North by Notrthwest - clip

North by Northwest
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Released: 1959
Genre: Thriller

The clip i watched showed the main character Roger O. Thornhill (Cary Gruant) get off a bus at a stop on a long road surrounded by barren fields. He soon see's a man get out a car and wait for a bus on the opposite side of the and thinks he might be the man he is looking for. This turns out to be a false platter after the tension builds to a anti climax. But when the spectator least expects it Roger is attacked by a small plane used to spray crops with chemicals. The fist shot is wide and sets the scene by showing the large open, lifeless area to which the main character is heading. By using a high angle to show the bus approaching the stop the director has still made the bus the focal point but emphasizes the distance Thornhill has traveled because the bus is a small object in the large landscape. This effect is achieved by showing the hole journey from the top of the long road to the stop in the foreground in one static shot as apposed to cutting to the bus stop or following the bus with a rail shot. Hitchcock choose to exclude background music and only includes dieogetic sound which further emphasizes the fact that he is in a life less environment and he creates a contrast between the settings and the characters and mise-en-scene. This makes the spectator pay attention to the cars that go past and the plane spraying chemicals in the background while also giving this scene that the character doesn’t belong their. Then Hitchcock uses static point of view shots which switch from one direction to another and show the characters reaction to his surroundings to give a sense of being lost while further introducing his surroundings. Another character is introduced when a man steps out a car and stands opposite Thornhill, this creates tension because of the Thornhill's reaction the mans presence and because of the mans similarly out of place look. The tension escalates when the two men begging an awkward conversation with Roger being the more nervous and unsure of the two. But the tension leads to an anti-climax when the man leaves on a bus but not before bringing your attention back to the plane when he points out the plane is spray a field that doesn’t have crops. This is followed another point of view, wide shot of the plane which begins to turn towards the character and almost hits him.