North by Northwest - Movie Review

North by Northwest is a complex classic thriller about love, misidentification, deception, and honor directed by Alfred Hitchcock and released in 1959. N by NW is considered the first "James Bond" film due to its likeness of its secret agents, false identities, and charming villains, but with a hint of humor added to it. The prominent theme of the film is the false identity of its characters, the "thrill of the wrong man" tradition, but it is more abstract than any former attempt at the theme. The movie is a fast-paced and sizzling tale set during the cold war mainly about an wealthy advertising executive man, Roger Thornhill, who is suddenly totally vulnerable and involved in a series of inexplicable events, turning his life up side down. Everything else in the movie is essentially unimportant, existing only to make the chasing more frightening.

Many cinematic and literary techniques used by Hitchcock in the N by NW sets the standard for many of the movies produced nowadays. For instance, N by NW was referred to as the first film to contain extended use of Kinetic typography, including in its opening credits flying and fading out text. Also, camera techniques are used to evoke both smoothness and suspense. The pale green opening scene gives us a great view of a Manhattan skyscraper showed from a low-angle shot. On the huge glass of the building we see the reflection of the midtown Manhattan from bellow, with masses of workers walking back and forth. When Roger and Eve are clinging to one of the president's face on Mt. Rushmore, Hitchcock uses a wider framed shot to emphasize the great size of the Mount in contrast to Roger and Eve's bodies. Moreover, whenever a new scene occurs, Hitchcock employs an establishing shot to provide an overview to a scene. For example, when Roger is kidnapped, there are several establishing shots providing an overview of the locations Roger is been taken to, United Nation complex, Mt Rushmore,