North by Northwest (50th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray Book)
| North by Northwest (50th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray Book) |
Average Rating:
 Rating:  - North By NorthwestI have seen this movie several times and never get tired of seeing it again. This is in my opinion one of the best Cary Grant, movies and the fact that it was directed by Alfred Hichcock, only makes it better. The "Blue-ray 50th Anniversary Edition", is well worth it's price. The book form it comes in makes it an even more pleasant surprise, with the behind the scenes photo's of the cast between takes and the information it gives you in the book. This is a true Movie Buff's must have in their library. You can not go wrong with the purchase of this movie. Rating: - Specatular film given very good blu-ray treatmentThis is probably in my top 3 for Hitchcock films for many reasons. The best that I can think if is that it is perhaps the best example of cinematic drama. For those not familiar with the plot, the story is a gripping mistaken-identity thriller: advertising executive Roger Thornhill (Cary Grant) is mistaken as a government agent by the sinister Philip Vandamm (the ever-amazing James Mason). Vandamm is convinced Thornhill is after him, and tries to dispose of the strawman. Thornill eventually finds himself at the center of a complicated espionage plot which takes him across the country, ending with a spectacular climax atop the Mt. Rushmore. What makes this film nearly perfect for me is the way it's paced. It's a study in economy, since we're told very little at the beginning (parallel to Thornhill's ignorance), and more is revealed slowly over time. Hitchcock and screenwriter Ernst Lehman weave a carefully crafted tale, and Hitch's fluid direction is superb as Thornhill is placed in increasingly dangerous situations. Punctuating this danger is Bernard Hermann's tense and frightful score, and the blu-ray audio mix does it justice. The film may very well be Grant's best performance -- certainly his best in a Hitchcock film (his 3rd or 4th collaboration w/ Hitchcock, I believe.) He is his rakish, humorous self, but in N/NW he displays a certain physicality (Grant was a circus performer before becoming an actor) that makes him somewhat of an action hero. (Grant also has the greatest business suit of all time, which somehow survives all his encounters with little more than a dusty lapel.) I appreciated how well the film was transferred to blu-ray, with very rich colors, nice deep blacks and sharp images. Some flaws are to be expected since the film is over 50 years old. My only complaint is the cardboard keep-case -- I really wish studios would dispense with "fancy" cases and just put use good old plastic snap cases instead. The supplements seem fairly well rounded, but are in standard def. I'm looking forward to hearing the commentary by Lehmann, although I wish there were more commentary tracks available, perhaps from a learned critic such as Roger Ebert. (Ebert's commentary on "Citizen Kane", for instance, is excellent.) In all, this is an exceptional classic film that deserves to be in any collection, and now in a blu-ray format that doesn't disappoint. Rating: - One of the all time great thrillers..."North by Northwest"(1959) is one of the greatest chase pictures care of Alfred Hitchcock. This comedy/thriller rolls right along for its duration as Cary Grant's character is constantly on the run for his life. This blu-ray is beautifully remastered in 1080p with an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 in Dolby TrueHD 5.1. This blu-ray book set includes a new 2009 Documentary about Alfred Hitchcock ("Hitchcock's Signature Style"), a feature length profile about Cary Grant ("A Class Apart"), an in depth exploration of "North by Northwest"("One for the Ages"), a 2000 documentary ("Destination Hitchcock:The Making of North by Northwest"), gallery stills, a music-only audio track, as well as printed material about Cary Grant, James Mason, Eva Marie Saint, screenwriter Ernest Lehman, Alfred Hitchcock, and an essay entitled the "Ultimate Wrongman", along with countless photos of posters, sets pieces, the actors between scenes, et cetera. This is a nice overall package of a great movie. Rating: - I Spy? A Hitchcock Classic of Murder & Intrigue!With a classy Bernard Hermann score, Hitchcock lets us in on the story of an advertising exec, Mr. Thornhill, who likes his job, considering advertising as exaggerating the facts for the public. (Hitch makes one of his famous on screen appearances, and doesn't quite make the bus!) Thornhill doesn't, either. After meeting some business associates he realizes that he needs to send a telegram to his secretary. A waiter or bellboy calls out for a Mr. Kaplan. Unfortunately Thornhill jumps up at that moment to ask the waiter how to get a telegram sent. Two thugs see him get up and say, "Ah, it's Kaplan!" and proceed to kidnap him. Puzzled, he's taken to a strange house and meets a suave James Mason and a creepy Martin Landau. Despite his protests, Thornhill gets nowhere. The thugs fill him full of bourbon and, drunk, get Thornhill in a car to drive him off a cliff. He recovers in time and leads a merry chase. The chase scenes here are great. The music reminds me of Ravel's Bolero and is very well done. As Cary Grant's character swerves and just misses cars (you can tell the scenes, though well done, are staged) and has the cops chasing him as well as the thugs. Great fun. The police scene, where he takes detectives to the mansion he was holed up in, finds it completely different and everyone denies ever seeing him. The detectives buy it and leave; his mother tells him to pay the two dollars. Unfortunately for Thornhill, the spies have not forgotten him! Thornhill does a little investigating of his own to clear things up, since he's getting no cooperation from the cops. He drags his dubious, benighted mother to the hotel where Kaplan is staying in the hopes of confronting the man, and the hired help just assume that he is Kaplan. Curiouser and curiouser. Mysterious caller, glad that "Kaplan" is in. Uh oh! Escape-time! It's fun, though a bit unrealistic, that an advertising man who was just kidnapped would then follow up on the guys who tried to kidnap him, investigate the hotel room of the "real" Kaplan and go through these adventures. But that's fine, it's still a lot of fun. Each scene has him take a step closer to finding out more about the kidnappers, narrow escapes, chase scenes and thrilling near-misses. The scene where he meets the real Townsend (earlier played by James Mason and at this point the audience knows is a fake), and as Thornhill is about to find out some pertinent info, a knife flashes through the air and stabs & kills Townsend! Of course Thornhill grabs the knife out of the guy's back and someone else takes his picture -- "That man killed Townsend!!" "No, get back!" And the chase is on! The cinematography is superb. The 30th floor view as Thornhill runs out -- the unusual perspective shots, the mistaken identifies and mistaken situations -- the logical illogic, the puzzles and the plots and plans -- All doves together in a crescendo of simple if deadly delights for the viewer. But not for Thornhill. The CIA meantime knows of the real Kaplan, created to divert suspicion from their actual agent. The "Professor" (played slyly by Leo G. Carroll) and are gloating at their good fortune -- they figure that Thornhill was mistaken for their agent and want to just let things run their course and let Thornhill get caught or killed. Oh well! There's a manhunt out for Thornhill, cops at every plane and train station. Can he clear his name and find "Kaplan" before it's too late? A blonde on the train (but who is she, really?) a little romance & comedy adds to the grim specter of a very long jail sentence or the bad spies rub him out! Best scenes of course include: The biplane scene that sprays bullets rather than insecticide on our poor Mr. Thornhill. The Mt. Rushmore scene that has lots of near misses and very tall heights to climb and nearly be killed by, especially with Martin Landau chasing you down! There's a double-cross, there's James Mason (as actually the evil spy Van Damme), lots of near misses -- I keep saying that but it's true. The film is full of near misses! Recommended, highly so. Rating: - 'North by Northwest' in Blu-ray is like a whole new releaseThis classic movie has stunning textures... the carpets, drapes, clothing, hats, book bindings, the actors complexions. After "low-res" views of NxNW over the past years, watching it in Blu-ray is like seeing it for the first time... completely and delightfully captivating. 
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