North By Northwest (1959)- A Club Discussion

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I actually didn't mind the first 3. Don't think I've seen one since. Of course it's more mindless entertainment than anything of value.



We all have one movie or one movie series that we love despite the hate.

Iro enjoys the entire Resident Evil franchise for example...
You mean like Cob with Twilight and Raul with the Divergent series?
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You mean like Cob with Twilight and Raul with the Divergent series?
If that's a fact then yes. But I sure hope Cob doesn't seriously like those films... or else he put himself in a pretty dumb situation.

At least most of the F&F franchise is actually well reviewed.



2022 Mofo Fantasy Football Champ
You mean like Cob with Twilight and Raul with the Divergent series?
Never seen it, but that has Shailene Woodley right? You could be onto something!



But anyways... Hitch is one of my favourite directors ever and I love his films... the F&F series got nothing on those films, but on their own they are great fun and have some very good action. I grew up with them and have watched them ever since so they have some nostalgic value to me. I've come to love and enjoy watching these characters on screen and I have a weak spot for creative action and despite becoming more crazy as time goes by they still do it well and always practical. I don't care what anyone says I still like them. But I'm worried about the new one... haven't seen the latest trailer though. I want to go in more fresh.



But anyways... Hitch is one of my favourite directors ever and I love his films... the F&F series got nothing on those films, but on their own they are great fun and have some very good action. I grew up with them and have watched them ever since so they have some nostalgic value to me. I've come to love and enjoy watching these characters on screen and I have a weak spot for creative action and despite becoming more crazy as time goes by they still do it well and always practical. I don't care what anyone says I still like them. But I'm worried about the new one... haven't seen the latest trailer though. I want to go in more fresh.
Oh boy, glad you made that last statement because I was about to ask you a question concerning the new one. I will wait for next week. Enjoy buddy, I was just tweaking you. I know we all have those films other movie lovers hate.



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North By Northwest

As I've said before this is my second favorite Hitchcock movie. The script makes the film go to a whole new level. It's probably the film with the best scripted dialogue that I've ever seen. There are so many jokes that fly under the radar I think I unravel a new one every time. My favorite is perhaps the sexual innuendo, like when Eve says she's a big girl, Thornhill replies, yeah and in all the right places.

Speaking of those two characters, it was a perfect casting choice by Hitchcock. I read somewhere that Jimmy Stewart wanted the lead role, but I think Grant is more crafty and funny so I'm glad they went with him. And Eva Marie Saint played the role perfectly. It has the feel of a James Bond film, with Grant as Bond and Saint as a Bond Girl.

A lot of iconic scenes to be certain, but I'm going to go with the obvious as my favorite with the crop duster scene. The scene starts off as not much special but after a while we get a sense in feeling that something is going on, as cars and trailers are whizzing by. Before that, it is otherwise silent. A blue car drops another man off and we are left to wonder why. As they talk about the crop duster and the other man boards the bus, we get the feeling that maybe everything is alright again. But then thenplanemout of nowhere directly comes after Thornhill. Brilliant filmmaking there

As for the ending, I agree that it is a very strong Hitchcock ending. Really the last 20 minutes is pure brilliance for me. Very tense stuff. And of course the innuendo at the end is a great Hitchcock staple.



It would be difficult to overestimate the impact this wonderful film had on the moviegoer of 1959. Hitchcock was at the zenith of his status as legendary genius director, so the public was primed for a fascinating picture. The second that the opening credits started, the viewer was overcome by the exciting and pulsating music by Bernard Herrmann and the unique and avant-garde title sequencing by Saul Blass. The anticipation created by the opening credits lasted well into the film. Even today, 58 years later, I find it stirring and mood building. Herrmann's scoring alone was a bonafide masterpiece.

Written by Ernest Lehman, he stated that his objective was to write the ultimate “Hitchcock” film. There’s no question that he succeeded, with Hitchcock’s assistance.

The picture flows in a seemingly flawless way, moving from scene to scene. The “crop dusting” portion is one of the great scenes in cinema, ranking up there in memory with the shower scene in Psycho. Robert Burks’ cinematography created the perfect expanse for the action. I even enjoyed Malcolm Atterbury’s cameo as the man at the crossroads. The tension in that scene was magnetic.

True to form, Hitchcock’s “macguffin” --in this case, microfilm with government secrets-- made no difference to the plot or action. It could have been anything. In fact I never realized what the object of the espionage was until I’d seen the film 2-3 times!

The sexual innuendo between Grant and Eve Marie Saint was electric for the time. In fact some of the dialogue had to change to satisfy the censors. What remained was hot stuff for its era-- especially the sexually suggestive back and forth between the two. And the train entering the tunnel at the end after they’d piled into the bunk was a stroke of genius.

So this remains one of the great films. Surely there has been a director since who had the public’s rapt following that was Hitchcock’s, but no name comes to mind.

~Cheers



I almost finished this today, but then Suspect posted about Mechanic: Resurrection and well...

I just HAD to watch that one again! jokes y'all... jokes



I just watched the DVD extras on North by Northwest. It's well worth the watch. It gave me a new appreciation for the movie...though I already considered it one of my favorite Hitch films.

The film extra was hosted by Eva Marie Saint, with interviews with her, the scriptwriter Ernest Lehman and Hitch's daughter Pat Hitchcock. It really was fascinating hearing these people who actually worked on the film talk about Hitch and the process of making North by Northwest. Just a couple tidbits:

Scriptwriter Ernest Lehman tells the story how Hitch was making a film for MGM based on the novel of The Wreck of the Mary Deare. After some time went by Lehman tells Hitch he's sorry but he just can't write the movie. Expecting Hitch to be mad and fire him...Hitch instead surprises Lehman by saying they will just make another movie, but not tell MGM.

And Hitch has an idea, it's actually only a visually scene that he has created in his head. He wants to film people being chased across the face of Mt Rushmore. Lehman likes the idea! and he jaunts down some notes.

A couple weeks later Hitch tells Lehman another idea that he had kicking around in his head for some time. Hitch has envisioned a scene at the U.N. building where an ambassador is giving a speech, when he pauses and says, "he won't continue until the ambassador from Peru wakes up"...One of the U.N. staff touches the Peruvian ambassador on his shoulder, only to find he's been murdered.

And that's how the story of North by Northwest got wrote! Oh...if you hadn't noticed the scriptwriter, Ernest Lehman is the writer for The Sweet Smell of Success. No wonder North by Northwest is such an intelligently written film.



Finally got back to this yesterday...

North by Northwest is still a great film. Hitchcock loves his movies about "the wrong man" and this might just be the best of them or at least the ultimate one in terms of that thematic fundament. It's one of Hitchcock's longest films but it doesn't drag and while this movie doesn't have the best suspense Hitch have ever created it does hold an impressive stretch of suspense and subtle tension and thrills considering the length. Also, the story and mystery is a fun one and it's well built. It isn't always believeable nor does it hold tightly together but it's always entertaining enough and is put together so well that you can't seem to care enough to really criticize it for that. And it's clear that Hitch believes so much in his vision that you are easily persuaded to just follow along for the (thrill) ride.

Grant is great in the lead and Eva Maria Saint is pretty decent as well. The crop scene is as great as ever and I was entertained throughout. Lovely revisit.