A great film is much like a great party, and what makes a party great is not the host or even the location but whom the host invites. North by Northwest, one of my favorite movies, is great because of the guests invited by the director, Alfred Hitchcock. There is the screenplay provided by Ernest Lehman (Sweet Smell of Success), the stunning title sequence by the graphic artist Saul Bass (Anatomy of a Murder), the faces of Cary Grant, James Mason, and a young Martin Landau. And, of course, there’s the big, brassy, bold, and lusty score by Bernard Herrmann. Hitchcock knew how to throw a great party. (Grand Illusion, 1403 NE 50th St, www.grandillusioncinema.org, 6 and 8:30 pm, $8)