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North by Northwest (1959)

Posted By: Mindsnatcher
North by Northwest (1959)

North by Northwest (1959)
50th Anniversary Edition
Full Blu-ray | bdmv/m2ts | AVC @ 35.5 Mbps, 24 fps | 1920 x 1080 | 2hr 16min | 30.6 GB
Audio: English AC-3, 6 channels @ 1509 Kbps | Audio 2: Russian AC-3 5.1 @ 1509 Kbps | Subtitles: English, Russian
Genre: Adventure, Mystery, Thriller


North by Northwest (1959)
North by Northwest (1959)
North by Northwest (1959)
North by Northwest (1959)



As the first of Hitchcock's films to arrive on Blu-ray in the U.S.—The 39 Steps was released recently in the U.K.—there's been a great deal of anticipation and outright skepticism regarding North by Northwest's picture quality. For what it's worth, I'm thoroughly impressed by this new 1080p/VC-1 encoded transfer, which was scanned at an 8k resolution using the film's original VistaVision production elements. The film has also been given an outstanding restoration; there's no print damage at all, not a speck or fleck, and it appears that no tampering has been done with the film's grain structure, which is still readily visible, albeit thin and unobtrusive. (There are exceptions. An insert shot of Martin Landau at the 1:45:50 mark is incredibly grainy. Not sure what the story is here, but it's obviously a source-related issue.) Color has received a slight boost in saturation from prior DVD releases, and the Technicolor hues are rich, stable, and—I'll say it—dreamy, presenting an ideal, Hollywood-ized vision of mid-century America. Black levels are spot on, contrast is pleasantly weighted, and shadow delineation is revealing. Cary Grant looks tan as always, but skin tones are warm and flattering throughout. Though the film isn't razor sharp by today's standards, overall clarity is greatly increased with this release, and for a 50-year-old film, there are several moments of stunning depth and presence. Just check out the crane shot of the empty expanse of highway as Thornhill's bus pulls up to a stop in the middle of nowhere. Or the shot of Grant crouching in the cornfield. Or the meeting between Thornhill and Eve in the pine woods. There were a few times when I rewatched sequences just to take in the beauty of the cinematography. Could the film look any better? Naysayers will always find faults, and it's hard to say what future technology holds, but at our present state it's difficult to imagine a more aptly realized version of North by Northwest.

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