Analysis
Symbols and Tropes
Hero's Journey
Ever notice that every blockbuster movie has the same fundamental pieces? A hero, a journey, some conflicts to muck it all up, a reward, and the hero returning home and everybody applauding his or...
Setting
From New York to Chicago, the Great Plains to Mount Rushmore, and BeyondWe know: it's a bit of a cliché to say that a movie's setting is a character in its own right. But that cliché never rang t...
Point of View
Action-PackedNorth by Northwest tells a great story in a traditional chronological narrative. No time travel, no flashbacks or flash-forwards—just one action-packed scene after another unfolding...
Genre
Action/ThrillerHitch's film draws from several genres, combining straight-up action-film awesomeness with elements of the intrigue-filled and suspenseful psychological thriller. But, as we emphasiz...
What's Up With the Title?
Most obviously, the title North by Northwest names the general direction Thornhill and the other characters are heading: from New York to Chicago by train, then to the Dakotas by plane.But at anoth...
What's Up With the Ending?
Famously, NXNW ends with a scene of married (thanks to the Hays Code) bliss and also an embarrassingly obvious phallic symbol (thanks to Hitchcock). On the one hand, this is a sweet moment, since i...
Shock Rating
PG-13All the "mature themes" stuff in the film comes from its sexual innuendo. North by Northwest features some pretty seriously steamy scenes for a film made in 1959. (Then again, this was also th...