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North by Northwest (1959)
Rate:
5
Viewed:
5/06, 3/17
5/06:
North by Northwest is an overrated film which has become clichéd by Hitchcock's standards.
The rich cinematography is only used as a safety blanket to cover up the numerous flaws.
All in all, I'll have to see North by Northwest again for a better opinion.
3/17:
North by Northwest is one of the most overrated films of all time.
Sure, it has a classic look that'll fool many viewers easily, but what's with the fake background, the contrived
script, the huge amount of dead time, the lack of chemistry between Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint, the silly sexually-charged
dialogue, the artificial setup of Mount Rushmore, and the rubbish phallic ending?
Who goes to South Dakota, for Pete's sake? What's over there that Vandamm can possibly need? It's what New York and
Chicago are for. The film has more fake-looking background scenery and studio-constructed sets than I can count. Why can't
Alfred Hitchcock opt for realistic location shots and be done with rear projection effect once and for all?
Already too old for the part at age 55, Cary Grant is so good-looking, handsomely tanned, and impeccably dressed that it's
unbelievable how he manages to stay this way, no matter what the circumstances are. Am I supposed to believe the mother can
appear this young as compared to his son? The reality is that Jessie Royce Landis was only seven years older than Cary Grant.
I have to say Eva Marie Saint (who was 34, not 26 as she desperately wants everybody to believe) is a one-hit wonder
because of the Brando effect on her during On the Waterfront. It's Eva's screaming
blond hair and pearly white looks that nabbed herself the part for North by Northwest to continue Alfred Hitchcock's fetish.
If I look past them, it's clear she isn't much of an actress, having evinced shallowness. Hence, Eva Marie Saint would've made
a fine Nazi.
Hardly much happens in the film. Sure, it has a famous scene with the crop-dusting aircraft. But that's all the show has going
for itself in the entire 145 minutes. Even the centerpiece scene needs more work, leaving me perplexed, because the plane was
equipped with a machine gun and the pilot didn't use it during the key moments. After all, is this move necessary compared to
something more convenient like shooting Thornhill in the back of his head with a silencer?
I kept checking the timer a lot because it's so slow-paced and boring that it desperately needed an half hour cut out.
The plot is redundant. Why make more of the same after Alfred Hitchcock did it already in
The 39 Steps? I love the subtle racism. To be rich and have the means to travel in fashion
is to be white and dapperly-dressed. The sole job of black people is be a servant to them. Just take a good look at them in
many scenes, and a case of racial division can be clearly made.
Whenever somebody is stabbed in the back with a knife, fucking show the blood. Be realistic. Use a can of bright red paint. I don't
care. On the other hand, James Mason plays a villain? Please, he couldn't scare a mouse if his life depended on it. Of course,
the actor had a heart attack after the filming ended. That's how weak James Mason was.
All in all, Alfred Hitchcock should be embarrassed of having directed North by Northwest, a colorful-looking film
that's full of imbecile blunders.