Scene Analysis

In Alfred Hitchcock’s 1959 film, North by North, uses film techniques that emphasis suspense in different ways throughout the film. Suspense was built when Roger O. Thornhill, played as Cary Grant, was being chased by a crop dusting plane. The director basically put Roger Thornhill waiting on the road, wearing a nice suit, in the middle of nowhere; literally just dead grass and flat land. There were few vehicles that passed by him and one man who got dropped off across from him. Alfred Hitchcock made Roger Thornhill walk up to the guy with his hands on his side, showing superiority; then hands together to show friendliness. Not longer, the crop dusting plane came into the scene. This was an epic scene that created suspense that made the viewer feel like they’re in the same environment.

The scene begins with a high angle on Roger Thornhill, showing the dead barren land that surrounded him and how tiny he was in the shot. While still at a high angel, the director then creates suspense by having a truck coming towards him slowly. Only digetic sounds of the road was used. Going into the next scene, the truck passes him and there were series of eye line match of him and the barren land, making the viewer feel like they are there with him. Then a man, who was also wearing a nice suit, arrives from a long shot. Having them both just standing in a long shot created a sense of suspense and mystery as well as the guy’s arrival. The scene slowly progressed with more digetic sounds when Roger Thornhill tried to have a conversation with the man. It seems to be a tense shot at first because Roger looked like he was uncomfortable walking towards him then opens up and started to discourse about the day.

When it came to epic suspense, the crop dusting scene seemed to do a great job. Once the man went on the bus, the plane Roger Thornhill saw earlier with his companion started to come closer and closer as if it was about to crash. The scene comes in with a long shot of the plane and then the