Suspense In The Film 'North By Northwest' By Alfred Hitchcock

Hitchcock is a director who makes a movie suspenseful in his own way. He is know as “the master of suspense.” His movies have oftimes become classic of thriller and they are enjoyable to watch. One of the most enjoyable movie he has directed is North by Northwest. Hitchcock has directed movies like Strangers on the train, that have similar features as North By Northwest but the one that have more ratings and “has gone on to take its place as one of the best-loved films in motion picture history” (Ehrenstein par1) is North by Northwest. Most importantly, the setting, camera angle, sound, music is so powerful that it made the film stood out from other Hitchcock films. Even Robin Wood commends it for “its charms, its deftness, the constant flow

The audience were left in suspense as the “slow establishing shot of the area emphasises Thornhill’s vulnerability in such an unfamiliar surroundings” (Onanuga par4). At first, the extreme-wide shot shows the crop duster moving around the surroundings, no one expected it to come after Thornhill because it was “full daylight, completely open space, and a very fast machine” (McGee, Stafford, Thompson par9). Moreover, “Thornhill has managed to charm, bribe or bluster his way out of whatever danger is about to befall him” (Onanuga par4), but surprisingly he didn’t not see this one coming, he was helpless, the medium shot allows the audience to see the dust all over his suit and the crop duster moving fast towards him. “Neither Thornhill nor the audience are still quite sure how to feel about the plane, which is getting closer and noisier all the time, and it is clearly not doing what it’s supposed to be” (Onanuga par7).

Hitchcock’s techniques in North by Northwest to create suspense is unquestionable, because we have seen some of the elements of the mise en scene and camera shots he used to keep the audience guessing throughout the film. The film is “the wittiest, most sophisticated thriller ever made” (Ehrenstein par1). The film have “extraordinary technical skill or martini-dry sense of fun” (Ehrenstein par2), therefore, it is clear that North by Northwest is one of the most suspenseful movies of all