Type in any movie or show to find where you can watch it, or type a person's name.

User Reviews for: North by Northwest

jarvis-8710259
8/10  6 months ago
This was a great, humorous spy thriller, and surprisingly brisk given when it was made. The plot unfolds nicely and steadily, the revelations and surprises keep on coming, but for the most part seem to make sense. There's also a pretty Saul Bass title sequence, a good musical score, and, most of all, some stunning cinematography. This was all the more exciting given the excellent quality of the remaster I saw. I was mesmerised by the bird's-eye shot at the United Nations building. It's obviously a matte painting, but that doesn't make it look any less impressive.

The only downside of the screenplay is the romance subplot, which is just weird, ridiculous, rushed, and implausible. This is not helped by Cary Grant's and Eve Marie Saint's acting, which is pretty poor throughout. I know it's supposed to be a comedy, but Grant takes it too far, almost entering the territory of Leslie Nielsen in a ZAZ movie – which I enjoy a lot, but doesn't really fit the more balanced tone and mood of North by Northwest. I don't think I've seen enough of Grant yet to decide whether he could actually act, or was just made a star for his looks. He's not making a great case in this film.

The poor acting doesn't extend to the rest of the cast, which all did pretty well. There are some genuinely wonderful performances by James Mason, Leo G. Carroll, Martin Landau, and Adam Williams.

Apart from the final chase, which drags on a bit, North by Northwest is still very much worth watching today. Even most of the funny bits are still funny ([spoiler]*"Something wrong with your eyes?"* – *"Yes, they're sensitive to questions!"*; and mother's reaction to the lawyer attesting to Thornhill being a reasonable person is priceless[/spoiler]). I think it's the first Hitchcock film I've seen outside of the genre he's most known for. Given how great a director he's considered to have been, I assumed he must have had some range, and this proves it.
Like  -  Dislike  -  00
Please use spoiler tags:[spoiler] text [/spoiler]
Back to Top