North by Northwest is a 1959 American spy thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and James Mason. North by Northwest is a story of a mistaken identity. Whereby a innocent man is taken across the United States, due to there being a misunderstanding that he has the microfilm which contain important facts of government secrets. He is abducted by agents from a mysterious organization. Now he has to find a way out of this mess and look for away to survive.
This film is a thriller because it has all the aspects that makes it a thriller. It has suspense, tension and excitement building throughout the whole film.
Alfred Hitchcock:
Alfred Hitchcock planned this film very well, he avoided the thriller cliches and added more realism to the film. He made the concept of a nightmare come to life in this film, where audience will see all these crazy things happening and experience it themselves. He made sure the concept of a nightmare fitted the narrative otherwise it would've been all over the pace like a real nightmare and therefore confuse the audience. An example of Hitchcock avoiding cliches would be him placing the character Roger in absolute daylight in the middle of nowhere instead of a atmosphere of terror and utter darkness. However he still managed to create suspense as he put in elements that has the audience thinking that something bad will happen, but it never did. For example when a black limousine car came out of no where in the crop duster scene may show that someone is coming to shoot him, but it just left. Again Hitchcock has avoided the cliches but still managed to create suspense. He wanted to show a different light to how thriller movies are perceived. Hitchcock added many element to the film to make it a successful thriller. These are as follows:
Red Herrings:
This is something that mislead and distracts from the relevant or important issue.
One of the most significant red herring used in North by Northwest was when Eve shot Roger. This scene would have shocked the audience as he was the main character, and as expected audience would've be thought he would survived longer. If he died then the film narrative would've had no motive as he didn't solve the misunderstanding between him and the villains. Another example of red herring used in the film was the use of black limousine coming in the crop duster scene, which would've made the audience feel something dreadful will happen. It build the tension as it was something mysterious and out of the blue. Another one was a man coming into the scene which may have seemed that the villains had sent him, but in fact the was just waiting for the bus. So Alfred has added these elements to scare the audience and make them ask questions and keep them intrigued in the film.
Cliff Hangers:
This was used when Eve fell off the cliff as they were trying to escape from the villains. This added a lot of excitement in the narrative as it would've taken the audience by surprise. Alfred managed to keep the audience on the edge of their seats as they would want to know if she survived. As she holds onto the cliff slowly letting go keeps the audience gripped on to the scene. Eve was the leading lady, and audience would want her to stay alive so the story has a happy ending, as Roger and her will live happily ever after. Its one of the major scenes in my opinion as it adds a lot of suspense and tension, it keeps the narrative going, and it doesn't bore the audience as the audience engage into the scene as they feel she will die.
Suspense:
Alfred added a lot of suspense in North by Northwest, he never failed adding suspense in when it was needed. As it was a thriller one of the main elements had to be the suspense created throughout the film. The drunken car chase scene where Roger was put into a car by the villains, as he was dunk it was very dangerous as he could have potentially died. The villains motive was to make it look like and suicide but there plan didn't succeed as Roger manged to drive the car. There was a lot of suspense created the as he had many obstacle's to overcome while driving. Firstly it was a very narrow road and on top of that there are many cars coming in the way, this is potentially dangerous for Roger as he is drunk and he can easily get hit. This will keep audience on the edge of their seats as they feel that he can get hit at any point or his car will tumble down. Suspense and tension was present throughout that whole scene as Rogers life was in danger. Another scene where suspense was created was when Roger found out that Eve wasn't as pure and innocent as she showed she was. He tracked her down and found out she lives in a hotel. The scene where they both were in the hotel room was very suspenseful, as the audience knew that he was acting as if he didn't know her truth, but Eve wasn't aware of this. Tension built as the conversation was going, it seemed as if Roger was going to do something but he didn't. His innocent act added suspense to the scene. Another suspenseful scene was when Roger had to get through to the train. He was wanted in every newspaper and everyone knew who he was. Therefore he had to act very smart so he wouldn't get caught. This scene was very suspenseful as he was very close in to getting caught as the police was around every corner. Alfred made it look as if he is just about tog get caught and then Roger manages to get away from it.
McGuffin:
This is the fiction plot device in the form of some goal, it is the desired object or motivator that the protagonist has to get. This often has little or no meaning to the film. It isn't focused on much. The audience doesn't really remember it. It doesn't drive the plot forward. In North by Northwest the McGuffin is the microfilm. Which is hardly remembered. Not until maybe the end. Really the film is driven by the action and how the protagonist escapes the equipped antagonist. The microfilm is jut the motive. It is hardly mentioned in the film which is why the audience don't really remember it.
Crop Duster Scene Analysis:
This is one of the major scenes of the film. It has a lot of suspense and red herrings. This scene shows how Roger uses his skills and escapes the attempted murder upon him.
Sound- Beginning of the scene the sound is non diagetic meaning the audience can hear it but not the characters. It starts off to set the scene, adding a the hint of tension. Diagetic sound is then added by he rush of c going past and cars coming closer. This creates suspense as it makes the audience feel like something will happen, or that Roger may get hit by the car. Then the conversation between Roger and the other man and this shows the difference in the accents between the two men. The difference in accents shows they are not from he same place in America. This adds to pace of the film as Roger is in a different location and he has to keep moving in order to stay alive. So it adds suspense. It keeps the pace going. The on screen sound of the helicopter approaching Roger, getting closer and closer, therefore gets louder and louder. This adds a lot of tension and suspense as its fast paced and the sound symbolizes the danger approaching Roger.
Mise en scene- this is what we can see in the scene. The scene was set in a lonely isolated field to emphasize that something potentially can go wrong. There wasn't much crops used apart from the cars that constantly passed by. 2 tanned tall men, in suits which showed they are upper class men. As in that heat no one would want to be in a suit and tie. The scene captured the exhaust smoke from the cars, and the plane that kept whizzing around. The audience is able to see the helicopter coming closer and close to Roger, which builds a lot of tension, and keeps the audience at the edge of their seat. When the bus is blown up, shows the intensity of the scene as the helicopter crashes in towards it.
Camera Shots- It started off with an establishing shot, to capture every part of the location that Roger was in. That is then followed by a wide shot, to show the two people within that shot, showing both of them. Then a pan is used to to show the other character other than the protagonist. Point of view is then used, almost as if the audience is in the characters shoes allowing them to live the scene.
Editing- Jump cuts is a good edit especially for a thriller as its a sudden cut, and takes the audience by surprise. Therefore this was a good edit used in the crop scene. At first it is shown at a slow pace, the shots were longer, setting the mood. It the cuts to scenery, showing the audience how the place looks. Scenery is important as it gives a hint in what could happen e.g. if it was an alleyway you know a murder could take place. Reactions switches from action to the face to action, showing the facial expressions of the actor and also building suspense, as it switches constantly. Short clips go back and fourth, not dragging it one long scene. So by switching it makes it less boring to watch for the audience.
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