North By Northwest (1959)

4.5 / 5  Aug '11
Tagline:  Alfred Hitchcock takes you.... North by Northwest!
Directed by:  Alfred Hitchcock
Written by:  Ernest Lehman
Actors include:  Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason
Genre:  Thriller, Mystery
Length:  131 minutes
Banned:  Nope

Review:
Yet another reason why [Artist77324] is considered "The Master of Suspense"!  This taut thriller stars [Artist143734] as Roger Thornhill, a New York ad executive who is suddenly kidnapped from a restaurant.  His captors seem convinced that he's a Government spy but of course it's a mistaken identity thing.  The more Thornhill starts investigating the Spy, the deeper he gets wound into the mess and the more convinced the bad guys become that he really is who they thought.  It's just so well written and tightly wound that it makes for one hell of a great film.  This even has some extremely memorable and spectacular chase scenes (featuring a crop duster and Mount Rushmore) and it's pretty much non-stop excitement from beginning to end.  Who can argue with that?  If you haven't seen this film then you absolutely must, one of Hitchcock's best and undoubtedly a classic that everyone should enjoy!

Availability:  On DVD and Blu-Ray

Strangers On A Train (1951)

4.5 / 5 Feb '11
Tagline: N/A
Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock
Written by: Raymond Chandler, Czenzi Ormonde
Actors include: Farley Granger, Robert Walker, Ruth Roman
Genre: Thriller, Comedy, Mystery
Length: 101 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
What a fantastic black comedy/mystery film...okay so by this point based solely on seeing parodies and what not I knew what the basic plot was. Still, the character development and the story and details make this more than worthy of a viewing. The idea is that two men who don't know each other meet on a train, Bruno (played brilliantly by Robert Walker) suggests that they murder someone for the other thus eliminating motive. Guy sort of shirks it off not thinking much about it, until his wife turns up strangled. The sense of wit, and sheer excitement of the tale makes this extremely easy to watch. That and I found the "carousel" scene shockingly wicked and unexpected. Maybe this isn't Hitchcock's absolute best, it's still one of his most entertaining and I'd recommend it highly to just about anyone, very satisfying.

Availability:  On DVD