I’ve seen many Hitchcock movies but somehow not North by Northwest. I couldn’t avoid bumping into though into famous scene where a guy in a suit is being chased by a plane on an open field, as this sequence has been shown and used over and over. But I didn’t learn up till now, how he got out of that mess, as they never showed the ending. Finally I also have the context why was he chased. It was the unfortunate case of mistaken identity.
I could talk about the story as it is funny (with not the slapstick kind of humor), occasionally adventurous (some refer to this movie as the first James Bond flick), romantic (although the heroine is double agent) and engaging. However it is the visual qualities of he movie that made it special. The careful design of one scene after another is spectacular each creating its own feelings in the viewer. Let me share some of my favorites:
- The opening credits are letters moving in an out, positioned over the windows of a skyscraper – impersonal
- Next we move along with hordes of people as they are pouring in from the elevator into a lobby and then out from there onto the street – crowded.
- Arriving to the mansion that the victim/hero sees from a distance first, through the grove – minimally majestic
- The library room of the mansion, where the books are decorative only and later thy even serve to cover up evidence – as a librarian I feel ambivalent: Lots of well organized books are a joy to see, but unused and unread books are not fulfilling their functions.
- The drunk driving along the coast with juxtaposed double vision – scary.
- The United Nation building from the outside shot via guerrilla filming (without permission) – important and international.
- The view from the top of the UN building, showing an escape of an ant size human – insignificant from a higher perspective.
- The government spy’s boardroom shown from zooming out of the headline of the daily one of them reads – conspiratory.
- Grand Central Station of NYC – hectic.
- The train – insecure with its constant movement. The “one night stand” becomes a “one night move.” The couchette also made me nostalgic when I slept several times in Europe in them, last time the early eighties.
- The infamous open field – unprotected in the open.
- The auction scene with it provocation to get to the safety of prison – loud.
- Mount Rushmore – majestic and gigantic
- The meet-up in the forest – overshadowed and blocked view (both physical and mental)
- The villa from where the villains want to escape – dangerous, with its (then) modern architecture.
In short if for nothing else you have to see this movie for the splendid visual compositions. As a bonus you will enjoy the story too.
IMDB’s summary: 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.
Trailer: