March Movie of the Month: North by Northwest

[Romulus]

North by Northwest (1959)

A hapless New York advertising executive is mistaken for a government agent by a group of foreign spies, and is pursued across the country while he looks for a way to survive.

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
2 Hours 11 Minutes
Available on Blu-ray: Yes
Available on Netflix Instant: No

The movie that we'll discuss over the month of March is North by Northwest! Here is how it works, from now until the end of March you can view this film at any point in time and then come into the thread and discuss it.

I strongly urge everyone to type out reviews and your thoughts of the film. Engage in discussion and try to expand your knowledge on the film. Look for metaphors, character development, camera techniques, etc. or anything that caught your eye that you would like to discuss. These films has a lot of themes and motifs that can be discussed. Don't be afraid to be the first one to speak out.

As always, be respectful or each others opinions. However, if you strongly feel a way about a film back it up. State why you feel that way and people will respect your opinion. Saying "North by Northwest sucked!" isn't really going to convince people that you know what you're talking about. Talk about it in detail so provide reasons. Same goes for why you liked it.

Feel free to score the film too. I'll have an area under here where I'll keep a tab of everyone's scores and what the average for the film is.

So let's get this started.

[Sussudio]

I saw this for the first time about a month ago (for the purposes of this thread, I'm saying today )...while not my favorite Hitchcock film, this one comes very close...I enjoyed how it seemed to showcase several elements from the James Bond movies though in a more "masterful" fashion (and I was reading how it is widely considered "the first non-007 007 movie")...Grant with a very Bond-esque personality paired with a suspenseful story of twists and turns and beautiful women (and has Eva Marie Saint ever looked more beautiful?).

As a sidenote, I love Saul Bass's work and studied some of it in college....North By Northwest has been my favorite of Hitchcock's opening credit sequences and they share another similarity with the Bond movies being a complete production almost all on their own. The art design and camera effects work has always been fascinating to me (especially in the days of non-existent CGI). Hermann's Northwest score is also my favorite out of all the Hitchcock movie themes, love the early build as it starts.

[TylerDurden]

Originally titled "The Spy Up Lincolns Nose". The studio changed the title and went with North by Northwest which has no meaning to the movie at all.

[Sussudio]

Originally Posted by TylerDurden

Originally titled "The Spy Up Lincolns Nose". The studio changed the title and went with North by Northwest which has no meaning to the movie at all.

The title North by Northwest is often seen as having been taken from a line in Hamlet, a work also concerned with the shifty nature of reality

Makes sense to me

[TylerDurden]

Originally Posted by Sussudio

Makes sense to me

How many people would have known that?

[charlieray1]

Originally Posted by TylerDurden

Originally titled "The Spy Up Lincolns Nose". The studio changed the title and went with North by Northwest which has no meaning to the movie at all.

Well, towards the end of the film they (Grant & the CIA guy) do fly Northwest Airlines to Mt Rushmore. The name of the airline is seen quite clearly. Are they traveling North?

[TylerDurden]

Originally Posted by charlieray1

Well, towards the end of the film they (Grant & the CIA guy) do fly Northwest Airlines to Mt Rushmore. The name of the airline is seen quite clearly. Are they traveling North?

Mt Rushmore would be in South Dakota. It was on my quarter.

[Sussudio]

Originally Posted by TylerDurden

How many people would have known that?

Well I don't think every film's title should be self explanatory ...I love titles that have a deeper meaning than simply providing a name for the movie.

[SquidPuppet]

Watched it last night for the first time ever.

I enjoyed it quite a bit. Not my favorite Hitchcock, but very good stuff.

There were a number of scenes that I would have shrunk, and one (LONG telephone call from jail to Mom) that I would have cut altogether.

I would have cast an older actress for Grants Mom. Only 8 years difference.

During the dinner scene on the train, I was surprised at how openly they discussed sex. I am not bothered by that, just seemed provocative for 1959.

Typical (good) Hitchcock obsession with heights and vertical photography and some tight close-ups.

That Frank Lloyd Wright (assumed) house in South Dakota was gorgeous.

More relating to the time than the actual film, I was amused to see wealthy people in suits running around looking for "pay phones".

Was I the only one cracking up at the "not so subtle" train-slamming-full-steam-into-the-tunnel at the end?

[Q?]

The one thing that I found funny was that around the beginning of the movie, when the thugs were running after the Roger at the hotel when he's talking to his mother, Roger just runs and leaves his mother unprotected from the thugs!

[JLant19]

Just watched this for the first time today and I loved it. It was great. I also was surprised about all the sex discussion in the train. Never saw it coming.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Q!

The one thing that I found funny was that around the beginning of the movie, when the thugs were running after the Roger at the hotel when he's talking to his mother, Roger just runs and leaves his mother unprotected from the thugs!

Totally. He just bails into the cab. Ha ha. They could have nabbed her as bait.

What was with the "small" razor?

[JLant19]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Totally. He just bails into the cab. Ha ha. They could have nabbed her as bait.

What was with the "small" razor?

yea haha that thing was so small.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by JLant19

yea haha that thing was so small.

I was kinda wondering, as was Roger, what doe she shave with this?

It looked like one of those specialty mustache jobs for getting the narrow area between your nose and upper lip.... to make a pencil mustache. I thought maybe she was hiding a man.

[CZAR]

Man I need to stop browsing in here, I can see from the side of my eye spoiler after spoiler. Haha! I may not be able to get to this film until this weekend but I will chime back in when I do. Got Em!!

[SquidPuppet]

Shooting Technique?

When Roger (dressed as a porter) and Eve had left the train and were on the long walk along the platform, it looked odd. It looked as if a camera on a dolly was pulled along, shooting what was behind it as it passed, and then the images of Roger and Eve walking were inserted. Kinda the same as when they shoot people in cars with fake backgroud rolling past.

Did I see that correctly?

I suspect they may have done this because it would have been a nightmare to have 2 huge stars in a train station like that and it would be too big of an area to control.

??

[JLant19]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

I was kinda wondering, as was Roger, what doe she shave with this?

It looked like one of those specialty mustache jobs for getting the narrow area between your nose and upper lip.... to make a pencil mustache. I thought maybe she was hiding a man.

Your right, that is what that was. I bet it took him an hour to shave.

[JLant19]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Shooting Technique?

When Roger (dressed as a porter) and Eve had left the train and were on the long walk along the platform, it looked odd. It looked as if a camera on a dolly was pulled along, shooting what was behind it as it passed, and then the images of Roger and Eve walking were inserted. Kinda the same as when they shoot people in cars with fake backgroud rolling past.

Did I see that correctly?

I suspect they may have done this because it would have been a nightmare to have 2 huge stars in a train station like that and it would be too big of an area to control.

??

Yea i was thinking the same. you can def tell that they did something to that extent.

[JLant19]

One thing I thought was interesting was how fast the story got off to. I mean what 3 mins in and he was kidnapped. Not saying its a bad thing.

[Shanester]

It's Hitchcock people!! Enough said!!

Must own Blu-Ray too!