Vertigo (Collectors Edition) starring
James Stewart, Kim Novak, Barbara
Bel Geddes, Tom Helmore, Henry
Jones
Obsession And Tragedy
Although it wasnt a box-office success when originally released in 1958,
Vertigo has since taken its deserved place as Alfred Hitchcocks greatest,
most spellbinding, most deeply personal achievement. In fact, it
consistently ranks among the top 10 movies ever made in the once-a-
decade Sight & Sound international critics poll, placing at number 4 in the
most recent survey. (Universal Pictures spectacularly gorgeous 1996
restoration and rerelease of this 1958 Paramount production was a
tremendous success with the public, too.) James Stewart plays a retired
police detective who is hired by an old friend to follow his wife (a superb
Kim Novak, in what becomes a double role), whom he suspects of being
possessed by the spirit of a dead madwoman. The detective and the
disturbed woman fall (fall is indeed the operative word) in love and...well,
to give away any more of the story would be criminal. Shot around San
Francisco (the Golden Gate Bridge and the Palace of the Legion of Honor
are significant locations) and elsewhere in Northern California (the
redwoods, Mission San Juan Batista) in rapturous Technicolor, Vertigo is
as lovely as it is haunting. --Jim Emerson
poiler Warning; Do Not Read Further If You Haven''t Seen the Film
(This is an analysis of the film from start to finish)
Alfred Hitchcock''s "Vertigo" is a movie worth exploring, studying, knowing.
If I were to compose a list of my favorite films, "Vertigo" would surely be up
in the top twenty. It is a masterpiece of cinema.
The opening credits show parts of a woman''s face (not the entire face,
mind you, but parts or pieces... incomplete sections of someone, like a
puzzle) in black and white, and we zoom into the eye which soon changes
to red. Bernard Hermann''s wonderful and haunting music here is an
arpeggio effect (the melody sinking and rising in a repetitive cycle) that
reminds me of a whirlpool that can pull us down into the abyss. Then the
titles reveal a graphic of a swirling vortex of blue and then violet and
emerald, gold, pink, and back to red again.
A rooftop chase proves dangerous to Scottie, and we see that striking and
famous dolly zoom --first developed by Irmin Roberts, a Paramount
second-unit cameraman-- a combination shot of zooming in and of
simultaneously moving backwards (a shot which we will see again later);
it''s a dizzying effect, I remember seeing this used in "Jaws" on Roy
Scheider during a beach scene when he sees something sinister in the
water. The shot is also used in "Goodfellas", "E.T.", and other films. The
technique is disorienting because it is two things at once--pulling away and
also closing in. This is appropriate for "Vertigo" and its duality, and its
vertigo.
Retired detective Scottie has a bad back and he suffers from fear of
heights. We will find that he has several problems, some emotional, some
physical, and psychological. His designer pal Midge (who calls him
Johnny-o) is in love with him. They have a history. Scottie reveals that a
college friend named Gavin Elster has been in touch with him. Sidebar:
Right now as I view the film I actually wish I could look at this story without
knowing what''s to come. Innocent things, we will discover before long, are
not so. And Gavin Elster is not a good person.
At 11:17 in the movie we see Hitchcock''s brief cameo as he walks across
the scene. Elster seems to be doing nicely with his big desk and polished
leather furniture (it''s actually his wife''s family''s shipbuilding business).
Elster wants Scottie to follow his wife Madeline because he''s worried
about her behavior. Elster mentions something about obsession with, or
possession by, the dead. His wife has been acting strangely. (It is a very
elaborate ruse, really, for just wanting a witness to Elster''s wife''s demise.)
At Ernie''s resturant Scottie sees Gavin and his wife. The place is red (the
wall fabric in particular stands out, almost garishly). Madeline''s black
gown''s wrap is green satin. It stands out like a beacon in that sea of red.
She walks and stops, and we linger on her profile. So, Scottie begins to
trail Madeline. It will be the start of something that will become his downfall
in certain ways. (Hermann''s score as Scottie drives around is subtle and
tense at the same time.) As he follows her into an alley it feels like we are
in film noir territory.
At 21:02 Madeline stands surrounded by flowers in a composition that''s
nearly suitable for framing. There''s something so artistic and visual about
"Vertigo"; parts of it are painterly. I have always felt that not only is it a very
sad movie but also very unusual visually.
And there is one of Hitchcock''s famous cool blonde women in gray
clothes, her hair done in such a "just so" manner. She''s alluring but also
distant. She pulls you in but you''re not sure if you should even approach.
Notice, we always are shown Madeline from the back or the side, rarely do
we see her from the front (like when someone speaks to you but they do
not look you straight in the eye?). I think this is intentional, and there are so
many intentional little details like that packed into this movie.
She visits the grave of a Carlotta Valdes (Madeline''s great grandmother,
according to Gavin Elster) even though she has no idea whose grave it is,
and then visits a painting of Carlotta that does not look unlike Madeline--
even the twist in the hairstyle. (Scottie has no clue he is being deceived, of
course, but knowing that he IS just makes me pity him, even though I also
find his behavior later in the film to be questionable and immoral.)
She goes to McKittrick''s Hotel (the old Valdes home); Ellen Corby (familiar
character actress who would play Grandma Walton on TV) is at the front
desk; she''s been oiling her rubber plant. The mystery deepens as the
mature woman says that the lady is not upstairs, even though Scottie (and
we) saw her in the window from street level. She''s gone, as is her car.
Elusive, this lady.
Sometimes I wonder if Hitchcock, while making these mysterious films,
had any inkling of how much they might be studied and enjoyed and
marveled at long after they were created. Was he making them for himself,
or for the audience, or both? In some of his movies there is so much more
going on than what is just in front of us. He must have been very
meticulous, a perfectionist, because you can see it in his work. Eve rything
is a certain way. Almost nothing is meaningless.
Even taken at face value (if I didn''t know the movie''s plot), this "Vertigo"
story so far is riveting stuff-- a woman who might be possessed by a dead
person whom she knows nothing about. Very intriguing notion.
I hate to think what this movie would be without the glorious music of
Bernard Hermann. This may be one of my favorite scores ever made. His
music is so emotional and powerful.
Another nicely-composed image at 42: 20, Madeline at the bridge. It is here
where Scottie has to reveal himself to her in order to save her life. He
jumps into the water and we know he is now in deep. Too deep. All this
business that Elster has set up has been helping Scottie fall for her, I think.
It has given her a mysteriousness and magnetism. At Scottie''s place,
looking at Kim Novak, we see that she is not a flawless beauty. She''s
interesting looking and easy on the eyes. Her voice (as Elster''s wife) is
refined and sexy, and it almost sounds like there''s an accent there
somewhere. Is this for Scottie''s benefit, to make her seem all the more
appealing and exotic? There begins a chemistry between the two.
She is deceiving him for Gavin Elster, and Scottie is falling for his married
friend''s wife. She is a femme fatale but we will see that she is more. Elster
and she are planning to kill his real wife who is wealthy.
So much of the chase here, of Scottie tailing/stalking Madeline, is
downhill... his car goes downhill a lot, as though he is falling. In love. In
danger.
Next time we see Madeline she is in a striking white coat with black clothes
and gloves, and a sheer black scarf. Very chic, no question. She is elegant
and has taste, that''s obvious... unless it is Elster who has dres sed her and
coached her. Pieces of the puzzle remain unsolved here as to this
deception. How intricate was it, how much time went into creating the false
Madeline?
After viewing the redwood trees, they are by the sea. Scottie is trying to
help her understand these strange occurrences but she thinks she might
be mad. (Her telling him "I''m not mad" could be taken as "I''m not
Madeline", couldn''t it?) The music soars and they kiss. Their first kiss.
At the old Batista mission and museum, Madeline and Sco ttie confess their
love. She then rushes to the bell tower. His vertigo prevents him from
catching up with her (something Elster knew would happen). We see that
dolly zoom again, twice, as Scottie looks down. But he is too late. He hears
her scream and sees her
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