IMDb > North by Northwest (1959)
North by Northwest
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North by Northwest (1959) More at IMDbPro »

Photos (see all 60 | slideshow) Videos (see all 8)
North by Northwest (1959) -- Alfred Hitchcock gives a tour of the film in this trailer for the Special Edition DVD and Blu-Ray release.
North by Northwest (1959) -- Trailer two for this Hitchcock classic
North by Northwest (1959) -- AllTrailers.net - Trailer (Flash)

Oscar Nominations    Photos    more »

Overview

User Rating:
8.6/10   86,997 votes
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Director:
Writer:
Ernest Lehman (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for North by Northwest on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
17 September 1959 (Japan) more
Tagline:
Alfred Hitchcock takes you.... North by Northwest! more
Plot:
A hapless New York advertising executive is mistaken for a government agent by a group of foreign spies, and is pursued across the country while he looks for a way to survive. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 3 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(88 articles)
Fan Made: Hitchcock-Themed Dioramas
 (From Cinematical. 2 February 2010, 4:45 PM, PST)

David Brown obituary
 (From The Guardian - Film News. 2 February 2010, 11:00 AM, PST)

User Reviews:
Wonderful comedy thriller, not Hitchcock's best but his most sheerly enjoyable more (369 total)
US TV Schedule:


Additional Details

Also Known As:
Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest (USA) (complete title)
Breathless (USA) (working title)
In a Northwesterly Direction (USA) (working title)
The Man in Lincoln's Nose (USA) (working title)
more
Runtime:
131 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Westrex Recording System) | Dolby SR | Dolby Digital
Certification:
Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) (2000) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | UK:A (1959) | USA:Approved (PCA #19156) | USA:TV-G (TV rating) | Iceland:L | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | South Korea:12 | Netherlands:AL (DVD rating) | Netherlands:12 (re-rating) | Netherlands:12 (2008 re-release) | Brazil:14 | Japan:G (2009) | Argentina:13 | Australia:G (1959-1998) | Australia:PG | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Germany:12 (re-rating) | Peru:14 | UK:PG | West Germany:16 (original rating) | Norway:16

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Eva Marie Saint's line, "I never discuss love on an empty stomach," is dubbed over the line you can see her speaking on film: "I never make love on an empty stomach." more
Goofs:
Continuity: The first exterior shot of the train depicts a pink sunset. Yet, it is broad daylight in the following dining-car scene. more
Quotes:
Eve Kendall: Patience is a virtue.
Roger Thornhill: So is breathing.
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Jug jugoistok (2005) more
Soundtrack:
It's a Most Unusual Day more

FAQ

Is this movie based on a book?
Why do Valerian and Licht think that Thornhill is Kaplan?
Was VanDamm's mountain home a real home? Was it designed by Frank Lloyd Wright?
more
90 out of 128 people found the following review useful.
Wonderful comedy thriller, not Hitchcock's best but his most sheerly enjoyable, 30 September 2004
Author: DrLenera

North By Northwest is not an artistic masterpiece like Rear Window and Vertigo, but it is probably the most purely entertaining picture Hitchcock ever made. It's essentially a rehash of many of his earlier films, with a plot partially derived from The Thirty Nine Steps and the very similar Saboteur, while there are borrowings from Foreign Correspondent and Notorious, among others. However, it is all done with such style and confidence that it doesn't matter if it's essentially just a greatest hits package.

Very few other films of this kind attain the near perfect tone of this one, precariously balanced between seriousness and silliness. Sometimes this film manages the very difficult trick of being both suspenseful and comical at the same time, as in the auction house scene, or the wonderful scene in the lift when the hero's mother turns to two heavies in a lift looking menacingly at the hero and says "you gentlemen are not REALLY trying to kill my son, are you?".

Of course the famous crop dusting plane scene and the Mount Rushmore chase are terrific. The former is really more notable for the amount of time taken to build up to the action than the action itself, while the technical work on the latter still looks pretty good. In a totally different vein is the astonishingly frank seduction sequence on the train. Hitchcock takes his time here as with many of the other scenes, but the film is so crammed with memorable passages that one hardly notices it's 136 mins long.

Ernest Lehman's script is full of wonderful lines, many of them delivered so well by chief villain James Mason that at times we almost want to root for him. "Has any one ever told you tend to overplay your various roles Mr Kaplan....it seems to me you fellows could stand a little less training from the FBI and a little more from the Actor's Studio". Cary Grant is so smooth one almost forgets he's over 50, and of course there's also Bernard Herrmann's vibrant score.

Endlessly enjoyable even with repeated viewings. How many of today's thrillers will be such fun in 25 years time?

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