Film Review: North By Northwest [dir. Alfred Hitchcock; 1959]

Here's one more reason why North By Northwest is brilliant: even though it stars James Mason, its story is absorbing enough to stop you from thinking about Eddie Izzard every two minutes... not that thinking of Izzard is to be avoided, mind you. Hitchcock's masterful tale of mistaken identity and Cold War spy games displays more intelligence in its first fifteen minutes than you'll find in the combined running time of most modern blockbusters. It's witty, gripping and stylish AND it features at least two sequences that have become classics of American cinema (one of which is notable for the fact that it makes absolutely no use of incidental music). A must-see oldie, if ever there was one.