Blu-ray Review: North By Northwest

When it comes to thrillers and tales of suspense, there is no greater artist than Alfred Hitchcock. The British-American filmmaker carved out his place in annals of cinema and TV by creating a distinct style that is immediately recognizable and always memorable. It come as no surprise that Warner decided to take the time to make the 50th Anniversary of one of Hitchcock’s best films, “North by Northwest,” an HD masterpiece.

“North by Northwest” features Cary Grant in his fourth and final Hitchcock teaming. The story begins simple enough: a New York adman is plunged unwittingly into a world of spies and mystery. This log line may sound cliché by today’s movie standards, but the Hitchcock’s storytelling is anything but cliché. With each moment Hitchcock creates a world that you just can’t escape from and neither can Grant. If there was one role Cary Grant was meant to play it was that of Roger O. Thornhill. From marital problems to his playboy style, the character of Thornhill and the actor, Cary Grant, lived lives that drastically overlapped. The duality of their lives is expressed with precision in the feature-length career profile “Cary Grant: A Class Apart,” featured as a bonus material on this Blu-ray release.

The pacing of the film is brilliantly methodical with each subsequent scene, which Hitchcock was able to accomplish through the use of the Macguffin. If you don’t know what “The MacGuffin” is you’re in luck. On this Blu-ray release, Warner has packaged an all-new documentary called “The Master’s Touch: Hitchcock’s Signature Style.” In this amazing documentary, modern filmmakers (like Guillermo del Toro) comment on Hitchcock’s storytelling style against the backdrop of an interview with the fabled director. Unfortunately, the actual interview with Hitchcock didn’t receive much of a clean up for this release, but most may appreciate the vintage feel. The 2009 documentary also gives you a glimpse into why Hitchcock decided to put himself in all of his films. “North by Northwest” opens up with a famous scene of a bus door slamming in Hitchcock’s face. You’ll also learn about Hitchcock’s obsession with blondes and his choice for Eva Marie Saint to star opposite Grant.

The Blu-ray release has had an amazing HD upgrade. Each scene, remastered in 1080p from the original VistaVision film elements, is presented with amazing clarity in 8K resolution. The depth of field presented in scenes, like the famous crop duster scene, are overwhelmingly stunning. Unfortunately, this also further calls into attention the scene’s close-ups of Cary Grant, who is visibly on a Sound Stage. It’s unfortunate that such a brilliant scene was compromised with the cut aways to Cary on a sound stage. If you ever wanted to know why Cary is on location during the wide shots, but on a sound stage for the close ups you can find out in the 2000 Documentary “Destination Hitchcock: The Making of North by Northwest.” The previously released documentary discusses an unfortunate continuity snafu that resulted in the need for the sound stage. The sound quality, however, doesn’t seem to have gone through the same meticulous upgrade. Seeing the beautiful picture without an equally well-mastered sound track can be a quick buzz kill. Hitchcock used sound as a character in his film as much as he used cinematography, so I wish that more attention were placed on the audio.

“North by Northwest” is a must have for any Hitchcock fan, film buff, or thriller fan. The truth is, this film belongs in every movie-watcher’s collection. Hitchcock’s work has never looked more stunning. The Storybook packaging, also used for the Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory Blu-ray release, is a great addition to this stellar release.

New Special Features Released for 50th Anniversary Blu-ray:
- Documentary: “The Master’s Touch: Hitchcock’s Signature Style”
- Documentary: “North by Northwest: One for the Ages”

Additional Special Features:
- Screenwriter commentary
- Music only track
- “Cary Grant: A Class Apart” (2003 TCM Documentary)
- “Destination Hitchcock: The Making of North by Northwest” hosted by Eva Marie Saint
- Photo Gallery
- Trailer Gallery