North by Northwest

"3.75 stars out of 4"

I had the amazing opportunity of seeing one of Hitchcock's best pictures on big screen tonight. Alright, a medium screen! (Amherst Cinema)

Needless to say, it was beautifully made. However, I was expecting another classic horror/suspense Hitchcock film but I actually found the dialogues entertaining. This movie was more of a comedy than a thriller. When I saw Ernest Lehman's name in the title roll (writer of famous musicals, such as the Sound of Music and West Side Story), I was rather surprised. But he had come off with flying colors! I always love to see artists whose works are versatile.

Here's a short storyline. The movie was made in the late 50's when the topic of cold war, and spying and conspiracy theories was hot. (Wait a minute...what year are we in again right now?!!) When the FBI or CIA or whatever they may call it (as they say in the movie) comes up with the plan of making someone up, so that they can gather more information on the spy, little do they know that they will be spicing up a typical, wealthy, New Yorker man's life (Cary Grant), who had been divorced twice because his wives found his life dull. His life gets yet another spicy twist, when he meets Hitchcock's choice of blonde for this movie (Eva Marie Saint). The movie is marked with several classic scenes in the cinema history that you may have seen a reference to, like the plane-chase scene, that had made this movie go down as a classic.

A few observations:

1. As always when seeing a Hitchcock movie, I was excited to find out when he himself would be passing in the movie. It's like a game of Where's Waldo (Alfie)? that you'd be wanting to look forward to. And in this case, I found Waldo fast!

2. Except for Eva Marie Saint, why was everyone else salt and pepper?! Was that what they found attractive back then or did everyone look like that? Was America suddenly flooded with blondes and red heads in the 60's?

3. Why was Cary Grant orange?

4. The script must've been very racy for its time. Loved loved LOVED the smart, erotic dialogues.
- "I'm a big girl."
- "In all the right places."
I mean c'mon!

5. I don't think they were predicting that they would be getting half their laughs in 50 years from the elementary visual effects' techniques. It almost made me go awwww.

6. This is a time capsule to show how few immigrants were in the States back then. Want proof? The cab drivers and the housemaids in the hotel were all white Americans! And how dashing was the cab driver? Mmm'hm!

7. And how cheesy was the closing scene, huh!

8. By the way, how was he mistaken for a government agent again??? I seem to have totally missed the plot.