A bit disappointed

Rating: 7/10 (13 April 2007)

Just finished watching Hitchcock's "Signature Collection" which comprised: Strangers on a Train / North by Northwest / Dial M for Murder / Foreign Correspondent / Suspicion / The Wrong Man / Stage Fright / I Confess / Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Knowing that North by Northwest was the highest rated movie of the lot, I save the "best" for last.
I was a little disappointed as I thought the plot, while probably original for it's time, seemed quite ordinary by today's standards. However, the strongest suit of this film is the artistic quality. Hitchcock does an extraordinary job. The camera work is fantastic, the backgrounds are stunning, and the color schemes are beautiful.
I watched this movie twice. The first time I rated it a six and this time a seven. I understood it better the second time but still couldn't help notice holes in the plot. I still couldn't understand Thornhill's obsession with Eve, even though she almost got him killed by directing him to the cornfields. And I couldn't determine what was the purpose of the microfilm that fell out at the end.
The villains play a confusing role in this film. I actually had to read other posters comments in order to figure out why the villains wanted Thornhill so bad.
There are also some obvious continuity errors. For example, the movie starts off in New York City. Yet in the car chase we see sharp jagged mountains right next to the coast. The setting looked more like the West Coast than NYC.