North by NorthWest (1959).

Information on North by Northwest:

Director: Alfred Hitchcock.

Writer:Ernest Lehmam.

Genres: Adventure, mystery, thriller, etc.

Plot: New York advertising executive Roger Thornhill is kidnapped by a gang of spies led by Philip Vandamm, who believe Thornhill is CIA agent George Kaplan. Thornhill escapes, but must find Kaplan in order to clear himself of a murder it is believed he committed. Following Kaplan to Chicago as a fugitive from justice, Thornhill is helped by beautiful Eve Kendall. In Chicago, she delivers a message to Kaplan that almost costs Thornhill his life when he is chased across a cornfield by a crop-dusting plane. Written by filmfactsman

source:http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0053125/

North by Northwest (1959) is a suspense film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and James Mason, and featuring Leo G. Carroll and Martin Landau. The screenplay was written by Ernest Lehman, who wanted to write "the Hitchcock picture to end all Hitchcock pictures". The film is one of several Hitchcock movies with a film score by Bernard Herrmann and features a famous title sequence by the graphic designer Saul Bass.

source:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_by_Northwest_(film)

In class we watched North by Northwest and took notes on the thriller techniques used, for example:

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  In the scene where Roger is taken to the mystery house, the room he is taken into the curtains are closed and the lights are turned on this gives a sense of mystery.


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  In the scene where the men are trying to kill Roger but no-one knows why there is music used for suspense.


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  Also Eve, the seductive femme fatale draws Roger into the drama. Femme fatales are used a lot in thrillers to draw the hero/heroine in, sometimes there is also a girl who needs to be saved which is the romance figure. This gives the audience more to think about.


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  Also Roger always gets away from the trouble just in time. This is very typcial of a thriller something that is used for all heros/heroines this makes them seem superior for the audience. However it still makes the audience worry for them by them only getting away in the last few minutes.