North by Northwest (Alfred Hitchcock, 1959)

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Mr Sausage
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 9:02 pm
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North by Northwest (Alfred Hitchcock, 1959)

#1 Post by Mr Sausage » Mon Apr 26, 2021 6:20 pm

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Mr Sausage
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Re: North by Northwest (Alfred Hitchcock, 1959)

#2 Post by Mr Sausage » Mon Apr 26, 2021 6:22 pm

The winner of the Cary Grant Auteur list is the discussion topic this week.

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knives
Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2008 6:49 pm

Re: North by Northwest (Alfred Hitchcock, 1959)

#3 Post by knives » Mon Apr 26, 2021 6:36 pm

Part of the reason why I had this at one is how great a film it is, but more so it is because of how Grant gives a montage of his career here. It’s not like To Catch a Thief where he boils himself to his essence. Rather as the character evolves and adapts we see a little bit of all sides of the Grant character before we are left with the mystery he would become following this film.

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therewillbeblus
Joined: Tue Dec 22, 2015 3:40 pm

Re: North by Northwest (Alfred Hitchcock, 1959)

#4 Post by therewillbeblus » Mon Apr 26, 2021 7:00 pm

Agreed, even Grant's drunk perf at the jail is arguably the funniest he's ever been on screen, and also one of the most convincing drunk perfs ever. I'd go so far as to say it's some of his best acting, period. This is Grant letting himself be known intimately the only way he can, by getting to know himself that way for the first time, as he's thrust into a situation he can't manage only to realize he possesses layers of suave self-preservation skills, becomes aware to his ignorant blind spots, and continues to evolve dynamically with us and in surprise with himself throughout. The enigma coming undone and then piecing itself together again recontextualized through all the genres and experiences he's had throughout his oeuvre and lifetime of faces and personas.
Last edited by therewillbeblus on Mon Apr 26, 2021 7:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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dustybooks
Joined: Thu Mar 15, 2007 10:52 am
Location: Wilmington, NC

Re: North by Northwest (Alfred Hitchcock, 1959)

#5 Post by dustybooks » Mon Apr 26, 2021 7:03 pm

I saw this with a sizable audience right before everything shut down last year and the universally overjoyed reaction in the room when Grant strolled through the random woman’s hospital room and she totally changed her demeanor upon retrieving her glasses was a wonderful lesson in how permanently seductive and alluring certain stars can be, decades past their supposed moment. Throughout the film Hitchcock plays around with the notion that Cary Grant is something we can all agree on, and it’s sort of amazing that such an instinct lives on (although really not, since he truly is that good).

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therewillbeblus
Joined: Tue Dec 22, 2015 3:40 pm

Re: North by Northwest (Alfred Hitchcock, 1959)

#6 Post by therewillbeblus » Mon Apr 26, 2021 7:40 pm

It's amazing that this was conceived as a James Stewart vehicle by the writers, and then of course Hitchcock famously detoured Stewart because he had no interest in seeing him in this part. It would have been an entirely different and far less interesting film if he was cast. I'm not someone who often assesses the role of casting as definitive to the film (though that's more of a personal deflection than a statement about its value) but this is probably the most Star-incited work of genius that I can think of offhand. It probably helps that I think it's the most purely entertaining movie ever made.

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knives
Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2008 6:49 pm

Re: North by Northwest (Alfred Hitchcock, 1959)

#7 Post by knives » Mon Apr 26, 2021 8:34 pm

I imagine that Stewart would give it more of a The Man Who Knew Too Much vibe which would be fine, but oh so different.


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