X
- 1959
- Approved
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
- 2 h 16 m
- 1959
- Approved
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
- 2 h 16 m
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.
Directed By: Alfred Hitchcock
Written By: Ernest Lehman
- 1959
- Approved
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
- 2 h 16 m
- 1959
- Approved
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
- 2 h 16 m
North by Northwest
8.1
Where to Watch
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.
Directed By: Alfred Hitchcock
Written By: Ernest Lehman
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Universal acclaim
Based on 16 Critic Reviews
98
100% Positive
16 Reviews
16 Reviews
0% Mixed
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Universal acclaim
Based on 16 Critic Reviews
98
100% Positive
16 Reviews
16 Reviews
0% Mixed
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
One of Hitchcock's very best comic thrillers, North by Northwest features scene after unforgettable scene.
A great film, and certainly one of the most entertaining movies ever made, directed by Alfred Hitchcock at his peak.
User Score
Universal acclaim
Based on 222 User Ratings
8.1
88% Positive
195 Ratings
195 Ratings
8% Mixed
17 Ratings
17 Ratings
5% Negative
10 Ratings
10 Ratings
User Score
Universal acclaim
Based on 222 User Ratings
8.1
88% Positive
195 Ratings
195 Ratings
8% Mixed
17 Ratings
17 Ratings
5% Negative
10 Ratings
10 Ratings
The film begins with advertising businessman Roger Thornhill, played by Cary Grant, busy explaining various matters to his secretary, but in the end there is still something wrong: the secretary can't call his mother who is playing bridge. After arriving at the hotel, Thornhill was hijacked by two strangers to the study of a big house. After a while, Mr. Townsend, the owner of the house, appeared, and Che kept calling him Mr. ****/news/index/116.html
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North by Northwest is the Alfred Hitchcock mixture - suspense, intrigue, comedy, humor. Seldom has the concoction been served up so delectably.
This film is pure entertainment.
There’s a superabundance of sparkling, often marvellously terse one-liners (when asked what the “O” stands for, Thornhill’s resigned and emotionally relevant answer is, “Nothing”) – and, my, how wittily Grant delivers them.
The lines and the expert manipulation of the principals are tributes to the outstanding talents of Messrs. Lehman and Hitchcock.
Hitchcock breezes through a tongue-in-cheek, nightmarish plot with a lightness of touch that’s equalled by a charming performance from Grant (below), who copes effortlessly with the script’s dash between claustrophobia and intrigue on one hand and romance and comedy on the other.
The best, GREATEST thrilling mystery movie ever made! With the best movie character ever portrayed: James Mason as Phillip Vandamm! And the best movie score ever composed!
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Another excellent film by Alfred Hitchcock.
Personally, this is not one of my favorite Alfred Hitchcock films, although it is one of the most acclaimed and one of the most interesting. The script revolves around a confusion of identities, where an ordinary citizen is mistaken for a spy and ends up in a tremendous confusion with gigantic repercussions on his personal life and national security.
The script is quite good and the story has no dead moments. It entertains the audience in a perfect way until the end and makes us curious to know what is really going on, curiosity being an important part of what keeps us stuck in the film (and one of the reasons I prefer to hardly talk about the plot). The main character, played by Cary Grant, was so well thought out that we quickly established an affective and sympathetic link with her, caring about what will happen to her. It goes without saying that, although the cast is very good, it is really Cary Grant who stands out here. Eva Marie Saint is good, but she never leaves the shadow of the male protagonist. Another actor that deserves a positive note is Martin Landau.
Technically, it is an impeccable film, to the taste of director Hitchcock. It is full of symbolic scenes or with more than one meaning, some of them bordering on the dreamlike. Some of the scenes are truly striking, like those that were shot on Mount Rushmore. The camera and film work is excellent and cinematography perfectly harmonizes color, light, shadow and contrast, resulting in a visually elegant film, although with the characteristics of a film of its time, of course. The soundtrack is also quite good, as are the sets and costumes.
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On a failli y croire... pendant à peu près trois quarts d'heure : le rythme est satisfaisant, la curiosité est de mise, Cary Grant est à la fois élégant, cynique et opiniâtre... assez drôle aussi ! mais c'est Cary Grant. Puis arrive le train... et le traintrain d'un film qui tout-à-coup tel un vieux tortillard n'arrive plus à grimper les côtes...
ça coïncide avec l'apparition de la poupée blonde Eva Marie Saint... et même si elle incarnait le retour de la madone en personne, elle ne peut certainement pas remplacer l'autre égérie blonde de Hitchcock, pleine de grâce, Grace Kelly. On me dira cependant que même Grace n'aurait pas pu effacer l'ennui d'un coup de baguette magique et on aura raison. Mais tout de même.
Voici donc que le film s'époumone à tous les niveaux et pédale comme un hamster asthmatique : les dialogues deviennent aussi bêtes qu'interminables et le scénario en chute libre dévoile son vrai visage de série B, écrit à la va-comme-je-te-pousse, de plus en plus téléphoné à l'avance... Même l'inquiétant personnage de l'excellent James Mason ne parvient pas non plus à ressortir le film de son marasme...
La fin enfonce le clou et sombre dans le burlesque hollywoodien le plus échevelé et invraisemblable... Certes, la musique pleine d'entrain de Bernard Herrmann tente de réveiller régulièrement tout ça. Une musique de bien meilleure qualité que l'ensemble du film, assurément !
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Awards
Academy Awards, USA
• 3 Nominations
Online Film & Television Association
• 2 Wins & 2 Nominations
San Sebastián International Film Festival
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
