The Midpoint Movie

Rating: 10/10 (13 November 2003)

The great "North by Northwest" comes at the mid-point of entertainment film history. When Alfred Hitchcock made it in 1959, it was the culmination of thrillers he had made: 30's British spy chase thrillers like "The 39 Steps" and 40's American World War II spy chase thrillers like "Saboteur" and "Foreign Correspondent." "North by Northwest" was Hitchcock's greatest chase, part self-homage, part self-parody.
All those chase movies came BEFORE "North by Northwest," and then this midpoint movie influenced every action thriller that came AFTER it: "North by Northwest" led to James Bond which led to Indiana Jones which led to "The Matrix."
But besides being historic, "North by Northwest" is as good as a classic gets: three classic action set-pieces (the car, the crop-duster, Mount Rushmore), some of the wittiest dialogue in the history of movies; Cary Grant at his best, James Mason at his best, Eva Marie Saint at her best. Spectacular modern fifties credit sequence by Saul Bass with Bernard Herrmann's exciting score (launched by the MGM lion's roar.)

It's not "The Matrix," but take a time machine back to 1959 and enjoy the most influential chase thriller of all time.
And remember Cary Grant, as Roger Thornhill, delivering this great line: " I've got a job, a secretary, a mother, two ex-wives, and several bartenders waiting for me, and I don't intend to disappoint them all by getting myself slightly killed."