‘North by Northwest’ returns to big screen

Do you have an all-time favorite movie theater? I do. Back in the VHS days, as my movie tastes developed, the Emerson Theater in Indianapolis, built in 1928, was my church. I saw so many classics on 35mm there.

“North by Northwest” in particular was a revelation. The bright Technicolor palette, the suaveness of Cary Grant, the impact of the crop duster sequence — Hitchcock’s 1959 thriller instantly became a top-five movie for me.

Even in this high-tech era, the power of the big screen is unsurpassed. “North by Northwest” screens Sunday, April 2, and Wednesday, April 5, at 25 Bay Area theaters. If you haven’t seen it, now’s your time.

I’ll be at the AMC Van Ness to watch it for the — what, 30th time? — but only my second on the big screen. Excuse me while I slip back into time.

MGM 1959 Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint in Hitchcock’s “North by Northwest.”