Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #978 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-06-01
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Dubbed, Full Screen, PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Arabic, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Spanish
• Dubbed in: French
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 131 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
A strong candidate for possibly the most entertaining and enjoyable film ever made by a Hollywood studio, North by Northwest is positioned between the much heavier and more profoundly disturbing Vertigo (1958) and the stark horror of Psycho (1960). In the corpus of Alfred Hitchcock films it shows the director at his most effervescent in a romantic comedy-thriller that also features one of the definitive Cary Grant performances. Which is not to say that this is just "Hitchcock Lite". It's a classic Hitchcock Wrong Man scenario: Grant is Roger O Thornhill (initials ROT), an advertising executive who is mistaken by enemy spies for a US undercover agent named George Kaplan. Convinced these sinister fellows (James Mason as the boss and Martin Landau as his henchman) are trying to kill him, Roger flees and meets a sexy Stranger on a Train (Eva Marie Saint), with whom he engages in one of the longest, most convolutedly choreographed kisses in screen history. And of course there are the famous set pieces: the stabbing at the United Nations, the crop-duster plane attack in the cornfield (where a pedestrian has no place to hide) and the cliffhanger finale atop the stone faces of Mount Rushmore. With its sparkling Ernest Lehman script and that pulse-quickening Bernard Herrmann score, what more could a filmgoer possibly desire? --Jim Emerson, Amazon.com

On the DVD: This wide-screen print of the movie looks remarkably fresh, preserving the vivid depth of the original's VistaVision cinematography. The main extra feature is a new and entertaining 40-minute documentary hosted by Eva Marie Saint in which most of the surviving cast and crew give their insights into the making of the picture (we learn for example that canny Cary Grant charged 15 cents per autograph). Screenwriter Ernest Lehman provides an audio commentary and on a separate audio-only track Bernard Herrmann's masterful score can be heard in its entirety. There's also a stills gallery and trailers. --Mark Walker

Video Description
DVD Special Features:

39 Minute Behind-the-Scenes Documentary Destination Hitchcock: The Making of North By Northwest hosted by Eva Marie Saint and featuring Martin Landau, Screenwriter Ernest Lehman, Patricia Hitchcock and others involved in the film
Feature length audio commentary by Ernest Lehman
Music-only Audio Track showcasing Bernard Hermann's Score
Production Stills Gallery
TV Spot
Trailer
Interactive Menus
Scene Access
Language in Dolby Digital 5.1: English
Language in Mono: French
Subtitles: English, French, Italian, Dutch, Arabic, Spanish, German, English for the hearing impaired.

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

Outstanding. Simply outstanding.
Anyone who thinks that the DVD format is only any good for new releases with eye-popping effects should buy this - an excellent DVD treatment of one of the most entertaining movies of all time.

It may be over forty years old, but it certainly doesn't look it - from the gorgeous opening titles through to the climax of the movie, this is a sumptuous transfer.

The extras - including a whimsical Ernest Lehman commentary - are above average among classic Hollywood movies.

All in all, I would challenge anyone to find a better value DVD anywhere. A must-have for anyone with the remotest interest in movies.

perfect blend of sheer entertainment with subtextual moral relativism
During a span of 51 years, Alfred Hitchcock made 57 feature films, from "The Pleasure Garden (1925)" to "Family Plot (1976)". I've watched nearly one-third of them and should say that "North by Northwest" is the fastest, funniest and most beautiful of his caper/thrillers.

Actually, the premise for "North by Northwest" is nothing new: a case of mistaken identity. An "ordinary man" accused of a murder he did not commit, and he must clear his name by assuming different identities. "The 39 Steps", "Young and Innocent", "The Wrong Man" and "Saboteur" were based on a similar theme. But what makes "North by Northwest" so special is its rarity in combining a twisted plot with a dazzling cast, great action, ingenious direction to create a yummy blend of suspense, adventure, deceit and Hitchcockian style of wry humor. If any movie shall be called "true cult classic", it is "North by Northwest".

Along with lots of deadly one-liners, the film hosts a bunch of the most memorable scenes in motion picture history: the murder in the lobby of the UN building, Thornhill's witty escape in the auction house, the attack of mysterious crop-duster in the middle of nowhere, all scenes on the train, and the climatic chase atop Mt. Rushmore. Hitchcock proves here again he was master of substitution of the language of the camera for words. Take the crop-duster scene. Without any music or special effects, no other director can afford to create such a claustrophobia on an open space in broad daylight just using natural sounds and complex suspense elements in the rhythm of events and cutting.

The film has a strong subtextual ideologic base too. Far ahead of its time in that it captures the political zeitgeist of late 1950s perfectly: moral relativism dominating the Cold War era. Very good epitome of how the State sacrifices the "ordinary man" for secretive causes involving the national interests.

Last word: pure, plain and vibrant. Despite 50 years have passed since its making, it is still fresh and highly watchable.

A true classic
There's not much that needs to be said about this film other than it is just an absolutely flawless piece of film-making.
The tension coils all the way through and the pace of the film never lets up but the true greatness of the film lies in the stellar performances given by Hitchcocks' actors with a Howard Hawks-like script. James Mason gives a great performance as the professional villain and steers well clear of the Hooded Claw-like criminal who twiddles his moustache and instead gives a subtle lesson in how to be ruthless.
At the foundation of the movie is the truly magnetic performances given by Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint. The chemistry between the two is unlike any performances from any other movie. They give off so much heat that its a wonder they managed to film them and not have the celluloid melt in the camera. Cary Grant in particular plays the role of the man mistaken for a spy with great conviction and just draws you in like a moth to a candle and you just can't imagine anyone else being able to pull this role off with such credibility.
There are so many now legendary scenes throughout including the infamous crop duster scene and the final showdown on Mount Rushmore but for me the one in the auction house is an absolute treat and when you see it you'll know why, as Cary Grant does the kind of things only he could do.
It disturbs me how some people won't watch a movie unless its less than five years old because they are depriving themselves of the kind of entertainment that only films like this can give. No matter how many Bruce Willis or Arnold schwarzenegger action movies get produced they will never touch this movie, its got thrills, spills, chemistry, great one liners and some of the finest action sequences ever concocted. Buy it, watch it and tell your friends about it. Its even in colour.