North by Northwest

North by Northwest is an action/thriller movie with a very well told story that is highly thought provoking. The story follows a man who was framed for murder and is forced to traverse the country to escape the police.  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_by_Northwest

The movie was very entertaining for being shot in 1959 and the story manages to feel fresh even with today's films. This is most likely due to Alfred Hitchcock's directing skills that were so influential. Although the story elements are up to par with today's standards, some of the cinematography was often not. Shots often dragged on for too long and 9/10 of them were medium to wide angles. Some scenes like the one where Thornhill is being attacked by a crop dusting airplane were very long when there was no reason for it. This scene in particular lasts about 4 minutes. Despite it being too long, it still manages to be an iconic scene from the movie because of it's ground breaking cinematography with moving shots, quick jump cuts and first person perspectives. whereas most of the other parts of the movie felt like you were watching a play. (as a lot of films from that time did)

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbpUcAI86MY

The story is told how Thornhill sees it and the camera goes where he goes. This allows a connection to take place with the viewer especially at the beginning of the movie. I felt as confused and disoriented as Thornhill himself.

It would be hard for me to find an element I haven't used from this film. By this I mean that the film was so influential that I use many of the elements without even knowing it. For example the cinema graphic elements such as the editing style and camera movement.

An element I have already learned and used in most of my films is the importance of good dialogue.

Hitchcock did an excellent job of  conveying story elements and using ground breaking cinematography techniques.

It is hard to think of a way that this work could improve because of the time period it was made. But if it was made today I would have made it shorter.

Overall this was a quality film and I recommend you to check it out if you're up for something different.