North by Northwest Review

North by Northwest is a Thriller film that was made in 1959. The film is about Roger O. Thornhill having a normal life and all of a sudden being mistaken for someone else in a restaurant. This all lasts for a while but it all ends with Roger O. Thornhill saving the day.
This film was directed by Alfred Hitchcock and written by Ernest Lehman.
The main actors in the film are:

Cary Grant as Roger O. Thornhill,
Eva Marie Saint as Eve Kendall,
James Mason as Phillip Vandamm.

North by Northwest fits the Thriller Genre because it has a Hero that doesn't need any props to save his life or other peoples lives and a Villain that has all the props needed but yet doesn't win. We notice that we have both Hero and Villain from the beginning of the film.
There are 'Fast pacing, Red herrings, Cliffhangers,' and other thriller conventions which make North by Northwest fit in the Thriller genre.
These are some of the Thriller conventions that show how North by Northwest fits in as a Thriller film:

Fast pacing which is used appropriately in scenes that it needs to be used in, this heightens the tension.

Red herring is used in the cafe where Eve pretends to shoot Mr O. Thornhill and he falls down and gets send away by the ambulance.

We then see a Cliffhanger when Eve falls of the cliff which makes us the audience think that she fell something has happened to her but yet we don't know if she is dead or what happened to her until we are shown.

North by Northwest applies to Todorov's Narrative Theory as it follows the narrative patterns as shown:

1- Equilibrium
North by Northwest contains Todorov’s theory of equilibrium where the beginning sequence seems to a classic example of an everyday scene.The character carries out his day to day routine where at this point it gives the audience an initial equilibrium.

2- Disruption
The crime then occurs as kidnapping takes place with the wrong person, and of course this is the mistaken identity of Rodger Thornhill, the protagonist of the film.
An untimely coincidence of Rodger O. Thornhill raising his hand for a waiter caused the two men of Phillip Vandamme’s gang to mistakenly think that he was George Kaplin, a federal agent.Upon this misunderstanding, Thornhill is kidnapped and is taken to Townsend to Phillip Vandamm’s house.

3- Recognition
After Vandamm labels Thornhill as Mr. Kaplan, Thornhill is confused as to why they think he is Mr.Kaplan. This enigma code is created, which lasts throughout the whole film as the audience question, ‘Who is George Kaplan?’, and ‘Where is he?’ This makes Thornhill realize that something has gone wrong but that they do not know.

4- Attempt to repair
Thornhill tried to fix this by trying to call the police and get Vandamm and his team caught. They didn't believe him as he is all over the news as a killer.

5- a return of new equilibrium
It is later revealed that there is no George Kaplan, and this may lead the audience to ask further questions for example, ‘If Kaplan isn't real, then why did they think Thornhill was Kaplan?’
That is where everything gets to an end and it all goes back to normal and Roger O. Thornhill and Eve Kendall get together.