Throw Back Thursday: North By Northwest

North by Northwest is truly a cinematic delight, revealing to anyone who hasn't experienced Hitchcock (What?), why the prolific director is considered one of, if not, the greatest Auteurs of all time.
In this wonderful caper, fumbling advertising executive Rodger Thornhill (Carey Grant) is mistaken by foreign assassins for government agent George Kaplin. This leads to a helpless Thornhill being pursued all over America, whilst simultaneously looking for any way to survive.
wThis film, in the simplest terms, is grand. Hitchcock is notorious for his lush set pieces, as well as his terrific narrative ability, and North By Northwest for me is the finest example of 'Hitch' at his utmost best in terms of Hollywood spectacle.
The plot is a joy to behold, and seems to thicken with every seen that progresses, so much so that we find ourselves fully immersed after very few scenes. The screenplay, written by Hitchcock's long term colleague Ernest Lehman, is pitch perfect hitting both humour and tension beautifully, along with enabling enthralling visual  storytelling by 'The Master Of Suspense' himself.As Expected from Hitchcock the plot is jam packed, with twists, turns and the odd McGuffin, and we as the audience feel privileged to be the passenger on this ride.
Carey Grant's portrayal of Thornhill certainly adds a great comedic and hapless element to the out of his depth man searching for his identity. His acting meets every demand the picture throws at him, being cool and utterly lost when he needs to be. Also, filling in as the expected 'Hitchcock Blonde', Eve Marie Saint is charming in her role as the sexy upper class charmer, who acts as romantic bait for Grant.
However, the real V.I.P of this film is certainly Hitchcock. Prior to the creation of North by Northwest Lehman stated that he wanted to create the "Ultimate Hitchcock film", and this movie in almost every aspect provides the director with the tools to excel, and he certainly does just that. This is my favourite Hitchcock film both in terms of narrative and direction. Despite not being as artistically stylised as Vertigo and Psycho, North By Northwest succeeds by embodying a sophisticated atmosphere that propels the picture to a high level of grandeur, so much so that many of the sequences still stand the test of time. Hitchcock's framing, camera movement and visual motifs are placed before the audience with mouth-watering precision, encouraging the audience to go beyond basic appreciation to sheer spellbound enchantment.
It amazing to thing that post 50 years after it's release North By Northwest still manages to capture audiences imagination. The picture is certainly brilliant and in many ways still a great modern film, that will be timeless.

My Rating: 8.0/10
IMDB: 8.5/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 100%
Did You Know: Less than eight feet of film was cut from the final release. Eight feet is about 5 seconds.