. ...
...shake a stick at. North by Northwest may not be such an original, thought-provoking film as some of Hitchcock's other classics, like Vertigo or Rear Window, but it sure is entertaining! Boasting some of cinema's most memorable action scenes, such as the fantastic corn-field plane attack and the thrilling shootout atop Mount Rushmore, plus plenty of twists and turns as I already mentioned, this film is one of the most ceaselessly gripping and enjoyable ...

l-m-n-o-p 12.09.2007 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of North By Northwest (DVD)

...his journey that takes him North by Northwest is about to prove him very, very, wrong. Hitchcock directs as a man at one with his material, for the opposite effect try and sit through the leaden 'Topaz' or 'Torn Curtain'. His creativity and visual flair is apparent in every single scene. His handling of the comedy, romance, suspense and action shows what a master of the silver screen he was, at eae with any material and a superb technician. His ...
...we are treated to a mix of glass paintings, studio sets recreating locations, false perspectives, back projection, there wasn't a single element of film making that he couldn't utilise to enhance his movies. The man knew film making inside out, and a four picture run of 'Vertigo', 'North by Northwest', 'Pyscho' and 'The Birds' cemented his already lofty status as a master behind the camera. Hitch is aided no end by the script and screenplay of Ernest ...

dadmancat 06.04.2003 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of North By Northwest (DVD)

...wanted to see more. North by Northwest (1959) Directed by Alfred Hitchcock 131 minutes Starring: Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason, Martin Landau The plot has holes so gaping you could fly a crop duster through: The Plot (if you can suspend your belief): Grant stars as Roger Thornhill, a Maddison Avenue advertising exec. Through a case of mistaken identity, he is believed to be a secret agent for the government, who just happens to ...
...movie polls that are released. North By Northwest however is THE first extravagant, technicolour thriller which would’ve shaken viewers by their lapels on the big screen. From the suave hero who is phased by nothing, the sinister villain, the beautiful girl, thunderous music, the humour and exotic location: this film has it all. In fact, Albert Broccoli based his James Bond screen adaptation on this film and picked Sean Connery for the role due to ...

runningman77 25.02.2009 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of North By Northwest (DVD)

...on the big screen. North By Northwest epitomises this notion. It lifts you out of yourself and throws you up on to the screen. There is no moral to this story, no message; it is just pure entertainment. Alfred Hitchcock (and please tell me you knew that he was the director of this film) is known as the "Master of Suspense", and it is into this category that the film must fall. However, it is also a comedy, a romance, a spy movie, and a thriller. ...
...back when action meant more than violence. Roger O. Thornhill (when asked, he says the O stands for "Nothing") is a busy advertising executive. He is handsome, suave and sophisticated, which is probably why Cary Grant plays him. While meeting some business sponsors over drinks in the lobby of the Plaza Hotel, New York, Thornhill unwittingly becomes the victim of mistaken identity and is escorted outside and into a waiting limousine by a couple of ...

Crazy-Christian 24.03.2001 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of North By Northwest (DVD)

In my opinion, this film is highly over-rated. Yes, my Ciao name is carygrant, and yes, I LOVE Cary Grant. But if he weren't in this film, I wouldn't watch it again. As it is, I have watched it zillions of times because Cary Grant looks absolutely georgeous in it. And that includes twice on the big screen. Each time I see it I TRY to like it more, but it just hasn't grown on me. So why am I not a huge fan of this film? Is it because I don't like ...
...of The Town, Penny Serenade, Suspicion (until *that* last scene), None But The Lonely Heart etc. Is it because I don't like Hitchcock films? No. I thoroughly enjoy the rest of the films that Hitchcock made with Cary - Notorious, Suspicion and To Catch a Thief....and many other Hitchcock films also rate highly with me (Psycho, Rear Window and Dial M for Murder to name my favourites). So what is it? This film bores me. It is average and nothing more ...

carygrant 10.05.2001 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of North By Northwest (DVD)

...to get excited about - North By Northwest (N by NW hereafter) ISN'T a routine spy thriller though. The talent is undoubtedly present but that's no guarantee of success...we've seen that demonstrated all too often. N by NW is almost perfect for Hitchcock in that it allows him to spring surprises on us the audience seemingly at every turn. This is perfect material for Hitchcock as he's given the opportunity to place doubt in our minds: people aren't ...
...the situation, allegiances shift with the wind, and we get to indulge in Hitchcock's love of paranoia. N by NW allows all of this to happen because that's what constitutes the core of the film. We share the helplessness of poor Roger as he becomes the innocent pawn in this web of intrigue and we soon realise that almost anything can happen and it can come from almost any quarter. The story is a twisty beast but not so complex that it demands 100% ...

TheNeil 04.10.2000 (05.07.2002) · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of North By Northwest (DVD)

The advantage of having lived three score years or more is that we've seen most of the old films and know what a good film should be like. Especially those directed by the one and only Alfred Hitchcock. North-by-Northwest is one such film and with Cary Grant as the good guy and James Mason as the ne'er do well, you just know that it will be a good yarn with all the twists and turns of a good thriller. The film opens with Alfred Hitchcock ......... ...
...spot him for yourself. By the sort of coincidence that happens all the time Cary Grant is mistaken for a spy and the chase begins. Followed by the counter espionage boss played by the actor who played Mr. Waverley in The Man From Uncle series, Cary Grant is led a merry chase across America dodging bullets, a rogue aeroplane and a scheming woman plus an assortment of bad guys. The acting is terrific which does justice to all the double dealing that ...

jimbuck 16.12.2000 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of North By Northwest (DVD)

In short - worldy wise advertising exec gets caught in Cold War mistaken identity scenario, then gets framed for murder committed in front of dozens of people in the United Nations HQ. Travels to various picturesque locations around the United States, gets involved with the Secret Service, the head of a shadowy organisation who believes him to be a secret agent and falls for the love interest who just happens to be working for both of the latter. ...
...plain unbelievable maybe: how does a man photographed with a murder weapon in his hand travel across America with his picture plastered all over the newspapers and in important public places with only a pair of large Jackie O sunglasses as a disguise? Countless other points come to mind too but nonetheless NBNW is a peerless example of the comedy thriller that never ceases to entertain and amuse. Cary Grant is the reason this film works so well, ...

chunlex 17.03.2004 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of North By Northwest (DVD)

There is something so magical about Cary Grant, his debonair aplomb and ascerbic wit. Never more engaging than in this, one of Hitch's finest movies. The sheer enthusiasm i have for this film is unabated, Eva Marie Saint plays it frosty cool, and Jimmy Mason is really terrific as the villain of the piece. I particularly love the crop dusting sequence, i don't know why, but i guess it is where Spielberg got his ideas for Duel from. There are so ...

ProfPavilion 16.07.2000 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of North By Northwest (DVD)

This film is in the classics genre and certainly deserves to be there. It is a fifties suspense thriller based around a man (Cary Grant) who is misunderstood to be a spy and is fighting to stay alive and get back his old name. The film has a great plot, which is a little tongue in cheek as it derives from a series of accidents which put Cary Grant's character under suspicion. For example, at one point a knive is thrown into the back of a man, and ...
...but is photographed with his hand on the knife by a quick-fingered photographer. Grant plays the role remarkably, and adds to the suspense and the humour of the film with his performance. It is undeniable that Grant knowns the character isn't to be taken 100% seriously, but this adds to his portrayal as he gives a manic but slightly over-the-top feel to his character. His character is wonderfully supported by his mother, whom is often oblivious to ...

Pleb 03.08.2001 (12.08.2001) · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of North By Northwest (DVD)

...I just purchased North by Northwest on DVD at a bargain price of £11.49, only 50p more than it cost to buy on video! If you like this then you will love Rear Window and To Catch a Thief, all Alfred Hitchcock classics that you have to see. ...

G-I-Z-M-O 15.06.2001 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful
Review of North By Northwest (DVD)