San Francisco detective Scottie
Ferguson leaves the force after almost falling off a rooftop to his death. He is
suffering from extreme acrophobia; however, he is hired by a wealthy man to
look into the strange behavior and activities of the man’s wife. Things start
to get dark for Scottie as he becomes obsessed with the woman.
Auteur Alfred
Hitchcock, the master of suspense, made many great films during his
illustrious career (many considered masterpieces), including: Rebecca,
Rear
Window, North by
Northwest, Psycho,
and The Birds.
Vertigo, however, is maybe his best (or at least, so think film critics in
their latest list of the Top 250 Films).
Yet, the film was a failure when it first came out, audiences finding it too
dark. Hitchcock worked with many of his frequent collaborators on the film,
like: composer Bernard
Herrmann (whose score
is among the greatest in film history), cinematographer Robert Burks,
and art directors Hal
Pereira.
James Stewart
stars in the film (one of his four for Hitchcock) and Kim Novak
co-stars. Barbara
Bel Geddes and Tom Helmore
feature in support.
While Hitchcock’s films usually
find themselves immersed in a world of terror and suspense, they also usually have
lighter comedic moments as well – even Frenzy
has some very funny moments. Vertigo too has some good lighter moments,
especially in the scenes between Scottie and Midge, but overall it is a very
dark film, as Scottie’s obsession with Madeleine Elster makes him unlikable
(something one might have thought impossible from a Jimmy Stewart character). This
is the main reason audiences did not like the film when it came out in 1958.
Scottie’s fetishes overtake him, leading him down a very murky path. Additionally,
Hitchcock has the audacity to end the film at the perfect, bleakest moment –
something almost unheard of in Hollywood cinema. Vertigo is a film that must be
seen by every fan of cinema. It is one of the very few perfect films.
Trailer: Here
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