8mm Forum: Deranns North By Northwest

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Topic: Deranns North By Northwest

Lars Pettersson
Master Film Handler

Posts: 282
From: Stockholm, Sweden
Registered: Jan 2007

posted June 06, 2007 05:37 AM

Here´s my review of the Derann print of "North by Northwest". The technical aspects of the print itself I´ll cover towards the end of the review.
My guess is most people who read this review will have seen the film already. If you haven´t seen the film, you´re in for a major treat. [Smile]

In fact, you should probably try to first see it at some revival house art cinema screening (avoid TV screenings with 15 commercial breaks).
I shan´t dwell too much on the story-line, but it´s about a Madison Avenue executive, played by Cary Grant, who´s mistaken for a US secret agent by foreign spies, and chased by police and spies alike in a northwesternly direction from New York to Rapid City, South Dakota.
NbyNW is one of the All Time Classics, not ONE weak scene in over two hours, consistently brilliant dialogue and a handful of Iconic Set Pieces involving The UN building in New York, a corn field and the Mt Rushmore monument.

The first four minutes of the film must rank among the most brilliant openings of any film ever. In that brief time we´re treated to Bernard Herrmans sensational score, Hitch´s mandatory cameo, given tons of character information and witness a very unexpected plot twist!
The film clearly demonstrates what a unique actor Cary Grant was, much more than just a charming, debonair leading man. What he pulls off in this film, few other actors could get away with. Actually, Marlon Brando went on record saying Grant was one of the few Hollywood actors you could learn something from.
Grants performance ranges from subtle romantic comedy, via utterly sincere and naturalistic… to almost a cartoon character! In the back seat of a police car in Rapid City towards the end of the film, Grant even does a double take looking straight into the camera, a device more at home in a Donald Duck cartoon –but it works beautifully.

A useful lesson in how difficult it is to make really good films, is to compare NbyNW to the Paul Newman comedy-thriller The Prize, made a few years later in much the same vein and also written by Ernest Lehman. While by no means a bad film, the latter suffers terribly by comparison –every device used in The Prize is done in spades in NbyNW.
The film has numerous nice details: a secretary at a Chicago auction dials the police with her pencil, and the guy witnessing Grant shaving with a miniature razor is casting perfection!

The Derann print of "North by Northwest" is full screen 1,33:1, basically the Vistavision open matte image. The film is full of beautiful compositions, and was shot by Hitchcocks ace cameraman Robert Burks, ASC.
I usually project it slightly cropped top/bottom to about 1,5:1. The Warner Home Entertainment R2 PAL DVD probably gives correct information on how much can be seen left and right at the sides of the images. Looking at this image of Hitch missing the bus from the PAL DVD, the Derann print cuts off to the left of the traffic light (no building to the left of it) and at the other side it cuts off in the middle of the large white digit “3” in “2930” on the bus. Top you get a little more space above Hitch´s head and bottom his shoes are clearly in picture.
This print has a slightly cold bluish tone to it, which I like because it gives you more of a Xenon light feeling when projecting it. Furthermore it boasts rich deep blacks and strong colours, particularly reds stand out. Skin tones are natural and pleasing and there is good sharpness and detail. At a CIA staff meeting one third into the story, you get a nice indication of the resolution of this print; all headlines over columns in the newspaper which the CIA officer is holding up are clearly readable.
You very quickly get a 3D-feeling when watching the print, as contrast is very good and colour saturation is excellent, giving all surfaces like wood, fabric, carpeting, leather, etc, the impression of the real thing rather than just coloured surfaces (something which I feel you get a lot of with digital video).
The magnetic sound is good strong mono. The tracks would probably well lend themselves to rerecording in stereo.
The negative it was printed from has some wear here and there, but it doesn´t detract from the viewing pleasure. I ordered my print brand new from Derann about ten years ago, so it´s possible neg wear has increased in recent prints. There are multiple vertical scratches during the crop-duster-sequence, but these will be most evident when projecting the print on a small screen at high brightness level. To my way of thinking, this is not the way to enjoy this film. When projecting ten feet wide or larger, these scratches are not apparent at all.

There are a few technical flaws in my print that all have to do with the making of that individual print itself: the magnetic stripe wanders into the right side of the picture area during the first reel, the sound is a tad out of synch in some sequences (the print comes on 8 * 400 foot reels), and there are spots on the image in some places probably due to incorrect rinsing/drying when manufacturing the print. All of these defects can be lived with, especially when projected large, as you tend to look at an actors face in a scene, not at some defect that pops up then disappears elsewhere in the frame. These flaws are just bad luck when ordering a print, I was offered to return it but overall I was more than happy with my print so I held on to it.

Finally, there are a couple of wonderful goofs in the film: at the Plaza hotel in NYC, the reflection of a dolly grip in white shirt is clearly visible, and at the Mt Rushmore cafeteria a young boy among the extras puts his fingers into his ears BEFORE a gun is pulled out and fired. [Roll Eyes]