Rent Vertigo (1958)

Not very convincing - Vertigo review by Maureen

This is not Hitchcock at his best. My wife and I were really looking forward to our viewing, but found the film slow and in the end totally unbelievable. It does not live up to its reputation, which led us to expect something better. Some films, like Casablanca, stand the test of time and can be watched again and again with great enjoyment. Not so Vertigo.

George Roby.

Classic Hitchcock but with some reservations - Vertigo review by AW

BEWARE, there be SPOILERS:

1958 Hitchcock with James Stewart & Kim Novak. Multiple language subtitles.

I'm sure I've seen this film several times before but perhaps never finished it or watched enough for the plot to sink in - except that it had Barbara Bel Geddes in it.

Classic Hitchcock scenes, original camera angles, effective suspense, can't fault AH on that, but it's been oft quoted that at age 50 perhaps James Stewart was a tad too old to be the male lover lead...I didn't really have a problem with that and Kim Novak was yet again a classic beautiful Hitchcockian blonde leading lady (remember AH's obsession with blondes, ie: T.Hedren, G.Kelly, J.Leigh, E.M.Saint) but in my mind the outstanding woman in this film was Bel Geddes - who really only gets a very short part but is wonderful - modern, feisty, clever, educated, well read, but ultimately disappointed that Stewart as Scottie is no longer interested in her. She lives above the San Francisco skyline in a fascinating, colourful flat, designing brassieres.

To be honest I thought Novak, even though playing an apparently confused and tortured soul was a bit wooden and afterwards, Stewart, when going after Judy turned into a domineering and somewhat sinister character - forcing her to wear reproductions of Madeleine's suit, shoes, even the hair style. Weird or what?

Wonderful views of a clean and tidy, non- traffic congested San Francisco in the '50s, sadly SF is now apparently populated with homeless and drug addled people.

In a way the plot as it stands is also a tad unbelievable, {So now for the SPOILERS!! Kim is a decoy for the murder of the real Madeleine, Scottie has been duped as the fall guy to testify that the woman he is obsessed with, genuinely fell from a bell tower}.

The twist at the end is therefore a bit of retribution even though it's not particularly karma as it is rather more accidental due to the sudden appearance of a nun.

Hitchcock's best? Hmmm. Not really. Personally I liked NORTH BY NORTHWEST, MARNIE and TO CATCH A THIEF better but that may just be me.

Kudos go to the 2 men who oversaw the film's restoration from a nearly destroyed and faded master to a clear and crisp copy for posterity.

Disc doesn't contain the director's cut longer version, apparently a lot was cut out, but it does have interesting extras, a Feature Commentary, and a Obsessed with Vertigo Featurette.

Critics' Favourite Hitch. - Vertigo review by Steve

Since Sight and Sound voted it the critics' number 1, Vertigo often gets labelled the ultimate Alfred Hitchcock film. Maybe it deserves that status in recognition of a coming together of key collaborators: costumes by Edith Head; orchestral score by Bernard Herrmann; Robert Burks' innovative camera effects; script by George Tomasino; and Saul Bass' title design and effects.  

They say Vertigo is personal to the director, as it imitates a film making process; of turning an actor into a character. James Stewart plays an obsessive detective who transforms Kim Novak into the image of a woman out of his troubled past. While it does mimic that exercise, it doesn't draw any profound conclusions. This is primarily a thriller with a twisty, disorientating plot.

Hitchcock uses motifs of spirals and falling which make us vicariously experience the cop's psychological trauma. Stewart was far too old, though he is effective.  Kim Novak is excellent in both her roles. The San Francisco locations and local myth making add plenty of atmosphere.

Hitch and his team created their own genre, which many others copied. Film noir is reckoned to end in '58. The Master's films in this period would be a standard model for the thriller for a decade. It's not my favourite Hitchcock, but it is a summation of his art at the time of his Hollywood peak. 

Very dated but enjoyable melodrama - Vertigo review by PV

When watching this, first remember that the story comes from a novel - the sort of melodrama novel best forgotten now - and that Hitch had a screenplay to work with. I tend to get annoyed that people think film directors create everything - the story, the script, the characters. They don't/ They merely interpret it.

Having said that, this is an enjoyable watch. Very dated though - and perhaps the trendy (for 1958) dream sequence bit is the most dated of all. Strange to think just 10 years after this it was 1968 with all that implies.

Efficiently directed. Unbelievable plot twist at the end (from the book), and a plot hole in Stewart's first hotel visit looking for the girl.

The direction of the height scenes with camera effects is still effective though; probably the best bit is the opening sequence though - which has been much copied in more recent movies.

Three stars.