Vertigo [DVD] [1958]

First of all, if you like action films, comedy's or any of the mind-numbingly bad "blockbuster" films that have been released in recent years, you will likely not like this film. However, if you prefer character an plot driven movies and also enjoy classic movies, then I would recommend that you definitely watch this.

The film itself is split into two very distinct parts. The first half of the film is a mystery / romance that is really just a setup for the second half of the movie where the real meat of the story lies. It is in the second half of the movie where the real drama is and it is handled superbly by Hitchcock, James Stewart and Kim Novak. You will notice that I'm not giving any details of the actually story itself, this is for good reason, you really need to see it yourself.

There are several things which makes this film really special for me, mainly the emotional turmoil between both James Stewarts and Kim Novak I the last half of the movie. However, there is one aspect of the film which I have always though was quite ingenious. The twist in the story is not revealed at the end of the story, but actually about 2/3rds into the film. Now rather than spoiling the movie early, this just heightens the emotional anguish when you know the secret that Kim Novak is hiding and makes the tension and drama more powerful.

I could list a hundred different reasons why this is film so great, but this would turn into a 20 page essay if I tried. I will simply say that this film should be watched by anyone who truly loves films.

Every aspect of the film is stunning: the directing, the acting, the sets, the music etc, but in my mind it is the cinematography which stands out. The clarity of colour and the lack of fog to create this dream-like vision of '50s San Franciso added a quality to this film that I can't really put into words. Some credit must go to those who have painstakingly restored this cinematic classic, because if it hadn't been for them I might not have been so struck and impressed with what I was watching.

But, having said that, I can't even comtemplate not being mesmerised by this film. As I said, everything about Vertigo is stunning. It is one of those rare things where everthing flows together seamlessly. Each separate bit of the movie has its own time to shine, its own time to stand up to be noticed. It is the kind of movie that knows where it is going, and is going to hook anyone and everyone into watching it as it slowly weaves and winds its way through towards the end. I love to watch these kind of movies, the kind that rope you in slowly, movies that at times move along at a snail's pace - not having to be concerned with the introduction of action sequences and things blowing up, movies that increase the tension little by little until the climactic crescendo at the end is finally reached. Sadly this is all too rare in modern cinema (The Shawshank Redemption is a fantastic exception), but from watching Vertigo and subsequently Rear Window, it is obvious that HItchcock was the supreme exponent of these kind of movies.

I love every minute of Vertigo, and I've never tired of watching it simce. The term 'a piece of art' has become over-used in recent years, but in order to find the words to descibe Vertigo I can find no better phrase. It is breathtaking and I urge you, as a person who is now 'obsessed with Vertigo', to watch it.

It is the deceptively simple tale of a man called Scotty, who is asked by an old school friend to follow his wife, a beautiful, quintessential Hitchcock Blonde. The friend believes that his wife, Madeleine, is obsessed with the past and is going slowly mad. Scotty follows the woman and observes her from afar, and slowly becomes as obsessed with her as she apparently is with the past...

This film is mesmeric. It hypnotises you and draws you into the obsession of the main character, an ex-cop played brilliantly by James Stewart. Hitchcock's direction lovingly bathes the beautiful San Francisco setting in a dream-like haze. Bernard Herrmann's excellent score sounds old-fashioned and overwrought in places, but on the whole it perfectly complements the sense of foreboding and the confusion of dream and reality in the film. After just a few minutes of watching this film, I found myself becoming as obsessed with it as Scotty is with Madeleine.

"Vertigo" is often thought of as the ultimate expression of one of Hitchcock's deepest feelings about the tragedy of life and love. By most accounts, Hitchcock had the kind of tragic view of love and desire that you would expect of a grossly overweight, uncommunicative man who had come into contact with some of the most glamorous leading ladies of American cinema. He was always behind the camera, observing their beauty, and the women in front of the camera must have seemed so near yet so far... In the movie, Scotty is consumed by his obsession with the cool blonde, and then by the desperation he feels when he has this beauty snatched away from him, firstly by death, and secondly by the suspicion that it was all a cruel illusion. It was obviously a very personal film for Hitchcock, but the theme also works as an accurate depiction of the darker elements of male desire.

Scotty, with his refusal to accept cold reality, is reflected in men who are afraid to commit, afraid to move in with their girlfriends, afraid of intimacy. They're all chasing a dream, secretly waiting for that Hitchcock Blonde to come along, and they're afraid that accepting reality will close the door forever on the miniscule hope that someday, somehow, they might have her. This is not to say that "Vertigo" is an arty, conscious attempt to deconstruct the essence of male desire, and I doubt Hitchcock really had that in mind when he made the film. It is a thriller, albeit very slowly paced by today's standards, and the plot has some of the usual Hitchcock twists and turns. It's easy to forget that Hitchcock made the blockbusters of his time, and his films were as eagerly awaited as "Lord of the Rings" movies are today.

This is a truly great film, and the critics don't just vote this one of the greatest films ever in poll after poll because they feel they have to. Being a Hitchcock film, it's technically accomplished, and it's famous for the strange zoom effect used to show Scotty's disorienting vertigo. The locations are beautiful, and the cinematography creates out of them a strange place of dream and illusion, seemingly disconnected from the real world. James Stewart and Kim Novak are exceptional as the main characters, and the power of their performances somehow makes an improbable story more believable. The only drawback is that the film is so old (it was made in the late 50s). As the years go by, it gets older and older, and it loses more of its power as the 50s become more of a distant memory, but it is still highly recommended to those who are willing to set that aside and enjoy some great, intelligent storytelling.