Translation

Rating: 9/10 (8 December 2008)

Of all the Hitchcock movies I've seen North by Northwest translates the poorest into my generation. One could speculate that this is because it's been ripped off as much as Chuck Berry. Lucky Number Slevin is your obvious example, but that might not be why it translates so poorly.
I think it's the classic shot of Grant and the CIA man with Mt. Rushmore in the background. Most of my peers saw Richie Rich before they saw (if they've seen) North by Northwest and the cheesiness of the older and often wiser generations. I hate to be the kind of guy that doesn't think of technological ability as relative. Especially since it's so often misused in modern cinema to craft a movie with less than 50 pages of a script.
I'm holding the position that it doesn't translate well because of this: a) The crop dusting scene is ridiculously suspenseful but can we really imagine how crazy it was in '59? b) same exact story for the Mt. Rushmore cliffhanger scene. c) Grant's banter, if not monitored closely, falls on deaf ears to the people of today, even my parents couldn't catch all the wise-cracks. We just speak a different language. d) Eva Marie Sant's lines are littered with innuendo's that would make a middle schooler's toes curl. Her sexiness has been forgotten by time and slang.
So, in short, the reason that North by Northwest doesn't translate into my generation (.com generation if you were wondering) is because it's simply too good, it's shocking and will alter the way that anyone thinks about what constitutes a good movie. It isn't that we don't have the taste, I think it's more that we never had a chance to witness the awesome power of cinema contained within.
Don't be offended if you are of equal age with me and plaster pictures of Cary Grant on your wall, I think you would agree with me if I said that this movie was beyond modern comprehension and stood up with some of the greatest artistic works of the last 50 years.