Product Description

Cary Grant, James Mason, Eva Marie Saint, Leo G. Carroll, Martin LandauDirector: Alfred Hitchcock

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #751 in DVD
• Brand: Blu-ray Thriller
• Released on: 2009-11-16
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Format: PAL
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .26 pounds
• Running time: 136 minutes

Synopsis
NORTH BY NORTHWEST is a suspense thriller that finds Cary Grant in the role of Roger Thornhill, a Manhattan advertising executive mistaken for a spy. Considered by many to be the prototypical pure action movie (creating the template for later James Bond and Indiana Jones films), the film is a cross-country roller-coaster ride with Alfred Hitchcock at the helm. The film is duly famous for several classic and indelible scenes, including the desert biplane encounter and the Mt. Rushmore climax. The original title was THE MAN IN LINCOLN'S NOSE, which was replaced by a reference to a line from William Shakespeare's HAMLET (in which Hamlet says, "I am but mad north-north-west."). The magical combination of Hitchcock and the debonair Grant--who made four wonderful films together--makes NORTH BY NORTHWEST a suspense-filled standout.
When Thornhill finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time, the world as he knows it comes to an end. Suddenly danger threatens as the hapless businessman is targeted as an American intelligence agent and set up as a killer. All of Thornhill's attempts to straighten things out only make matters worse--and soon the desperate man is on the run from murderous foreign operatives, the CIA, and the police. The supporting cast, including Eva Marie Saint, James Mason, and Martin Landau, is uniformly excellent.

Customer Reviews

"...We're In The Business Of Expedient Exaggeration..."
As you watch the credits of Hitch's 1959 masterpiece "North By Northwest" roll up on the screen in all their resplendent VistaVision Technicolor glory - the shiny, cold and aloof glass panelling of a New York skyscraper acts as their backdrop.

It's a brilliant touch, because combined with Bernard Herrmann's staccato score; it ratchets up the tension and also subliminally suggests to the viewer that some poor John Doe is about to get rightly and royally screwed by big business and big Government - or both. And of course, mistaken for a UN diplomat called George Caplin - our hapless hero George Thornhill (played by Cary Grant) - does just that.

Then when the credits end and Cary exits the lift with his secretary (Doreen Lang), all suited-n-booted and looking dapper enough to lick - another element kicks in - the picture quality...

State-of-the art frame-by-frame restoration has taken place here, because the print is just BEAUTIFUL. I raved in a UK Listmania list some 3 years ago about how good the DVD looked - well this BLU RAY is better - and at times just jaw dropping to look at.

Icing on the cake is that this 50th Anniversary BLU RAY reissue (Nov 2009) also adds on some superlative new features which are just as good as the film itself.

Here's the full list:

1. Commentary by Ernest Lehman (Original Script-Writer)
2. New 2009 Documentary "The Master's Touch: Hitchcock's Signature Style" (over 50 minutes - featuring comments from directors Martin Scorsese, Curtis Hanson, Frances Lawrence, Guillermo del Toro and many more)
3. Previously seen but superlative feature-length profile "Cary Grant: A Class Apart" (over 1 1/2 hours)
4. New 2009 feature called "North By Northwest: One For The Ages" examining the movies innovations and influences
5. Feature called "The Making Of North By Northwest" from 2000 hosted by Eva Marie Saint
6. Music Only Audio Track
7. Stills Gallery
8. Theatrical Trailers & TV Spots
9. Internet link to Warner Brothers

A whole bunch of things combine to make NBN work - a great story by Ernest Lehman, superb night and day locations, immaculate period clothes, the bulbous gas-guzzling cars, the art-deco buildings, the interiors of wealthy homes and the deeply luxurious dining cars of long-distance 1950's trains. And to top all of that, you get genuine old-school Hollywood star power in the form of James Mason, Martin Landau, Leo Carroll and the luminous love interest Eva Marie Saint. And of course the effortlessly suave and charming Cary Grant - arguably the best leading man Tinseltown ever produced. Throw in the tension, wit and camera angles of Hitchcock at the helm - and you're on a winner.

But your eyes keep coming back to how this BLU RAY shines. There are so many little scenes that now look sumptuous - Alfred missing the bus just at the end of the opening credits in his famous cameo scene - the garish colours of Fifties New York taxis, the marble of the hotel lobby Cary is meeting clients in. Then there's the Townsend home and gardens as the villains motor up the gravel driveway to the front door, the three dapper suits of the boys as they parry in the library room inside (Mason, Landau and Grant) and the clarity of the night scene where they put a drunk Cary in a stolen car and try to drive him off a cliff. Further on there's the colour of the fields in the legendary crop-duster scene, hanging off the Mount Rushmore monument by your fingernails - even Eva Saint Marie's beautiful red dress in the hotel room as she stands by the door while Cary showers in the bathroom... I could go on!

If I was to point out one genuine downside, it's the focus. Some scenes quite deliberately have Grant and Saint with an almost halo-like shine around them (soft focus to make them look better) and can at times make the print look just a teeny bit soft, but other than that the whole shebang is a joy to behold... Also the US issue comes in a dapper book form - our one doesn't - just the plan blue box?

Up there with "The Italian Job", "Zulu", "Goldfinger", "Saturday Night, Sunday Morning", "2001" A Space Odyssey" and "The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner" in terms of top quality restoration (see my reviews for each) - "North By Northwest" is a triumph on BLU RAY. And the superb additional extras only make you feel that Warners are to be praised for a job well done...

Roll on "To Catch A Thief" on BR - another beautiful Hitchcock/Grant restoration...

Well Worth The Upgrade
I won't try to compete with the big excellent, detailed review here, but if you're wondering if you should splash out on buying the Blu-ray whilst owning the DVD, I would say - definitely. If you don't already own the DVD, then don't hesitate with the Blu-ray.

I love seeing older films in colour and in the best possible format, and this one must be very close to the top of the tree in terms of picture quality. Everything looks vibrant and you almost feel part of 1950s America.

Just buy it, lie back and enjoy. You won't regret it.

Excellent!!
First of all I adore this film and have seen it many times, so I am a little biased. However, this is truly a breathtaking transfer of an old movie! It looks beautiful and is well worth the upgrade. Best version I have seen and would totally recommend to anyone considering.