North by Northwest is a tale of mistaken identity, with an innocent man pursued across the United States by agents of a mysterious organization trying to prevent him from blocking their plan to smuggle out microfilm that contains government secrets.
This is one of several Hitchcock films that features a music score by Bernard Hermann and a memorable opening title sequence by graphic designer Saul Bass. This film is generally cited as the first to feature extended use of kinetic typography in its opening credits.
Trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NPI9QeeDDc
The trailer for this movie is effective because the narrator tells us who the main character is (Gary Grant) and tells us what ultimately happens in the movie because it tells us that Roger Thorne (main character in the movie) is forced to be a brave, cunning agent out of force and he is framed for murder in the UN building by someone else so he has to find a way to clear his name.
It appeals to the audience because there are funny scenes, action scenes, tense scenes and a little romance by the hero and the girl he is trying to save.
The background of the movie
The movie is a about a innocent New York advertising executive is mistaken for a government agent by a group of foreign spies, and is pursued across the country while he looks for way to survive.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Writer: Ernest Lehman
Stars: Gary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and James Mason
Alfred Hitchcock ideas
Mount Rushmore is a symbol of order but Alfred Hitchcock throws in disorder when Roger Thorne is dangling from the edge trying to rescue his motive of continuing to pretend to be a spy agent. Hitchcock also said that the audience need a relief form suspense so that is why he added humor in scenes to let the audience feel relaxed.
North by North West thriller Conventions
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlY5kaZC2N0
"A thriller is characterized by fast pacing, frequent action".
"Devices such as suspense, red herrings and cliffhangers are used regularly in the movie".This is also true of the movie because there were a number of scenes where suspense was the motive of and they succeeded as they left the audience feeling part of the scene. "Thrillers have resourceful heroes who must thwart the plans of more powerful and better equipped villains". This is true of North by north west because Roger Thorne has to react to what the villains are doing as he has to outsmart them and the villains are better equipped because there are more of them and they have better resources at their disposal.
Crup duster scene
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EK1o6ixoe_I
This is a iconic scene because since there were no special effects in the last 60's all of the action had to be real so when the crop duster exploded because of the oil tank so Hitchcock had to make sure everyone went right and that everyone was in the right position when the crop duster did explode.
