Let your content react to good technique

I couldn't blink when I saw North by Northwest's opening titles. It is an old film, and I was really only interested in the story. I didn't expect myself to be impressed by the film's look.

Not a very attractive title for a movie, North by Northwest. If it were just another DVD on the library's shelf, most people would give it a pass. It seemed to me like just another Cary Grant movie old movie like to watch.

Of course, if I had done my research earlier, I would have uncovered the trailer:



Go find a copy. I'll wait.

So how was Hitchcock a master of suspense?
I'll let the man himself explain.



Click here for more of Hitchcock movie-making, thanks to the AFI.