North by Northwest was amazing the first time i saw it. After that it lost something for me. There are some movies I get the same thrill out of every time. Not that one. But it is still a terrific movie.
While I don’t consider any of them to be my favorite movie (those would probably be the first two “Godfather” movies, “Saving Private Ryan” or “Schindler’s List”), Hitchcock is certainly my favorite director.
The strange thing is that Hitchcock’s only best picture was for “Rebecca” which is certainly NOT one of his masterpieces. I agree that “North by Northwest” loses some of it’s “thrill” after repeated viewings, but I think “Vertigo” and “Psycho” still deliver a thrill. The other great movie (which also should have won the Oscar) that still is thrilling is “Jaws”.