North by Northwest

I went to see this film with Neslie and another friend. I didn’t know that I was going to see a Hitchcock film. It was only during the title sequence (very imaginative) that I realized that it was North by Northwest.

As the film progresses we realize Hitchcock’s commitment to entertain the viewer without being cheap. In a lesser director’s hand this film would’ve been slapstick comedy.

In suspense and action, this film in my opinion is a thousand times better than the best James Bond film (Dr No, my choice). One of my favourite parts is the crop dusting sequence. Visuals at the beginning of that sequence are stunning.

The first evaluation I do on any film is of its casting and in North by Northwest it is exceptional. And I would like to say most of the good Hollywood films do well in this department. But in bad films they do disgusting job in casting. (For an example: Madonna as Eva Peron!!!??? or, in most of the Stallone films where he is cast in roles that need some acting!!!)

Cary Grant was good though with a stiff backbone and awkwardly held arms. He reminded me of Gregory Peck, one of my old favourites. Both of them have similar stiff body language and both are damn good-looking.

As with casting, there is not a single sentence or a word in the film that is out of place.

The music score is like any other Hitchcock film. It is eerie and macabre.

All in all a damn good entertainer with a touch of Kafka but with a happy ending. Hitchcock is such a good man that he doesn’t want his film to end in a way that justifies someone else’s philosophy. He used Kafka where he wanted, the way he wanted. Then he closed his film the way he wanted. That’s what I call good direction.slfr