North By Northwest Analysis
Gabe Pepe
Professor Younger
Intro to Film Studies
12/5/13
Word Count: 2,506
North by Northwest Analysis
The film North by Northwest (Alfred Hitchcock) is a captivating mystery that keeps the audience intrigued throughout the narrative. The film and editing decisions dramatize necessary moments and add to the less serious comical moments. By analyzing the scene in which Thornhill goes to Eve’s hotel room after being deceived by her and almost killed by the plane, one can see a lot of themes that are common throughout the film. The scene is composed of a long conversation between Thornhill and Eve. Eve is trying to distance herself from Thornhill, but Thornhill knows that he was set up, so he is very persistent about having dinner with her. Eventually, Eve agrees to dinner and Thornhill gets a good look at the notebook that Eve suspiciously wrote something on while she was on the phone earlier in the scene. The sequence of events in this scene reflect the attraction the two have for each other, but also Thornhill’s suspicion of Eve and that Eve’s concealing her identity. It is unclear what Eve’s motives are at this point in the film but it is clear that she feels regret. The director’s choices in editing, narrative functions, acting styles, mise-en-scene, cinematography, and music/noise in the hotel scene reflect many narrative and editing themes that are prevalent throughout the film. Through decisions by the director and powerful acting, the Hotel scene reflects the emotions of Thornhill and Eve by enhancing the drama, which makes the film more entertaining. Shot transitions in scenes featuring dialogue, such as the hotel scene, allows the audience to clearly see the emotions of multiple characters. The hotel scene, which is roughly five minutes long, has a lot of cuts because at points there is a lot of dialogue. At the beginning of the hotel scene, the camera cutting to a close up of the newspaper with the front-page title being, “Two Die as Crop-Duster Plane
Professor Younger
Intro to Film Studies
12/5/13
Word Count: 2,506
North by Northwest Analysis
The film North by Northwest (Alfred Hitchcock) is a captivating mystery that keeps the audience intrigued throughout the narrative. The film and editing decisions dramatize necessary moments and add to the less serious comical moments. By analyzing the scene in which Thornhill goes to Eve’s hotel room after being deceived by her and almost killed by the plane, one can see a lot of themes that are common throughout the film. The scene is composed of a long conversation between Thornhill and Eve. Eve is trying to distance herself from Thornhill, but Thornhill knows that he was set up, so he is very persistent about having dinner with her. Eventually, Eve agrees to dinner and Thornhill gets a good look at the notebook that Eve suspiciously wrote something on while she was on the phone earlier in the scene. The sequence of events in this scene reflect the attraction the two have for each other, but also Thornhill’s suspicion of Eve and that Eve’s concealing her identity. It is unclear what Eve’s motives are at this point in the film but it is clear that she feels regret. The director’s choices in editing, narrative functions, acting styles, mise-en-scene, cinematography, and music/noise in the hotel scene reflect many narrative and editing themes that are prevalent throughout the film. Through decisions by the director and powerful acting, the Hotel scene reflects the emotions of Thornhill and Eve by enhancing the drama, which makes the film more entertaining. Shot transitions in scenes featuring dialogue, such as the hotel scene, allows the audience to clearly see the emotions of multiple characters. The hotel scene, which is roughly five minutes long, has a lot of cuts because at points there is a lot of dialogue. At the beginning of the hotel scene, the camera cutting to a close up of the newspaper with the front-page title being, “Two Die as Crop-Duster Plane