Con la muerte en los talones

La adaptación más americana, más colorida, más larga, más aventurera y, en todos los sentidos, la más magnífica del tema favorito de Hitchcock sobre un hombre falsamente acusado que huye. Cary Grant es el actor más simpático de su época, Eva Marie Saint es una bella y frágil profesional, y todo está tan fantásticamente fotografiado y montado que estoy súper feliz. Al bello aspecto formal contribuye el oscarizado diseño de producción, que desempeña aquí el mismo papel que en Psicosis o en Vértigo (De entre los muertos) - y eso es mucho decir, dado el género de la aventura relajante. Una película perfecta. (29.11.2004)

All of Alfred Hitchcock's films, including his most famous ones, naturally need to be judged in the context of the era in which they were made, because the ravages of time have logically left their mark on them. Nevertheless, in my opinion, many of them are a cinematic treat and contemporary filmmakers rarely come close to matching their quality. His films are usually a safe bet for me. Therefore, I was even more disappointed with this particular one because, in my eyes, it just didn't work at all and I had a hard time even finishing it. The incredibly naive and predictable script is to blame, and it is as if it had been written 20 years earlier. The direction is still reliable and the cast is stellar, but that doesn't change the fact that in the scenes that were supposed to be suspenseful, I could barely hold back laughter. Hitchcock certainly didn't intend to write a parody, just a slightly lighter thriller. He ended up making more of those later on. Overall impression: 40%. (11.03.2011)

The best Hitchcock I’ve seen so far! It only took ten minutes for me to be overcome by that feeling I get whenever I’m watching something exceptional, the joy that after so many films I can still come across one capable of thrilling me like a child. North by Northwest did that from the get go, and I followed the events on the screen almost without breathing until the end. 100% (10.08.2009)

A brilliant thriller with the protagonist’s wonderfully elaborated paranoia, the logic of a conspiracy thriller worked out to the last detail, and last but not least, a nice dose of black-humored trivialization, through which Hitchcock ironically winks at the viewer every now and then. It’s formally impeccable (the cinematography belongs in textbooks!), the acting is spot on (Cary Grant delivering cool lines with icy calm and Eva Marie Saint as the femme fatale is absolutely amazing), and on top of that, the tension builds up to the fabulous ending on Mount Rushmore. A flawless film that reflects the image of one thing only - pure genius! (29.10.2006)

Alfred Hitchcock as usual constructs the atmosphere perfectly, but even so, I was disappointed this time around. Roger's paranoia in the introduction meets all expectations (and clearly inspired David Fincher in The Game), but the premature climax comes with the cult scene of the crop-dusting plane. Afterwards, it just kinda weaves and weaves its webs until it finally reaches a characteristically suspenseful finale, which – after two hours of intrigue – simply isn't compelling enough. (06.08.2006)