Rating: 
Summary: Hitchcocks ultimate tale of obsession and suspense
Review: In 1957 a new kind a movie was released, it was not met by the public with open arms, but time has made it a masterpiece. Jimmy Stewart stars as John "Scotty" Ferguson a retired police detective who is afraid of heights. During his retirement he is encontured by an old school chum by the name of Gavin Ellester. Ellester is convinced his wife Kim Novak is possesed by her dead great grandmother Carlota Valdes. As a personal favor he asks Stewart to keep an eye on Novak so she does not hurt herself. This is just the bear essentials of one of Hitchcocks most complex plot and what follows will leave you wandering aimlesly. Note the bright beautiful cinematography and panoramics of Vista-Vision one of the most high fidilety motion picture systems of its day.
Rating:
Summary: Really really really good stuff
Review: A classic, that's still worth catching. Even if you've seen it already. This flick still manages to creap into pop culture as evidenced by Harvey Danger's song Carlotta Valdez.
Rating:
Summary: Hitchcock's Masterpiece
Review: Considered by many to be director Alfred Hitchcock's greatest achievement comes this haunting film classic, Vertigo.Set in San Francisco, James Stewart portrays an acrophobic retired detective hired to trail a friend's suicidal wife (Kim Novak). After he successfully rescues her from a leap into the bay, he finds himself becoming obsessed with the beautifully troubled woman. One of cinema's most chillingly romantic endeavors; it's a fascinating myriad of haunting camera angles shot among some of San Francisco's renowned landmarks. A must for all video collectors.
Rating:
Summary: Great, Great Art
Review: This one is my Number One movie of all time. Many film-ranking services also have moved Vertigo to #1 last year. I've seen it on the big screen where it's unbelievable, Freudian theme, magnificent color, and the filmed record of San Francisco of 1959 are as eerie as the script of murder and obsessive love. I'm very fond of Kim Novak and I realize big 1950's blondes aren't everyone's turn on, but in this film, with all her wide skirts and painted eyebrows, she does it for me. Hitchcock did scores of interesting shots that added mood to this film. Stewart and Novak realize they are in love and kiss passionately at a rocky California beach. The ocean crashes on a big boulder and sprays behind their heads. Perfect timing or fifty takes, I don't know. After careful thought, the script seems implausible. A man in love knows what the woman of his dreams looks like and certainly would know that the shop girl, though in different hair color and clothes is his love. The story line portrays a straight murder mystery, but after a number of viewing I realize how complicated and layered the individual motivations and neurosis that Stewart and Novak suggest with brilliant subtle underscore. The murder itself makes no sense either. How did the husband and Novak hide and get away from the horrified onlookers and police? The truth is, the fantasy is so compelling, nobody cares. Great art is a suspension of disbelief. Vertigo is great, great art.
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Summary: THE Great Hitchcock Masterpiece!
Review: With "Vertigo," Alfred Hitchcock reached a zenith of his art he achieved only with "The 39 Steps," "Notorious," and "Rear Window," and this film is a lot more thoughtful, more complex and DARKER than any of those. Unlike the other three, "Vertigo"
has no happy ending, only a sense of loss and the bitterness of the cold, hard truth.
What sets the film apart is not so much Hitchcock's astonishing
visuals, his dream-like pacing, or his sure-handed, elliptical
story-telling, but his themes. If "Rear Window" is really about voyeurism, than "Vertigo" is really about obsession and possession. In this context, the artist in Hitch clearly concludes: "That which we love, we destroy."
James Stewart, in one of his best, most complex performances,
plays Scotty Fergusson, a police detective forced into reassignment by the vertigo caused by a fear of heights and guilt feelings following the death of a fellow cop who tried to save him during a rooftop chase. Our plot gets going when a former
college classmate of Scotty's, Gavin Elster hires him to follow
his wife Madolyn, whom he suspects is possessed by the ghost of her great-grandmother. While following Madolyn, Scotty saves her life when she attempts suicide by falling into San Francisco
Bay. Naturally, Scotty and Madolyn (Kim Novak) fall in love.
Ultimately, Madolyn does fall to her death from the bell tower of a mission church, when Scotty is unable to save her because of his vertigo. Scotty then falls into a catatonic depression.
At this point things start to get interesting.
Scotty spends his days haunting the places he associates with Madolyn and finds only frustration and heartbreak, but one day
he meets Judy (also played by Kim Novak), who bears a striking resemblence to Madolyn. They date, and Scotty begins to make Judy over in the image of Madolyn. In pursuing his obsession, he
discovers something about his love interest which no man should have to confront. At this point the plot repeats itself, but with darker, more macabre twists. Guilty secrets are confessed, but it is too late. Scotty pursues the truth until it destroys all his dreams and hopes, and the same tragedy recurs. In the end, he is left with the truth, but not the kind of truth which liberates or consoles, and he may not have even discovered the truth about himself and his psychological complexes.
This is a brilliant film! There is a depth and foreboding to everything that is unmatched anywhere else in the master's work.
Both Stewart and Novak give the performances of their careers.
Then there is that glorious, beautiful score by Bernard Herrmann!
It grabs you from the opening titles and never lets go. The music in this picture doesn't accompany what's going on onscreen
so much as it intensifes it and deepens every emotion.
If you don't own a copy of "Vertigo," you don't really love movies!
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Summary: Hypnotic Masterpiece, Hitchcock's Finest
Review: As much "art" film as Hollywood product, VERTIGO was generally savaged by critics upon its release; today it is widely regarded as Hitchcock's single finest film. The story is extremely well known: a retired police detective with an incapacitating fear of heights, Scottie, is engaged to shadow a beautiful woman, Madeline, whose husband suspects her of being suicidal. Scottie soon becomes obsessive about Madeline--but circumstances quickly spin out of control, and his love turns to tragedy and maddness. Unlike most Hitchcock films, VERTIGO unfolds slowly, drawing the viewer into the relationship between Scottie and Madeline at the same pace as the characters experience it. At the same time, Hitchcock presents the viewer with a number of visual motifs (such as the famous spirals found in the film) to reenforce the increasingly disturbed nature of the story. As the film progresses, VERTIGO develops a powerfully hypnotic quality rather like the dreamed nightmare of a slow-motion fall. To a certain extent, the stars of VERTIGO are cast against type. This is particularly true of James Stewart, who is best known as the All-American Everyman, and his performance as the increasingly neurotic Scottie is all the more disturbing for our knowledge of his more typical performances. Although usually noted more for beauty than for acting ability, Kim Novack gives a remarkable and extremely believable turn in what is easily the finest performance of her career. The supporting cast--which includes particularly fine performances by Barbara Bel Geddes and Konstantin Shayne--is also excellent, and Bernard Hermann's excellent score adds tremendous dimension to the film. Some viewers, particularly those enamoured of such rapid-fire Hitchcock romps as TO CATCH A THIEF and NORTH BY NORTHWEST, may find themselves impatient with the film's leisurely pace; some viewers will themselves unable to see beyond the twists in the script to grasp Hitchcock's statement on obsessive love. But for most viewers--myself included--this is the penultimate Hitchcock film, the great masterpiece by a director reknowned for masterpieces. A personal favorite, and very highly recommended.
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Summary: The very first shot is the best.
Review: I watched Vertigo for the first time when I was about 12 years old - I remember I couldn't sleep well afterwards. I guess I was a little too young at the time to fully appreciate its scope. Watched it now again in its restored form on DVD. In my opinion the best moment in the movie is the very first shot of the woman's mouth and face and her eyes - the look in her eyes - all in black and white - and then the introduction of colour - the spirals etc., and the ingeneous score. The score is incredible. Very efficient. It really gives the whole thing a dreamlike quality. Generally, I don't like dark haunting movies too much. And Vertigo is haunting.
Most of the other Hitchcock movies have a kind of upbeat humour - an optimistic atmosphere. Take Psycho, for example. Yes, people get killed - but in a strange, almost perverse way the movie is almost funny. And, of course, there is a satisfying conclusion, a happy end. Not so in Vertigo. Note that Hitchcock returned in subsequent movies - North by Northwest, Frenzy, Family Plot ...to his characteristic dark humour. That's why I think that Vertigo - while it deals with themes also present in his other movies - is something of an exception : there is no happy end and there is no relief for the audience. Most of Hitchcock's movies deal with horrible things - like murder, the innocent being wrongfully accused and hunted by society, malice and intrigue,.. - but he always balances this with this typical British dark humour which in a way protects the audience and helps it to digest the on-screen violence. So this dark humour, this distancing of the audience, fulfills a very important function. For instance, after the shower scene in Psycho, we witness Norman Bates clean up the bathroom.
The same kind of dark humour - not quite as dark - can be found in some of the James Bond movies. Its always about helping the audience to accept what has just happened. In Vertigo, this dark humour is missing and this accounts for its dark haunting quality. Again, I am not much of a fan of obssesive love and all that - and probably neither
are most other people - and certainly Vertigo is not as much fun to watch as, say North by Northwest, but the score and the use of colours in it alone are worthy of our attention.
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Summary: Bernard Herrmann's Best with Hitch
Review: Everyone in the world is probably familiar with Bernard Herrmann's score for "Psycho," particularly the music from the shower sequence. And his scores for films like "North By Northwest," "Citizen Kane" and "The Day The Earth Stood Still" rightfully place him at or near the top of the list of the worlds greatest film composers. However, nothing matches "Vertigo" in terms of raw emotive power. If "Vertigo" is Hitchcock's most atmospheric masterpiece, then Herrmann should be given credit for much of the atmosphere and dramatic impact. How else could 10 to 15 minutes of Jimmy Stewart wordlessly following a dazed woman be so riveting? Fortunately, in this restored DVD release of Vertigo, the music is given a prominent place in the mix (only occasionally hampered by the sometimes awkwardly recorded new foley effects), which really supports the dreaminess of it all. Some of the most groundbreaking and progressive music of the 20th century was written in the context of film scoring, and Bernard Herrmann was a giant in his field. It's truly a shame that he and Hitchcock had a falling out prior to the completion of "Torn Curtain" (I might add that if Herrmann's score for "Torn Curtain" had been used, which he did write, the movie might not be considered one of Hitch's lesser pictures today). Between the exotic, lovely, deeply color-saturated and newly restored print and Herrmann's own film score, "Vertigo" as presented in this DVD package is mesmerizing. Very, very highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: "...a flawless, seamless examination of romantic pathology."
Review: One of Hitchcock's most ambitious projects, "Vertigo" left critics and viewers alike unmoved and baffled at the time of it's release. Here, in it's newly restored format, we get to experience one of cinema's most powerful, unusual, and dizzying romances. A film, no matter how many times I see it, remains a flawless, seamless examination of romantic pathology. In one of his greatwet roles, James Stewart's Scotty is one of Hithcock's most richly developed and memorable characters. Trading in his usual nice-guy persona, we get to see a darker, more hard-edged side of Stewart. Kim Novak nails the icey blonde and tawdry redhead, effecting two amazing performances. I really can't think of any two actors besides Stewart and Novak who could be more right for this film. And there are just so many other things about this movie that are just right. As tense as it's is romantic; as complex as it is fascinating, Hitchcock truly weaves a tale of terror, but not just terror. A film about sexual obsession, desire, and deceit. The ending might just crush you, but this film is hardly upbeat. It does, however, seem right that should happen. Everything really falls together at the end, making perfect sense, as everything you thought and knew in the first half of the movie doesn't matter any more. Bernard Herrmann's score is his best, and one of the most memorable of any film. But it's perhaps worth it all, just for that scene in which Judy emerges from the bathroom, remade to look like Madeline, with the green light on her, and the look on Scotty's face. It's almost as relieving and powerful for us as it is for him. And there kiss remains the most erotic and passionate scene in cinema history. With this film, Hitchcock broke the rules of suspense, as the viewer is swept into the figurative whirlpool of Scotty's mind. Using such visual techniques as the famous trck-in/zoom-out shot to signify Scotty's vertigo, and the surreal dream sequence, hithcock reveals Scotty's tortured psyche. A true cinematic revelation!
Rating:
Summary: A Minority Opinion: Not One of His Classics!
Review:
254 reviews! That is surely impressive but most are a tad too generous. This reviewer does not believe Vertigo is even close to the great Alfred Hitchcock's best works. There are basic structural defects. A closer look: As V opens, a retired San Francisco detective (Jimmy Stewart) is hired by an old friend who fears his wife (Kim Novak) may be going crazy. Stewart is to keep tabs. Jimmy dutifully tails Kim up, down, left, right and around the streets of beautiful Frisco. An immediate problem is that one finds it impossible to believe that Novak fails to spot the tailing Jimmy. He certainly looks/acts like a cop. She leads her shadow to old mansions, museums and garden spots of the City by the Bay. When the smoke dies down the hunter is captured by the game. Jimmy is in love with his quarry. Did Stewart forget that Kim is still married to the guy who hired him? Setting this eye pleasing motif, combined with Jimmy's leisurely tailing of Novak, takes far too long and is responsible for Vs absurd 126-minute run time. The couple proceeds to take a seemingly innocuous trip to an old mission. Credit those previous reviewers who note that Jimmy drives on the LEFT side of the road. At the mission, Novak either falls, slips, is pushed or jumps to her death from the mission tower. Jimmy does not follow her up the stairs because he has VERTIGO! And then? And then the film finally heats up! There is a key surprise "reappearance" of a certain blond female. One is reminded of Gene Tierney in "Laura" or Greer Garson in "Random Harvest". (Now there is a classic!) This review will end here so as not to divulge the resolution. That last scene is a good, solid, no -nonsense slamming of the door finale straight out of "Suspicion" or "Notorious". With the help of that nun and her bell, V does indeed tie together at the end. Viewers will be rewarded for their patience. Yet this reviewer believes a star must be deducted due to Vs length. An old "Variety" review mused that the Director became too enamored with San Francisco, hence all those early scenes. Perhaps the screenplay was just too leisurely. And surely those compulsive shopping trips could have been cut. In any event, "Vertigo" simply does not rise to the lofty standards of the other Hitchcock classics we can all recite.
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