North by Northwest (1959)

 Second viewing (probably, first one with original audio and widescreen); estimated date of previous viewing: in or  a little after December 19, 1984.

An advertising executive gets unwittingly mixed up in an espionage affair.

The implausible plot in this is just an excuse for some imaginative and photogenic sequences. The most noteworthy aspect of the movie is the strategic insertion of takes which create a sensation of strangeness either through their unusual angles or through their depiction of unusual landscapes, or of humans in unusual configurations, or some combination of those factors. So, one might say that it is a formally impressive movie, but its impact derives not from its dynamism but from static elements in its composition. Although the plot details are, as I pointed out, unimportant, the script does add value to the film, mainly through its witty dialogue, which has an above average (for the time) amount of sexual innuendo. Being mostly a visually-oriented spectacle, I don't know whether it makes sense to ascribe it a theme, but, if thus pressured, I'd say its theme is the number two.

Christopher Mulrooney (1956-2015) has a different view about it:

"A great picture of conversion to the cause, (...)."

He's right, of course. It was purportedly intended as light entertainment, but when you look at it from Mulrooney's angle, the lightness is seen in a different light. It's the same lightness of enlisting propaganda. 'Join the army and know the world', that sort of thing. Cold war is still war, after all.

Rating:  73 (unchanged)