Very enjoyable and captivating.

Rating: 8/10 (23 July 2004)

NORTH BY NORTHWEST is the story of a man named Roger Thornhill (Cary Grant), who is mistaken for a government agent by a gang of henchmen. They kidnap him one night and drug him with bourbon, then leave him in a car destined to run off the road into the crashing waters below. Fortunately, he comes to and tells this story to the police, who investigate but find that the facts Roger give them are no longer true. He soon finds himself on the run from the police, and hides in a traveling train, where he meets the mysterious and glamorous Eve Kendall (Eva Marie Saint), who ultimately leads him to trouble... though he does just fine getting into it on his own.
This is a very enjoyable thriller, much different than most of Hitchcock's other films. The plot is pretty interesting if kind of confusing, and the execution is great. It starts off pretty slow-paced, but quickly gets very interesting and captivating with some great and classic chase scenes. The helicopter scene is unforgettable, as is the final chase scene on Mount Rushmore, which impressed me greatly.
The acting is pretty good, if in that old-fashioned, melodramatic style. Cary Grant starts out kind of bland and stiff, but livens up and is great and very funny as the leading man. Eva Marie Saint is also great as the somewhat conniving, somewhat sweet Eve. The rest of the cast is good and wonderfully overdramatic in the way most actors used to perform. Of course, direction is great.
NORTH BY NORTHWEST isn't quite one of Hitchcock's best, but it's very enjoyable, exciting, and fun. A deserved classic. 8/10.