Considered one of the greatest films, North By Northwest twisted my attention in all sorts of directions. I liked it. It was hard to follow at first...probably because I couldn't quite hear what Roger was saying where I was watching it...but as I picked up on the plot, I had a chance to take in the incredible cinematography, direction, and mise-en-scene that this movie has in abundance.
Hitchcock's cinematic direction is excellent at leading the audiences attention, and holding them in suspense. Hitchcock very carefully frames shots with the mise-en-scene surrounding the characters and pans out the suspense by using long cuts from Rogers body (usually a medium shot) showing his expression, to what he is looking at, and back and forth. The lighting throughout the film wasn't anything too dramatic but certainly helped establish the mood of the scenes. The most beautiful use of lighting in the film was in the nail-biting house scene when Roger is trying to help his love escape. It was set during night, with only lamps on in the house, producing harsh shadows on the wall and contours of Roger's body, greatly dramatizing the sequence. Or even the scene in the train ride when Roger and Eve are kissing and the light is glowing off of them. The mise-en-scene was very elaborate and spanned across many different sets. The compact spaces of the train, the dusty abandoned crossroads, treacherous Mount Rushmore, and all the airports and glamorous hotels in which Roger fled for his life, amongst others. The surroundings helped frame certain shots like when Roger was in the hallways of the train compartments or when he was amongst the pines in the forest with Eve. The editing gave the film a slow pace but included everything that Hitchcock wanted, and it is said that Hitchcock insisted they did not take out 20 minutes of the film to make it under 2 hours. Though it could get tough to stay focused on one shot for too long, it gave the movie nice suspense.
As far as costuming goes, North by Northwest was a wonderful display of color and 60s style that was quite aesthetically pleasing. Roger's grey suit influenced men's style of that era and has been copied in other thrillers since. Compared to other espionage romance thrillers, this is easily a classic that set many precedents for movies since including the James Bond franchise. Definitely should check it out
Considered one of the greatest films, North By Northwest twisted my attention in all sorts of directions. I liked it. It was hard to follow at first...probably because I couldn't quite hear what Roger was saying where I was watching it...but as I picked up on the plot, I had a chance to take in the incredible cinematography, direction, and mise-en-scene that this movie has in abundance.
Hitchcock's cinematic direction is excellent at leading the audiences attention, and holding them in suspense. Hitchcock very carefully frames shots with the mise-en-scene surrounding the characters and pans out the suspense by using long cuts from Rogers body (usually a medium shot) showing his expression, to what he is looking at, and back and forth. The lighting throughout the film wasn't anything too dramatic but certainly helped establish the mood of the scenes. The most beautiful use of lighting in the film was in the nail-biting house scene when Roger is trying to help his love escape. It was set during night, with only lamps on in the house, producing harsh shadows on the wall and contours of Roger's body, greatly dramatizing the sequence. Or even the scene in the train ride when Roger and Eve are kissing and the light is glowing off of them. The mise-en-scene was very elaborate and spanned across many different sets. The compact spaces of the train, the dusty abandoned crossroads, treacherous Mount Rushmore, and all the airports and glamorous hotels in which Roger fled for his life, amongst others. The surroundings helped frame certain shots like when Roger was in the hallways of the train compartments or when he was amongst the pines in the forest with Eve. The editing gave the film a slow pace but included everything that Hitchcock wanted, and it is said that Hitchcock insisted they did not take out 20 minutes of the film to make it under 2 hours. Though it could get tough to stay focused on one shot for too long, it gave the movie nice suspense. 
As far as costuming goes, North by Northwest was a wonderful display of color and 60s style that was quite aesthetically pleasing. Roger's grey suit influenced men's style of that era and has been copied in other thrillers since. Compared to other espionage romance thrillers, this is easily a classic that set many precedents for movies since including the James Bond franchise. Definitely should check it out 
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