north by northwest opening scene analysis
his concept was simple, dynamic, and in due course, iconic. That her character must remain enticing and mysterious to preserve her double-agent guise makes Eve the decisive Hitchcock blonde. Hitchcock savors the plots misleading nature, and by extension, the storys hollowness underscores his role as a master manipulatorhis ability to conjure a reaction from the viewer out of thin air. The Department of Interior officials in charge of Mount Rushmore presented Hitchcock with another set of problems in Rapid City. When he fails to cooperate and give them information, their sinister boss (James Mason), going by the name Townsend, orders them to kill the would-be Kaplan by filling him full of alcohol and placing him behind the wheel of a car on a winding cliffside road. Change). That sort of illusory filmmaking, which despite being so plainly presented before the viewers eyes remains deceptively composed, is exactly what makes Hitchcock the master of his craft. North by Northwest earned Hitchcock some the best reviews of his Hollywood career. on the road, the yellow taxis shown in the reflection represents America as this a typical stereotype.
It was a familiar idea; going back to, (1927), Hitchcock had made several thrillers about men in the wrong place at the wrong time. It is also one of the first examples of situational type in film, where the text is integrated into the environment by matching its perspective, a technique famously revisited by Picture Mill for David Finchers Panic Room in 2002. North by Northwest is often credited as being the first sequence to use kinetic type or simply, type in motion. Since its release in 1959, it has only continued to bloom, earning spots on the American Film Institutes various 100 Years listsnot to mention the prolonged appreciation of Grants suit. The Men who made the movies: interviews with Frank Capra, George Cukor, Howard Hawks, Alfred Hitchcock, Vincente Minnelli, King Vidor, Raoul Walsh, and William A. . Hitchcock added this magnificently gratuitous scene just for the sake of exploring the antithesis of thriller clich. In their scenes together on the train to Chicago, Grant and Saint share delightful passages of Lehmans clever, sexy dialogue. These. These cross overthe screen creating the lines that eventually fade into the lines of the buildings windows. Choosing these landmarks was a conscious choice on Hitchcocks part to imbue murder and suspense with the iconography of a well-known landscape or national monument. 
Bits and pieces come together to make a fluid montage, rivaling Hitchcocks shower scene in Psycho. Years later, Hitchcock and writer Ernest Lehman talked over several weeks to discuss ideas for a possible collaboration. To be sure, no other Hitchcock film amasses a series of otherwise unconnected ideas and ties them together so creatively to instill the impression of a tightly bound motion picture. Not since Ernst Lubitsch had such an explicit illustration of the underlying sexual meaning been approved by the Production Code Administration. The star runs toward the camera; doubles run away from it. Writer Todd McEwans short story, Cary Grants Suit from 2006 retells the films story from the suits perspective, beginning with the line, , isnt a film about what happens to Cary Grant, its about what happens to his suit. Even so, Grants entire persona defines the cipher of Roger O. Thornhill. She declares, I never discuss love on an empty stomach. Youve already eaten. But you havent. The audience loses themselves in this romantic banter, forgiving how easily these strangers leap into each others arms, certainly not suspecting Eves double-cross yet. The third tier brings us down to ground level, observing the anonymous masses navigating the Big Apple. Luckily Grant, though teeter-tottering on retirement, signed to play Thornhill. Leonard, who reveals his jealousy over Vandamms affection for Eve within a few subtle gestures, admits his suspicion of her. At one moment, we play this note on them, and get this reaction. earned Hitchcock some the best reviews of his Hollywood career. (LogOut/ During one of their dinners, Lehman told the director, I want to do a Hitchcock picture to end all Hitchcock pictures. No believable motivation links these major developments, except the marvelous way in which the director presents them. Not only is he the wrong man wanted by Masons Phillip Vandamm, but now hes the wrong man in a murder with his picture on the front page. The story begins with a mistaken identity, introduces a spy device of vague government secrets landing in the wrong hands, proceeds with illogical turns and impossible happenstance, and ends without onscreen resolution of the central conflict. That sort of illusory filmmaking, which despite being so plainly presented before the viewers eyes remains deceptively composed, is exactly what makes Hitchcock the master of his craft. With North by Northwest, Hitchcock delivers his most monument-heavy picture of them all; though, he also ensured his settings were entirely functional within their scenes and avoided superfluous action. But it remains an unsatisfying explanation if the title is merely a directional reference, combined with a ham-handed airline plug. Bass titles came about when the over-budget and behind schedule production had no remaining time or money to complete Hitchcocks intended openinga chain of scenes that set up Thornhill as an ad manthough Grant was willing to shoot the sequence free of charge. By contrast, Hitchcock gives Thornhill a wide-open space to maneuver, in broad daylight no less, but also gives him nowhere to go. Seated across from each other in the dining car, the conversation quickly moves into a playful exchange of innuendo. 
Production on North by Northwest began in 1958, although it was not yet known by that name at MGM. Although it sets the scene well, the opening, doesnt give you any hints that the film is a thriller, as it doesnt include any of the common thriller conventions. The dialogue reveals who Roger is. In their scenes together on the train to Chicago, Grant and Saint share delightful passages of Lehmans clever, sexy dialogue. He made such an impression that author Ian Fleming, along with producers Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli, named Grant as their first choice to play James Bond when they began development on, Nevertheless, James Stewart was the first name mentioned to play Thornhill when Hitchcock began the demanding process of casting, , a light romantic comedy opposite Kim Novak. As with all of the designers work, which includes the opening of. Not since Ernst Lubitsch had such an explicit illustration of the underlying sexual meaning been approved by the Production Code Administration. Schatz, Thomas. started with one Otis Guernsey, a theater critic for the, . appears at the beginning: Saul Bass animated title sequence.
Realizing that each of his films relied on such a device, Hitchcock adopted the term MacGuffin to describe it.
Hitchcock settled on an unlikely blonde, Eva Marie Saint, who had won an Oscar four years prior for, (1954). The United Nations and Mount Rushmore were easily identifiable locales, and Hitchcock used that to twist them into something macabre or fantastic. Years later, Hitchcock and writer Ernest Lehman talked over several weeks to discuss ideas for a possible collaboration. Elsewhere in the cast, the ever-suave James Mason plays the villain, Vandamm, a courier of top-secret intelligence. Still, Hitchcock got away with plenty. Availability and budget restraints often foiled their potential collaborations, but Hitchcock always envisioned his leading men with Cary Grant in mindan attractive, well-dressed, and quick-witted hero who is desirable to beautiful women and nimble enough to outsmart the opposition. No believable motivation links these major developments, except the marvelous way in which the director presents them. By continuing to use the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Moreover, the director attributed Vertigos commercial failure to Stewarts visibly increasing age, and he dreaded the possibility of rejecting the actor on those grounds.
And it's only because of this game that he meets Eve Kendall, played by Eva Marie Saint, a love interest who twice helps him evade capture. It begins to attack, diving and shooting machine gun rounds. Herrmanns propulsive score has gone silent. Mason, as the characters in Hitchcocks Rope remarked, is attractively sinister and manages to be at once despicable and devilishly charming. Bernard Hermann's big, climactic score gives the sequence a sense of increasing urgency, turning up the volume in concert with the march of the crowd. All at once, he dashes to wave down an approaching tanker. For the films crop duster chase in an empty farm field, Hitchcock went into great detail to construct one of cinemas most memorable scenes. Herrmann even oversaw the sound design for, , though that film has no actual score. Having arranged music for Orson Welles Mercury Theatre broadcasts, he followed Welles into the realm of cinema beginning with, (1951). At one moment, we play this note on them, and get this reaction. It's a style that he carried into his next two projects, Psycho and Ocean's Eleven, and would revisitalmost 30 years later for Goodfellas in 1990. But the secrets on that microfilm, thus the gravity of the stakes, are never revealed. New York: Pantheon, 1988. North by Northwest is about this moment of viewership. During one of their dinners, Lehman told the director, I want to do a Hitchcock picture to end all Hitchcock pictures. A case of mistaken identity propels the plot, but the identity is a false onecreated by the FBI as a decoy set to protect their, is propelled by nonentities. Thats the only kind of picture I want to do. Lehman wanted to make what he called, A movie-movie, with glamour, wit, excitement, movement, big scenes, a large canvas, innocent bystander caught up in great derring-do, in the Hitchcock manner. They began toying around with a thriller set into motion by a murder at the United Nations.
The star runs toward the camera; doubles run away from it.
The information pursued by American agents and crooked spies, with everyman Cary Grant caught in the middle, means nothing once the audience is rapt by the swelling tension. With the collaboration of Helen G Scott. He did just that, and they subsided. Instead, Bass conceived a slanted graph, which slowly builds momentum in tandem with Herrmanns hurtling score, and eventually constructs the skyscraper of the films first live-action shot. (LogOut/ Theres no straight answer to either question. And then we play that chord and they react that way.. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1985. Hitchcocks method involves his audience on a raw emotional level, as opposed to an intellectual plane. Through the opening scene the props dont get shown till near the end of the opening sequence, the majority of the props was hand the laguage of the battling civilians fighting there way through the busy streets of America. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Proving the adage that cinema consists of faces, places, and chases, is rooted in fabrication and nothingness. Thats the only kind of picture I want to do. Lehman wanted to make what he called, A movie-movie, with glamour, wit, excitement, movement, big scenes, a large canvas, innocent bystander caught up in great derring-do, in the Hitchcock manner. They began toying around with a thriller set into motion by a murder at the United Nations. Thats funny, observes the man. This is also made poignant in light of the plot involving Communism. Minutes pass before a car pulls out from a dirt road and drops off a man, not Kaplan. The plot serves to help him grow. Boston: Little, Brown, c1983. But it remains an unsatisfying explanation if the title is merely a directional reference, combined with a ham-handed airline plug. The setting and the location of North by Northwest title opening sequence is based on the side of a large glass building in America. . She was instructed to lower her voice, avoid using her hands, and look directly at Grant in her scenes opposite him. Regardless of such heart-stopping thrills and memorable music, the Production Code wagged its finger at the films sexuality. While at the 21 Club with Hitchcock in 1951, Guernsey pitched a scenario to the director about a salesman mistaken for an imaginary secret agent. What we remember about the film are impressions and feelings, moving visuals or bravado sequences, a romantic yearning, and the magnetism of the well-tailored Grant. Hitchcocks method involves his audience on a raw emotional level, as opposed to an intellectual plane. The writing process would take over a year of story conferences and debates between Lehman and Hitchcock; meanwhile, the director went off to make Vertigo (1958) for Paramount. From the outset, the film materializes out of nothingness. Censor Geoffrey Shurlock wanted the moment. Is that a proposition? Thornhill asks. A case of mistaken identity propels the plot, but the identity is a false onecreated by the FBI as a decoy set to protect their real agent. To be sure, no other Hitchcock film amasses a series of otherwise unconnected ideas and ties them together so creatively to instill the impression of a tightly bound motion picture. Its individual scenes offer suspense, intrigue, and humor, along with a feeling of intensity and a connection to the characters, but not overall participation in the overarching story. It is appropriate, then, that Saul Bass establishes this theme in both the tone and design of the main title sequence his second Hitchcock outing, following Vertigo the previous year. After narrowly escaping capture on the train to Chicago, Eve points Thornhill to a bus stop some 90 minutes outside of the city, where she claims Kaplan has agreed to meet him. Hitchcock proposed adding Guernseys concept, along with another idea he had been toying with for yearsa chase on Mount Rushmore. She would follow the long line of elusive Hitchcock blondes, all placed in distress, requiring a male hero to save them. Questions of plot notwithstanding, the film can be used as a guidebook to identify common traits in Hitchcock films beginning with, (1972). This is comparable to Roger's love interest in the film Eve (played by Eva Marie Saint) lying to Roger to perform a heroic act; although she does the complete reverse by lying to have somebody else (in this case Roger) feel anything but heroic. Leonard, who reveals his jealousy over Vandamms affection for Eve within a few subtle gestures, admits his suspicion of her.
He described the proposed scene to Truffaut: Behind them a car is being assembled, piece by piece. And so, while Grant remained baffled by Lehmans improbable scenario, criticizing the lack of logic from scene to scene, Hitchcock wanted Grant that wayit reflected how the bewildered Thornhill should feel wrapped up in a tangled web of spies. Hitchcock savors the plots misleading nature, and by extension, the storys hollowness underscores his role as a master manipulatorhis ability to conjure a reaction from the viewer out of thin air. Hitchcock told Truffaut that. Shooting scenes of violence and espionage in iconic locations became a predictable hurdle for. However, Grant raised questions about his role in the film after signinga trend that Hitchcock had become accustomed to over their many collaborations. But that Hitchcock maintains his audiences devoted interest, and even leaves us feeling incredibly fulfilled by the time the credits roll, attests to his ability to manipulate us. The title they eventually settled on made little sense to the cast and crew since the direction north by northwest does not exist on any compass. For the accurate interiors by production designer Robert Boyle, Hitchcock and a still photographer posed as tourists to steal some photos of the inner building. Furthermore, everyone in the introduction is dressed in plain clothes with no bright colours giving the film a dark but 1980s look. s commercial failure to Stewarts visibly increasing age, and he dreaded the possibility of rejecting the actor on those grounds. Alone again, Thornhill notices the crop duster coming toward him. He does the opposite of those typically claustrophobic scenes in thrillers, where, in the dark of night, the killer stalks his prey into a tight alleyway. The same events could be written around the pursuit of stolen diamonds, a priceless work of art, a bomb, or a doomsday device. iek, Slavoj.
As coached by Hitchcock, these details helped form Saints appealing yet pointedly distant onscreen persona. From the outset, the film materializes out of nothingness.
I think this is a very professional and effective way to change the scene and relates to other Alfred Hitchcock films. Indeed, the very root of the film is about nothing at all. earned nearly $10 million in box-office receipts, what today would amount to a major blockbuster. But the landmarks authorities would not allow Grant to appear on the actual faces of the monuments past presidents, or even Boyles duplications, only between the faces to preserve the integrity of the nations most venerated figures. On the train to Chicago, where he hopes to find George Kaplan, Thornhill meets a flirtatious Good Samaritan, Eve Kendall (Eva Marie Saint), whose willingness to harbor a fugitive for the entire journey is motivated by her seeming loyalty to Vandamm. The title they eventually settled on made little sense to the cast and crew since the direction north by northwest does not exist on any compass. When he confronts Townsend, who is not the man he met the night before but the real Townsend (Philip Ober), he quickly finds himself framed for murdering the United Nations official and on the run from authorities. Teeming with a wrongly identified hero, played by the filmmakers model leading man Cary Grant no less, an icy blonde, a gripping Bernard Herrmann score, a monumental finale, and the most wonderfully transparent of all MacGuffins, the film embraces and augments the directors long-standing narrative and formal elements into the ultimate comic thriller. Barely any dialogue is spoken for nearly seven minutes.
Finally, the car theyve seen being put together from a simple nut and bolt is complete, with gas and oil, and all ready to drive off the line [] Then they open the door to the car and out drops a corpse! Although Hitchcock and Lehman could not work the sequence into the script, Steven Spielberg realized a version of the same idea in his own wrong-man thriller, the sci-fi masterpiece Minority Report (2002). Mason, as the characters in Hitchcocks, remarked, is attractively sinister and manages to be at once despicable and devilishly charming. As with all of the designers work, which includes the opening of Psycho and the animated sequences in Vertigo, his concept was simple, dynamic, and in due course, iconic. The legendary Master of Suspense piles a careers worth of preoccupations and storytelling devices into his 1959 motion picture, an escapist yarn like no other, except others by Hitchcock. She was instructed to lower her voice, avoid using her hands, and look directly at Grant in her scenes opposite him. The specifics have no substance. It creates sort of a claustrophobic feel despite the large scale shots.
