North By Northwest
[4K/Digital Code]
I’ve watched a lot of Hitchcock and Cary Grant movies, and maybe, just maybe, North by Northwest is the best execution of the two. It might be the best Grant or Hitchcock movie period! Look, Notorious is ridiculously overrated and Birds might just be ridiculous. The great thing about North by Northwest is that it strikes a perfect balance of mystery, suspense, humor, and romance. Thornhill is a perfect character in an almost Lebowski-style fashion: an ordinary joe (kind of) caught in extraordinary circumstances. The difference, of course, is that Thornhill is smart and cunning (and kind of risk averse, no?) and that makes him a cool vessel for the audience. All this from a simple misunderstanding?
Speaking of cool, Eve Kendall is the perfect femme fatale with a heart of gold, matching Thornhill’s cool at every turn. And James Mason? What can we say about him? He brings class to the villain. Why did Cary Grant think it was a bad script? Did it all sound that ridiculous on paper? And why did audiences embrace the movie so willingly? It’s made several best-of lists and still continues to do so. Probably because the movie is all about having a good time while rolling with the punches.
I hope this is just one more of the many Hitchcock reissues on the way. This 4K is loaded with features including commentary tracks, behind the scenes, score and making-of featurettes. It even has a guided tour with Alfred Hitchcock. These bonus features are sure to please fans and will interest casual viewers as well.
North by Northwest is one of the greatest movies of all time for all the right reasons: it’s intriguing, compelling, fun, and still holds up 70 years later. Physical media all the way, babv!
