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Friday, 6 May 2016

Grids and Lines in North by Northwest



This Moderninst painting by Piet Mondrian uses lines to separate blocks of bold colour. Similar designs can be seen in North by Northwest in architecture, on decor even in the opening title sequence.


Yves Saint Laurent designed Mondrian inspired dresses in 1966.

This article discusses the influence of the artists Klee and Mondrian on Hitchcock.

"North by Northwest explores the clash between tradition and modernism... the point of so much modern art wasn't just to say something new, but, rather, to highlight the hollowness of modernism itself, especially the lethal hypocrisy of modern statecraft."
- Excerpt from article.


Theatrical Poster for the film, utilising the square motif.


The opening Credits for the film were created by renowned graphic designer Saul Bass. The grid pattern is our very first image in the film. They appear almost like lines on a map. The titles then dissolve into a picture of a skyscraper with the grid pattern becoming the windows of the building.


A short video about Saul Bass.


This image of the outside of the UN building again emphasizes this grid pattern.


The lines on the inside of this train carriage seem to almost form a web in which Cary Grant is caught. A perfect metaphor for the film's plot.


A chessboard style pattern can be seen on the walls and floor of this restaurant. The column also has a grid pattern. The chessboard motif fits in with the film's plot of spies and criminals trying to outwit each other.


Even the windows have a modernist rectangular design.


The tall thin trees form stark lines which separate the two characters just like the thick black lines in Mondrian's painting separate the blocks of colour.


The character of Eve Kendall is trapped and isolated by the gridlock windows of this house. Even the walls of the house contain a grid pattern.


The Vandamm house was inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright's modernist designs which were popular at the time the movie came out. His fee was much too high for the studios to consider so the set designers created their own Modernist style house.

This article explains the origins of the Vandamm house.


"To understand how the Vandamm house came into "existence", you have to understand the main point of "North by Northwest"... it is about a man who is surrounded by the trappings of wealth, power and prestige- none of which are of any use to him... Hitchcock had two basic reasons for all this luxe. First was the movie’s theme of isolation amidst luxury, of course. But there was another reason: "North by Northwest" was designed from its inception as a very, very commercial movie. Hitchcock knew the mass audience responded very well to being shown things and places they couldn’t really afford."
- Extract from article by Sandy McLendon

Modernist art and architecture was still popular when the film was released in 1959. The film was a commercial studio picture and the clothes and locations featured in the film are very glamourous. However the grids and geometric patterns also isolate the characters, separating them from each other. They create visual mazes and webs that the characters must navigate their way out of. They also recall chessboards, the characters of Roger Thornhill and Eve Kendall being pawns in the spy game who must break free and determine their own lives.




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