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Vertigo, despite being hailed as Hitch’s masterpiece does not rank among my favourite films by the master of suspense. The story is quite interesting, although you can see the twists coming by a mile. The movie failed at box office and was shunned by critics. I would not agree that this comes down to James Stewart’s age as so many people claim but that the love interest between him and Novak is not believable. However, in my opinion this is due to Kim Novak’s strange performance, especially in the beginning of the film, when her character is “supposed” to be in a state of mental disorder. This kind of throws all the creditability of the character especially when it comes to emotional connection between her and Stewart. The direction was good, although the episodes of James Stewart trailing Novak are quite long and become a bit boring after a while, lacking interesting story elements or slick art direction to make up for. I am not sure why Hitch decided to set the Film in San Francisco instead of Paris, the latter would have suited the whole atmosphere better. My Kudos goes out to Hitch for the great ending which hit my personal taste like the hammer hits the nail, but it might not be everybody’s cup of tea. There was essentially no important supporting cast which is a shame. A best friend would have done the main character good or put more focus on Stewart’s other suitor, as played by Barbara Bel Geddes, her character and the role it plays pretty much vanishes halfway into the movie. I liked the psychedelic sequences, a vanguard of the decade to come and they were perfect means to convey Stewart’s mental state. Still, not my favourite Hitchcock and while it still stands tall over your usual thriller, id recommend many of his other movies first.

Although handsomely realised, this is a strangely unmoving and unconvincing film that dips its toe into the shallows of psycho-drama, but never goes anywhere near exploring them with any degree of certainty or conviction. Instead we have a series of motifs and set pieces that are mounted with great skill but reveal a central problem with the film: ravishing technical accomplishments almost glued together with a sticking plaster of a narrative. After all, what I remember of the film long after seeing it is the gorgeous widescreen composition, the colour palette and the almost symphonic swellings of the score. What confronts me when re-viewing the film is an often static and frequently unconvincing story, floridly realised on a scale the slim plot-threads cannot entirely stand (the sub-story with Mitch whimpers out and never returns, which is a shame), and is hampered by a somewhat stodgy middle section. It gets by with its sheer directorial verve and confidence, but the great moments – and there are plenty of them – are nearly all visual frissions and not the cod-psychological themes of obsession, madness and fetishism (even this is quite reticent) that tend to float on the surface of an otherwise rollicking pot-boiler.

Vertigo is a movie that I’ve always had trouble with. In many ways it is one of Hitchcock’s greatest films, but I can certainly see why he didn’t like it all that much. I agree that James Stewart was incredibly miscast, mainly due to his very limited range as an actor. He was never exactly known for his dark side, honestly he’s just too earnest of a person to pull it off. However, he did the best he could and still managed to give his darkest performance this time around (it’s also a guilty pleasure of mine to see him going crazy). San Fransisco is quite possibly the best aspect of the film to me because Hitchcock shoots it so beautifully. It looks like a dream, the pastel look is amazing on the eyes. The plot is also one of the better one’s Hitchcock dealt with. No, it’s not as twisted as De Palma’s semi-remake Obsession, but for 1959 you have to give it credit for being really demented. It’s not my favorite film from the master, but it is a hidden masterpiece.

This might be #2 on TSPDT’s 1000 greatest films list, but it’s not even close on my list. Kim Novak’s performance was frighteningly lackluster, and the film itself showed none of the narrative innovation or audacious brilliance of Hitchcock’s superior “Rear Window.” The only intriguing relationship in the film, that between Jimmy Stewart’s character and his friend and one-time lover “Midge”, played by Barbara Bel Geddes, seems to have been all but forgotten on the cutting room floor.

Hitchcock had always been a master of film. He could create and assemble film sequences more successfully than anyone before or since (with the possible exceptions of Eisenstein or Spielberg). However, Vertigo marks the moment where he grew beyond showmanship and entertainer to autuer in the classic sense. Even today, it’s a remarkably adult film, with its themes of obsession and even necrophilia. Jimmy Stewart, already a master at subtly subverting his own nice guy image, goes as close to unlikable as he ever got, playing the guilt-ridden, obsessed, mentally shaky Scottie Ferguson. From the masterful opening titles through countless perfect sequences to the dark, fatalistic, downbeat ending, Vertigo remains one of the finest achievements from one of the finest directors in the history of film.

(Friday, May 29, 2009 10:10pm)

It is hard to explain what the main genre of Alfred Hitchcock’s “Vertigo” after seeing it for the first time. The first half of the film is no doubt a mystery, with James Stewart following and chasing after Kim Novak, trying to find every answer Stewart can get. Hitchcock’s brilliant directing, powerfully conveys this mystery into a romance film. Of course this movie is a thriller/suspense as well because it wouldn’t be Hitchcock’s film if didn’t have these genres. Vertigo is a very intense picture with every perfect details attached to it, and its countless classic moments. After i watched the film, I could not get Kim Novak’s beautiful face out of my mind. I guess I fell in love with her as much as Stewart’s character did. Vertigo is a must see for everyone. No doubt this movie should be on top lists of every film collectors. It’s a beautiful but extremely melancholy masterpiece not to miss.9.5/10

To think Hitchcock’s masterpiece was once looked at as both a box office and critical failure; now its rare to see it missing from any top ten lists.Vertigo is one of the greatest films of all time and the crowning achievement of one of cinema’s greatest auteurs. Its a film that challenges the very idea of love and obsession while still being a suspenseful mystery. The film also benefits from a dark performance from the great Jimmy Stewart (it remains one of the actors finest performances). And while film’s special effects might seem outdated and laughable to some, the ideas and themes still stand strong.

It’s no secret Hitchcock loved a blonde in the frame, had an Englishmen’s ability to fetishise sex and liked to add a layer of faux Freud when the opportunity arose. Vertigo sees Hitch at the top of his game in all areas. Jimmy Stewart is Scotty, a San Fran detective who found a nasty way to discover he had a fear of heights, which caused him an injury leading to his retirement. Scotty is an old fashioned guy who finds identity and worth in work, but is now at a loose end. We know he finds no such satisfaction with women as early on it’s clear he’s never found one to match his ideal. Hitchcock oversees the introduction of a woman for Scotty to obsess over, but with delicious irony emasculates Scotty in the process.

Kim Novak plays the blonde (Madeleine), the wife of an old school friend of Scotty’s. He’s asked to follow her and report back, as her husband believes she’s possessed by the spirit of a dead woman who died tragically 100 years before. Scotty is asked the key question
‘Do you think it’s possible for a living person to be possessed by the spirit of a dead person?‘. He is skeptical to say the least, but upon seeing her, it’s obsession at first sight and he agrees to take the job. In a sequence that highlights Bernard Hermann’s lovely score, Scotty follows Madeleine and starts to put the puzzle together. She does seem connected to the dead Carlotta in mysterious ways. Scotty foils a suicide attempt and gets up close and personal with Madeleine in his apartment. He starts to behave more like a suitor than a Jake on a job and the lines get really blurred when Madeleine reciprocates.

So far Hitchcock has served up Jimmy Stewart, Mr Every-niceguy-man in a way that has him abandoning his scruples, he is after all pursuing an adulterous affair, and rejecting the perfectly acceptable nice-girl option (Barbara Bel Geddes) who is left stewing in the background. How did he get away with it? and the best is yet to come. Scotty doesn’t abandon logic however much his heart is ruling his actions. He tells Madeleine that there’s a reason for everything if she’ll only look for it. He tells her she’s not mad, even though she fears she is as it runs in the blood from Carlotta, and she’s not possessed. Just as they declare eternal love for each other he loses her as she fulfils her spirit/blood ordained fate.

If this is not enough Hitchcock then proceeds to twist the knife. The shock of not solving the situation with reason and workcraft, Scotty’s tools of trade and identity shake his world to the core. He retreats into his shell, not sure of his laws of certainty anymore. He’s awoken from his trance, by a chance encounter with Madeleine’s double, Judy. The obsession starts again and Scotty re-fashions Judy in the process, until she is the reincarnation of his Madeleine. Hitch continues to neuter Scotty, showing him dressing her like a doll, making her change her hair colour, ‘it can’t matter to you’! he yells at her, a brave statement indeed! This is the payoff, as Judy emerges from a shimmering green haze as Madeleine Scotty sees that the dead can inhabit the soul of the living. Reality comes thudding back, just as the happy couple seem set for lasting bliss. Picking up a clue a 10 year old would spot the penny drops, and Scotty takes Judy to the place of Madeleines death to shake a confession out of her. Scotty watches impotently once again, as the godess/ideal takes on the last aspect of Madeleines spirit and follows her path to the graveyard.

A bold ending and jolt to the viewer. Hitch has taken a stock character, and shown him his skill is useless when it comes up against the beauty and mystery of love and deceit. Scotty watches as Judy is possessed by the real Madeleine, the one he forced upon her with his obsession. He can’t solve the puzzle by logic, it’s solved for the viewer by a flashback and for him by the big obvious neckless clue. He can’t possess the godess, he can’t drag her into his world and he can’t be a part of hers. A beautiful film to look at, and an intriguing one to dissect. Would it have been a better film if the audience wasn’t in on the reveal, if Scotty solved it for us at the end like a traditional detective thriller? Maybe that would have been too easy for Hitchcock, who ends up subtlely subverting the genre by making the film we have.
Poor Jimmy, cured of his vertigo but left emasculated and helpess at the top of a phallic tower…Freud would have a field day….and that’s even before Hitch got to Mr Bates and his knife!

When looking at this film from a logical point of view, you’ll find that the plot is absurd. However, Vertigo is not to be viewed logically. It is like a dream. It is also one of the most heartbreaking and mesmerizing films ever made. This is Hitchcock’s art film, if you will, and it might be his magnum opus. To say Vertigo is about obsession and guilt is only scratching its surface. This is a film that analyzes and questions human relationships, as well as the very concept of love itself. It is also about two very damaged people. Jimmy Stewart will never love anybody as much as the woman he has idealized in his mind-a woman who doesn’t exist. Even though the real flesh and blood version of this woman is right in front of him and ready to love him(perhaps partly out of guilt) she will never live up to the idealized concept he has of her. This is the human condition, and while we certainly won’t be in the same situation that these two particular characters find themselves in, their dilemma is in a way universal. We all have have idealized concepts of the people we love or admire, even though they usually aren’t exactly how we perceive them to be. Both characters, especially Stewart’s, are living in the past and cannot let go-a problem that many of us share. By the end of the film we have two people haunted by past demons who are trying to recreate what they once had. But they ultimately can’t do this, as none of us truly can. What they can do is work towards building a relationship into the future, but alas, Mr. Hitchcock won’t let this happen either with the shocking final moments. Needless to say this is one of the greatest films ever made and its reputation has only escalated through the years. But to truly appreciate this masterpiece, repeated viewings are required to uncover its many layers and profound depth. That one can uncover such depth underneath the guise of an outrageous thriller is a testament to Hitchcock and it cements his place in film history.

I agree with most that this film is a virtually perfect masterpiece and one of my favorites… yet I can never get over being slightly distracted from the main story by my sympathy for the character of Midge, played by Barbara Bel Geddes. Not only does she never get credit for having some of the best dialogue in the movie (“Did you have fun Johnny? Did you see a ghost?”) but her character is also given a terribly sad and sort of lame exit. I’m not saying that it doesn’t make sense within the context of the story – but it still bugs the hell out of me every time!

Vertigo has a system of visual/linguistic variations on gravity, including falling, hanging, floating and, of course, suspense, (Hitchcock marketed himself as the Master of.Suspense)
A brief list of some examples:

1. Scotty’s acrophobia, triggered by hanging from the roof. (Note this is a seeming impossible predicament from which he never is shown escaping from. The rest of the movie could be a fantasy he is having as he falls to the ground, as in Bierce’s “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.”

2. The Golden Gate Bridge is a backdrop for Judy’s fall into the Bay, the site of 1200+ suicides who surrender to gravity and fall to their deaths. Note that it is a suspension bridge.

3. The pendant that gives Judy away, a piece of jewelry that dangles. The word pendant is related to the Latin pendere, the root form of suspend.

The greatest FU ending in cinematic history. The mysterious woman he loves, obsesses over, will do anything for, cannot ever go back to his past existence because of her dies not once but twice in front of his eyes and the exact same way. I don’t know exactly what this says about love I do know though that losing someone whom you have an obsession over will torture you and the eyes and limp body of Jimmy Stewart at the end of the film proves just that.

James Stewart, in the darkest, most profound and sad performance of his career, falls in love with the alluring, distant, unattainable and mesmerizing Kim Novak. Bernard Herrmann composes a heavenly, breathtaking wagnerian symphony. and Alfred Hitchcock, in the absolute peak of his powers, materializes the most beautiful, haunting, compelling and heart breaking tale of love that transcended any cinematic or human barrier. my all time favorite motion picture.