title sequence of North by Northwest

[otacs2]

When I miss the bus, I feel like Hitchcock and it makes me feel more happy then catching the bus in time.

[hackerkiller666]

hell yeah!!!

[DrBraids]

Name of song?

[JoyGrenade]

I can't hear this without thinking of "Mars, the Bringer of War".

[skershaw2000]

@JoyGrenade noway Hermmann and Holst are remotely alike... its more of a Bartok or Bernstein influence.

[radicright]

I think James Mason's perfomance proves he was a much better actor the Cary.

[Bebe7077]

Great film by a brilliant director.

[CrashJakFan1994]

1:26 Rick Astley?

[Kyesight]

@CrashJakFan1994

1:29

[kingofpointless]

@CrashJakFan1994 Wow!

[David0794]

10 people missed their bus...

[REDX3211]

Ticket Man : Something wrong with your eyes ?

Roger : Yes, there sensitive to questions.

[shlockofgod]

So ahead of it's time.

[Sydneyy24]

I love how the music perfectly portrays the rest of the film. Well done, Hitchcock.

[zarniize]

this is so old skool :D i kinda reminds me of tom and jerry

[OpponentsOfMeism]

Best Hitchcock cameo ever!

[BethGoth15]

I have a feeling I will enjoy doing my homework. I just watched the movie, enjoyed it, and now I have to write an essay about it :P

[Tryzon]

They reuse the shot from 1:24 at 1:51.

And is it just me, or does one of the blokes on the right look like Rick Astley?

[gmcclelland1992]

You know what this music is basically saying: "FUCKING RUN (but in the coolest way possible)" 

[BethGoth15]

@gmcclelland1992 LOL! I can see what you mean!

[Vladdyboy]

wasn't this music used SEVERAL times by the newer episodes of Family Guy

thumbs down if you hate the fact they used this particular song.

[JazzKeyboardist1]

is the only reason it is titled this is because he keeps moving north by northwest to dakota? i like rushmore's back door

[CamrinWilliamDesign]

Saul Bass = genius

[LogSNES]

This movie kicks ass

[NeonicFilm1138]

I could listen to this for hours...

[Kerlerot]

@NeonicFilm1138 moi aussi ;-) me too !

I know this movie by heart, but in... french. My english is too poor, alas ;-[

[Nealhugh]

eva!!!

[Isle0fRed]

I just missed the bus. Damn it

[raspberrymuffin]

Awesome intro, I've always loved the intro to this film.

[agrippaagrippa]

best ever. bernhad hermans best. best tricky thriller from hitch.

fantastic screens, very modern typography.

i saw it in cologne in a cinema. what a great experience.

another way to see. if you ever have a chance to see it in cinema.

do it. it does not compare with tv, dvd etc...

but my favorite movie ever is: how to get a millionaire.

[DanielNeedham2500]

I love the end of the title sequence when Hichcock misses the bus "bugger!" How many times has that happened to us in real life

[DaveM599]

Lame?11 Dear Lord! How could anyone possibly think this dynamic, wonderful music could be lame.

[humbleradio]

"Comic thriller" ? That's like saying Casablanca is a comic wartime drama or Maltese Falcon, a comic noir. C'mon. Hollywood always had a sense of humor in their most serious films. That doesn't make them comedies.

[Dalek1230]

@humbleradio this aint hollywood, this is hitch

[humbleradio]

@Dalek1230 I'm afraid you're incorrect. This is Hitch in Hollywood. Hitch at Gaumont was Hitch in English film studio system.

[Dalek1230]

@humbleradio Watch Vertigo and tell me thats a studio film, it's not is a personal one

[humbleradio]

@Dalek1230 Dude. I don't need to watch it. I know it. Besides, Hollywood is a phrase, an institution, not a genre or style. Each director, depending on their clout, stamps each project with their own style. Look, don't take my word for it. Ask anyone! The OP stated this was NBNW was a comedy. Nonsense. If you believe it, fine. Whatever.

[Gencturk92]

I havent seen this film, its not in the hitchcock collection. vertigo and north by northwest are similar, which one do you think is better ?

[humbleradio]

@Gencturk92 They are very different films. If you prefer darker stories, Vertigo, if you prefer more suspense then NBNW. Either way, you should see them both.

[sammycut1]

I watched this a few months ago for a film class. How I ever got through life without seeing this amazing film is beyond me. Truly great.

[agnesdeque]

Ca c'est du cinéma.Et la musique est GENIALE.

[radicright]

james mason, cary, jessie royce landis (cary's mother), and leo g. carrol really came together in this movie, my favorite!

[MJBN77]

This is one of the best movies ever! Hollywood....check this one out again and rethink what you doing lately!

[humbleradio]

@MJBN77 There is very little original thought in Hollywood today.

[jlmax609]

@MJBN77 As long as they don't remake this one! ;)

[xkendylkaosx]

Supposedly one of the first recognized films to use kinetic typography.

[MisterMisc]

Why in the world did you cut out the MGM Lion? That was part of the title sequence and music.

[TheClam88]

@MisterMisc Thank YOu!!! YES!!

[alexalex3131]

Hitch made many great "films". This was one of his great "Movies", if you get the difference. A side note: The sequence in the U.N. look just as authentic as Nicole Kidman's "The Interperter", which was actually shot there. (Although Cary did trespass on U.N. grounds in an outdoor scene)

[gtrrs71]

Saul Bass was the grandfather of all title designers. Fantastic! Thanks for posting.

[ybravura]

@gtrrs71 If you read about cinema, or if you hear a discussion about movie titles, they're always compared to the these titles by Saul Bass. Whatever your opinion of this movie, these titles seem to be the gold standard -- the greatest ever done.

Of course, the greatest soundtrack of all time adds to the effect.

[Englishsea24]

This one, along with Vertigo, my fave Hitchcock movies.

Cary Grant is priceless, a perfect actor.

[vittoriostoraro]

Wonderful film. Wonderful title sequence. Watching NBNW always makes me happy,

it's also so alive with the joy of Filmmaking.

[simonheart007]

A masterpiece

[marcparella]

It's Hitchcock's best cameo.

[kitsa42]

Reminds me of Fincher's opening credits for Panic Room. Wonder if he was inspired by this film in any way like he was for The Game.

[924142707]

There are so many white people in that city!

[vittoriostoraro]

@924142707

Must EVERYTHING be about race ? YES, believe it or not in 1959 "White People" were the majority of the Employees in Midtown offices. However if you bothered to look closely (which you didn't) there are actually Black people in the crowds as well.

[SingHouse]

@924142707 OMG NON-SHOCKA NEW YORK IS FULL OF WHITE PEOPLE IN 1959 WE MUST DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS!!!!!!!

[WorldofTomorrow420]

@SingHouse They did! =o)

[Dalek1230]

@924142707 Thats New York

[Zlagie]

@924142707 U be a brother.

[bjay1001]

Leo G Carroll went on to become Mr. Waverly in "The Man from UNCLE." Martin Landau went on to become Roland Hand on "Mission Impossible. Edward Platt was "The Chief" on "Get Smart." Such great talents!

[psynema]

The opening remind anyone else of Koyanisquaatsi?

[shcuts]

One of my favorite films of all time. Thanks for posting the Saul Bass titles. Cool how they dissolve into the UN building. Hitch missing the bus cracks me up every time.

[EliteKids]

Best Hitchcock Flick Ever

[RaymondDundas]

Saul Mahhfuckin Bass

[island711]

This film is the blueprint for every James Bond, Indiana Jones and countless other tongue-in-cheek action-adventure thrillers. One of the very best and most under-appreciated movies of all time.

[humbleradio]

@island711 It's not tongue in cheek. It's the way most of Hitch's films and many other American films of the day were written...with cleverness and wit. The Thing, Casablanca, Sahara, Robin Hood, All diff genres, all with witty lines. Today, everything is pigeonholed into clear categories that folks don't realize that most movies before 1960 had general appeal to everyone, you laughed, you cried, you pondered, as the saying goes. And always with a happy ending.

[Silverwire100]

My favourite title sequence of all time ends with my favourite Hitchcock cameo of all time.

[kingcaesar5]

this is my ring tone and no one around me knows where it comes from, there always commenting how lame it is. There are a lot of idiots in this world

[jeanaro]

@kingcaesar5 you sir have the most amazing ringtone there is

[kingcaesar5]

@jeanaro class recognizes class

[SingHouse]

@kingcaesar5 I feel for you.

[manchesterUFan08]

@kingcaesar5 I love this piece!

[adrianlindsaylohan]

@kingcaesar5 "there always commenting how lame it is. There are a lot of idiots in this world" My god...... When you are ready to call out to all the idiots in the world, please check your own spelling first.

[kingcaesar5]

@adrianlindsaylohan wow, i missed a word, big fucking deal, mate. Its not even a spelling error or typo, just a missed word but maybe i shouldn't be surprised, you're i.d. name says it all.

In the future if you want to correct my grammar just ask yourself one simple question "does anyone besides you give a fuck?"

[adrianlindsaylohan]

@kingcaesar5 Neither I nor you know if anyone actually gives a "fuck" about my comment (that was a rather lame comeback on your part). However, I am entitled to say something, now you're not an example of someone smart when you can't even distinguish the difference between there and their. That's like saying "I have a healthy diet" while eating fast food everyday. I assure you, there is a noticeable difference when you type there and their.

[kingcaesar5]

@adrianlindsaylohan there was nothing possessive in my comment so why would i need a their instead of there are or they are.

[adrianlindsaylohan]

@kingcaesar5 This is from your comment "and no one around me knows where it comes from, THERE always commenting how lame it is." I capitalized your error, it should be they're. I apologize for any inconvenience I may have caused, thank you for choosing flight express.

[AbsoluteMonarchist]

@adrianlindsaylohan Games Mr. Kaplan? Must we?

[cathepsut]

One of my favourite Hitchcock movies, thanks for posting this!

[bonzohart]

Wonderful score, and great credits sequence! The movie ain't bad, neither.

[radicright]

Guess I blew this one!

[radicright]

Answer: The windows of the UN building are probably tinted green to filter out the sun.

[marc2789]

Fantastic! Amazing!

[agrippaagrippa]

why is it at the beginning green?

any idea?

[mikebuckland4]

@agrippaagrippa I believe that it is continuing from the green at the very beginning, with the MGM logo, used most probably because it is arresting and lurid, showing the film is contemporary and introduces at first the sense of mystery and the illusion of disparity and reality, most probably, which continues throughout the play.

[radicright]

I saw most of hitch's movies when they came out, starting with marnie in 1955 It was a different era then. more resembling the Victorian era. Hitchcock was considered outre, the king of "film noir". I think he never got an oscar because he was considered too contraversial. It would be the same as giving an oscar today to polanski. However, at 10 years old I remember all the kids would talk about is "have you seen Psycho yet?"

[cbuhl79]

@radicright Uhh...Polanski did win an Oscar.

[humbleradio]

@radicright I always considered Psycho to be overrated. Even Hitch only used his television crew to shoot it, rather than the cinema unit.

[agrippaagrippa]

still perfect.

wow. 1959. great movie.

intelligent trailer. fantastic grafic design.

and the movie a cocktail. thrill, fun and suspense.

no better way. thats cinema. a shame that hitch never get an acadamy award.

[AiDaN91]

I saw this for the first time today, (I'm 18) and I love it. Now to find it on DVD....

[pbuchinho]

One of the best Hitchcock's movies and an amazing OST of Bernard Herrmann ...

[DarwinsFriend]

@pbuchinho

Phillip Glass is a hack in comparison to Herrmann and stole everything he's ever written from Bernard.

This music is iconic and with the way the opening is shot - brings NYC into instantaneous recognition. Just epic.

[Nejdii]

I just don't like it, that's all.

[Nejdii]

God I love this music, it has been stuck in my head for a few days now. The movie is pretty boring though.

[furrowin]

@Nejdii ..... the movie isnt boring overhyped cartoon videogames pretending to be films ....... AVATAR ..... are boring

[009firefox]

Cary Grant really was a class of his own!

[ZiuoxZui]

Not to nitpick, but I'm not sure I'd refer to this movie as a "comic thriller". As with most of Hitchcock's movies, they were directed with Hitchcock's wry sense of humor. Also, the ones with Cary Grant particularly reflected his urbane wit.

[humbleradio]

@ZiuoxZui It's not nitpicking at all. It's incorrect. It's not a comedy, comic thriller, or anything like it. It's witty, as all good films were back then.

[SteevDragon67]

ah, saul bass' work is great! I'm studying him in my graphic design class! I love the obligatory cameo by alfred at the end! good stuff!

[PeterFirthFan]

55-year-old Grant was FAR too old. They should have cast a better, younger actor like William Holden. Grant looked the same age as his "mother"!

[eddiem1111]

Close. Grant was 55. Jesse Royce Landis was 57.

[radicright]

I saw this movie when it came out in 1959 when I was 9 years old. Even then I thought it was odd that Cary's mother was the same age he was!

[Englishsea24]

@radicright they were both in their mid fifties-she looked so much older!

[liduck52]

@PeterFirthFan Disagree.Grant was fine.They should have gotten an older woman to play his mom.

[bondfool]

I can't wait to see this sequence on Blu-Ray.

[sd006]

There's nothing wrong with Hans Zimmer.

[SingHouse]

Oh my god... Bernard Hermann...... what... a... GENIUS!!!! Where the HELL did he get the inspiration to write this MASTERPIECE of a score??? It blows my mind everytime I listen to it. Simply... I'm speechless. wow.

[RangerGordon]

I love it too. I always wonder if this score in particular, with its wonderful hemiola rhythms, was an inspiration for Philip Glass.

[Imran500]

Awesome movie

[TerryOS]

Titles by Saul Bass...I think the Mad Men opening must have taken some inspiration from Mr. Bass.

[pretzelberg]

Classic opening titles featuring an introduction to a fantastic Bernard Herrmann score.

[PeterFirthFan]

Grant was far too old. Should have cast a better actor like Bill Holden.

[rmoreland72]

The opening credits?

[moviesmovies1]

look who misses the buss at 1:49

[TheT4xid3rmist]

hitchcock, he appears in every one of his movies.

[sistalinda]

Not sure why you got thumbs down for that statement. I thought that was the case... that he did a cameo in each of his pictures.

Someone otherwise?

[TheT4xid3rmist]

Maybe somebody didn't put my comment into context and thought i was just spouting an apparent obvious statement.

[MaventaofCosta]

Who else feels like some of this Bernard Hermann score influenced Phillip Glass's later work Koyanisqautsi? The intro sequence is quite similar to a piece entitled Vessels with very similar sounds. Just IMO

[dragonboy718]

your right! never thought of that...

[pretzelberg]

Now that you mention it - perhaps. But all great composers are influenced by their predecessors. Here you can hear both Stravinsky before him and John Williams or Danny Elfman from more recent times. What you don't hear, however, is the (for me) dreaded Hans Zimmer or Thomas Newman.

[curlytoes79]

This movie is a riot - like a cross between a James Bond flick and Get Smart! Even if you're not into action/caper movies, check this one out.

[Trund27]

@curlytoes79 Awesome comparison!

[bagueley]

@curlytoes79

Agreed> Great film and great Herrmann score. And of course, in reply to your description, "The Chief" appears in it too!

[clintbronson5]

HEY! It's a JAMES BOND FILM :)

[PeterFirthFan]

A homosexual James Bond?

[barcelonian]

S aoul Bass and Bernard Hermann fantastic Mix. Some years later, on TV, the Kojak credits and V music was similar.

[seejaytftf]

"beautyofcolor" is right; the soundtrack does totally fit the movie, in that's it's not just exciting, but a bit crazed and loopy, befitting the implausible events that Mr Thornhill goes through.

Also, superb credits by Saul Bass--they're completely aligned with the building, in the days before they would have had computers to cooridinate them.

[seejaytftf]

BERNARD HERRMANN - major fail on my part for not mentioning the name of the great film composer.

[visitRomania]

I wonder why the producers didn`t use in the movie the real name of the agency where is hired George Kaplan....

And the director of this agency is called "The Profesor".... :)

It`s a nice movie though....

[ivisalmon]

haha funny how Sir Alfred loses the bus

[theboatdrifts]

anybody notice how similar this is to kooyanisqatsi? obvious influence

[ddsmooth]

saul bass was a genius

[seventeen80]

This also is a very direct influence on the opening sequence for Panic Room.

[blueeyesofice]

yeah, and the theme's just like the one used in the episode of 'moonlighting' called 'north by north dipesto.'

[tdirtyatl]

Obvious influence on the "Mad Men" intro.

[mattymeanmachine]

fucin hell

[Wilbot45]

Classic!

[arisztidoltz]

I <3 this movie so much!

[splent]

Great music in this movie... hemiolas are awesome.

[moondog202001]

Ahh...vistavision.

[Imran500]

I love this movie more than Psycho.

[DrMindBender76]

Hitchcock misses the bus at 1:50!! Classic!!

[DeutscheBagge]

This was a great title sequence for its time. Bernard Hermann made it gold.

[crmchzandchives2]

I wonder what sort of technology was used to produce this intro way back in 1959. It seems pretty advanced for the time.

[ObamaRules4Ever]

William Holden would have been far better than the overage Grant.

[Blokor]

Is it A. Hitchcock himself at the end of the video (fat man that missed the bus) ?

[Conchobhar]

He missed his own bus.

:(

[Rocketjay12]

Great film! Cary Grant was letter perfect in his role.

[ThatsGoodTellivision]

Nobody needs to know how much you hate this movie.

I have read over 100 comments of yours dissing this film.

If you hate this film, why are you watching clips of it?

If you can't say something nice, then just shut up.

Seriously, THINK!!!

[deibid2003]

to watch the rest of this great movie, enter here:

blogger-films.blogspot.*com/20­08/11/north-by-northwest.html

[040469ian]

the plot,direction, acting,and suspense within this movie stand it up against and above most films made since,classic is an over used word these days but this film absolutely deserve's that tag and it remains one my all time favourite's

[040469ian]

your post was 12 words overlong, but it did make me laugh, cheers kid!

[040469ian]

CHRIST!! so much aggressive negativity and homophobia in one born as late as 1994(one of my favourite years as it goes)unless, of course your lyin' 'about your age, in which case you really have got problems.

[daedalusomega]

so i see, from the words you use, that you most likely are a sophisticated connoisseur. alas, you don't appreciate the superior quality of this movie, nor seem to realize that movies now are statistically inferior in quality that those from former times. may i suggest you to read a book?

[Leviinator5000]

I thought Grant looked pretty good for his age. The movie is a pure masterpiece. Sure there are some obviously dated parts, but as a whole, I think the story and characters were entertaining even by today's standards. Please, learn to express your opinion without vulgarity. You might have a chance for society to accept you.

[ThatsGoodTellivision]

shut the hell up, this is a great film, keep you, and your friends opinions to t yourselves. Jerk.