Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo

This afternoon on Turner Classic Movies, I managed to catch most of Alfred Hitchcock's 1958 psychological thriller, Vertigo. Though criticism was mixed when it opened, Vertigo has gone on to be one of Hitchcock's most famous and critically acclaimed films. And if you want to know about the Hitchcock cameo in this film, it's eleven minutes in at Gavin Elster's shipyard. Hitch is the man wearing a grey suit. The film is listed as #9 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies list and #1 on its list of 10 Greatest Films in the mystery genre. It was chosen for preservation by the National Film Registry in 1989 and in 1996, it was restorted and re-released in theatres.

In the movie, John "Scottie" Ferguson (James Stewart) is an ex-detective in San Francisco dealing with extreme fears of heights after watching a fellow officer plummet to his death. Scottie is now so paralyzed by heights that he cannot even stand on a stool in the apartment of his friend and ex-fiancée, Midge (Barbara Bel Geddes). He is hired as a P.I. by old college buddy Gavin Elster (Tom Helmore) to spy on Elster's wife Madeline (Kim Novak), who seems to be suffering from a mental illness where she believes she is Carlotta Valdes, a woman who committed suicide a hundred years before and who's painting currently hangs in at the Legion of Honor. When Madeline plummets from the tower at the Mission San Juan Bautista, Scottie Ferguson becomes increasingly troubled and suffers a nervous breakdown. Then he meets Judy Barton, a woman who perfectly resembles Madeline. Scottie's obsession with Madeline grows and he does everything in his power to make Judy become Madeline. I won't give away the ending, but it does conclude with a tense confession and one of Hitchcock's classic ending twists you didn't see coming.

The effects in this movie are absolutely spectacular. Though the movie was made in 1958, a lot of the effects seem like something out of the late 60s. The "contra-zoom" shot was invented for this movie, which recreates the feeling of vertigo Scottie experiences for the audience. The films lighting changes for important events in the plotline and there is a recurring theme of repitition and reflection through the course of the movie.

Vertigo is a classic Hitchcock suspense with twists and turns you have to pay attention to. Like all of Hitchcock's movie, it requires you to think and to put together the pieces of the mystery that Hitchcock so expertly lays out. I would definitely recommend this thriller, not just for Hitchcock or thriller fans, but for anyone who wants to see a good film that will keep you on the edge of your seat the whole time.