Day 150 - North by Northwest

Day 150         North by Northwest [1959]

                          

Screenplay                    Ernest Lehman

Director                         Alfred Hitchcock

Cinematography            Robert Burks

Music                            Bernard Herrmann

Leads                            Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason, Jessie Royce Landis, Leo G. Carroll, Martin Landau, Adam Williams

Production                     Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

IMDb                                 8.3/10

Rotten Tomatoes                100%

I hadn’t yet watched a Hitchcock film on the blog. Such blasphemy! Or something similar… I decided to watch this one as it’s my mum’s favourite and I have to say she has good taste. You’ll know from some of my earlier posts that I am hard to please when it comes to films made before the 70s, however this one took me by surprise somewhat. It’s not the first Hitchcock film I have ever watched (who hasn’t seen Psycho?), but I can’t say I’m an expert in his work, so it was all new to me. I thought the cinematography was ahead of its time. Big wides of desert plains juxtapose birds eye views from way up high on gargantuan commercial buildings. Hitchcock and Burks put us on edge with sudden zooms and pullbacks, with the masterful Herrmann adding to the suspense with his famous striking chords. Herrmann composed one of my favourite movie tracks “Twisted Nerve” from the film of the same name and more recently Kill Bill: Volume I (Day 100). The three men certainly know how to create suspense like no others. The acting is wonderful from the famous Cary Grant who, according to my mother, is always that shade of orange. He looks like he’s been on the Costa del Sol a little too long, but we’ll let him off this time due to him being wit incarnate. His supporting cast do not let him down, the seductress Eva Marie Saint caught my eye in particular. I liked the plot, it wound its way around well and although I predicted who was who fairly early on it did not take away from the excitement. Overall it was a real winner for me and I’m starting to see what all the fuss around Hitchcock is about – imagine me winking.

Acting                            3.5 / 4

Writing                              4 / 4

Cinematography                4 / 4

Music                             3.5 / 4

HWF rating                3.5 / 4