North by North West Title Sequence Analysis

North by North West is not a traditional thriller name. It is not particularly punchy, nor dramatic. However, what it does do is get the viewer asking questions. What is north by north west? What significance does it hold to the characters involved? This successfully creates enigma.

The First Scene

At the very beginning, the title sequence begins with a disclaimer, along with a few production companies at the bottom. The text itself is not meant to help the viewer understand the situation, aside from informing them that this is not based on a true story. The institutional info is very difficult to read, but we can definitely see that it is certified, for whatever reason.

Behind the text, we see a very busy building and street, probably in an American city such as New York or Washington DC. The actors and actresses are shown walking quickly, but orderly, as if they have done this trip a thousand times before. The text helps add to the chaos a bit, creating a sense of very little space to move and/or breathe. 

The Second Scene

The next scene shows just the associate producer, which has a similar beige/brown background filled with people, likely in their morning or evening commute. Again, the text does not take up too much room, but it is fairly bunched together, like the commuters. The font is capitalized like before, and does connote a small sense of urgency and importance.

The final scene before I get onto the overall theme is the director, Alfred Hitchcock, getting his credit. This is slightly unlike the others, as while it does keep the capitalized letters and basic white text, it is far larger, which puts significant emphasis on Hitchcock, an already acclaimed director. This is most likely to advertise the film, rather than it having too much significance on the content or story itself. That being said, Hitchcock is famous for his thrillers, and since his other films are well known, viewers could have a general idea of what they are about to see from their experiences with his other films.

The Third and Final Scene

Strangely, the title sequence ends here. This is particularly unusual, as it does not give too many details on any institutions, and just two of the main people involved with the film. This is possibly due to time constraints, as the dialogue and story begins shortly after.

There are no diegetic sounds during the sequence, only non-diegetic music, which has a high tempo, and sounds orchestral, which right at the start is unusual for such a common practice event such as the commute. This does create urgency very early on on the film, which could well be an omen for things to come.