"North By Northwest" - 70mm Screening at the Egyptian, Hollywood, CA, USA |
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| Written by: William Kallay, Los Angeles, USA | Date: 22.07.2024 |
 Warner Bros. and FotoKem have restored yet another late 1950s
masterpiece, Alfred Hitchcock’s brilliant
“North By Northwest”. Earlier
this year of 2024, I saw the outstanding restoration of the 1956
classic, "The
Searchers". Like that film, Hitchcock’s delightful
romantic caper looks and sounds simply gorgeous.Filmed in VistaVision, “North by Northwest” lends its masterful images to the 70mm format brilliantly. Nearly every shot in this film was expertly directed and filmed. Robert Burks’ cinematography, Saul Bass’ iconic title sequence, Robert F. Boyle’s production design, and of course Hitchcock’s direction, fill the screen with visual confectionery. • Go to “North By Northwest”: The 70mm Presentations • Go to The Paramount VistaVision Process • Go to "Streets of Fire" in 70mm At the Aero Theatre, Santa Monica, CA, USA • Go to "The Searchers" - 70mm Screening at the Aero, Santa Monica, CA, USA The film has been available on home video in various formats for decades. Watching it on television loses a lot of Hitchcock’s staging, intricate acting moments from Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint, and it is easy to miss many of Ernest Lehman’s very funny lines of dialogue. Seeing “North by Northwest” on the Egyptian’s big screen in 70mm with a nearly sold-out house showcases how wonderful this film is. This is the way to see it. The audience this particular evening laughed in all the right moments. Watching Saint in glorious 70mm, one could not fall in love with her. Cary Grant was on top of his game playing the suave and very funny Roger Thornhill. James Mason and Martin Landau were masterful villains of long ago. Warner Bros. restoration, just like their work on “The Searchers,” is Oscar worthy. Despite being 65 years-old, “North by Northwest” looks fresh. Between Warner Bros. and FotoKem, they have done a masterful job in restoring the film. VistaVision lends itself very well to the 70mm format. Though not as “sharp” and bright looking as, say, a film shot in 65mm, “North by Northwest” is spectacular to see this way. The 70mm format allows for the original VistaVision footage to look incredibly stable, vibrant, and healthy. The soundtrack has been caringly and tastefully remixed in 5.1 surround sound. The first aspect of the film that will surprise audiences is how clean and aggressive Bernard Herrmann’s score now sounds. The surround sound from our seated position in the back of the Egyptian auditorium was enveloped in Herrmann’s theme from the opening title sequence. It had a punch. (We did notice that in some parts of the overall excellent audio restoration, there were parts of the film in which the dialogue was difficult to hear. There was also occasional reverberation in the auditorium, but was by no means bad). There may some discussion among film purists over the film’s remixed soundtrack. Generally speaking, I consider myself a film and audio purist. If a film was recorded and presented in mono, it should be shown that way, as an example. But I am also open to reinterpretation of a soundtrack if it adds to the overall film presentation. This new remix works well in “North by Northwest” The film is epic, somewhat modern, and is paced well in the first place. I felt that Herrmann’s score in surround got me more into the film as never before. Sitting inside the newly beautifully restored Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, a flood of movie memories hit me. For 25 years, I, along with my good friend and fellow 70mm historian, Michael Coate, have seen dozens of 70mm prints here. "Lawrence of Arabia", "2OO1: A Space Odyssey", "Oklahoma!" and "Baraka". Being able to see the beautifully restored 70mm print of “North by Northwest” here was moviegoing bliss. The film was in fantastic company of films presented in 70mm. Special thanks to Michael Coate and Thomas Hauerslev |
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