then turn right

Rating: Null/10 (13 May 2003)

North by Northwest
In `North by Northwest' the most interesting thing that I noticed was the fact the setting was continuously changing drastically. As a result of this the mise-en-scene was constantly changing. Hitchcock take the viewer all over the county from New York to Chicago and finally to South Dakota. Because such detail was given to each scene in each different setting it easy to see the stark contrast between them. For example when Thornhill was in the city the sidewalks were crowded and he was always steeling cabs, however as the setting shifted to the old highway outside of Chicago Hitchcock shows the vastness by using a long shot to show Thornhill on one side of the screen and the man waiting for the bus on the opposite. I think that shot is the best of the movie. The camera angles were also interesting. The one that immediately comes to mind is the one in which Thornhill is walking out of the U.S. Embassy, it appears as though the camera is looking down on him from the rooftop. I was unable to figure out a possible reason for this however it was an interesting looking shot non-the less. Of course sound was important to the movie. Even though the woman set him up it was obvious by the way sounds that Thornhill was falling for her. Another instance that I remember vividly is the sound of garden clippers coming from no were as Thonhill and the police were leaving the Townsead mansion. And then after a few moments the camera follows the sound to reveal the gardener who helped in the kidnapping the night before.