Rating: 
Summary: Hitchcock! - Enough Said....:)
Review: I'm just now on the verge of becoming a true Hithcock fan. I already was spoiled with Psycho and The Birds. I just recieved Vertigo, North By Northwest, and Rear Window in the mail. I watched Vertigo last night, for the first time and I presume, like other modern day movie watchers I was looking for some fast-paced instant gratification during the beginning of the movie, which didn't happen. It seemed to drag out a bit at first, and I thought I had it pretty much had it figured out half way through, and then... I was pleasantly surprised I didn't! Pure Hitchcock - what a twist! This was indeed an entertaining film for me to watch, and I am looking forward to go back and watch it again to pick some other pieces I'm sure I missed the first time around. You are taken throuh several possibilities with Kim Novak's character at first, then Hitch has you believe you've got her pretty much figured out through Jimmy Stewart's character, and then you get taken for another ride..... If your looking for a good mystery film that will keep you thinking, check this one out. If your looking for a fast-paced action ride, get Raiders Of The Lost Ark or something...:)How dare any of you criticize Hitchcock :-) To all the Hitchcock Buffs, good pic(k)! And one thing I did notice, Hitchcock uses alot of visuals in this film to try to imply certain things.....there is an entire 10 minutes in this movie where there is not one spoken word. There are a couple of minor technical flaws, but overall, a classic mystery. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Twisted Hitchcockian Brilliance
Review: Vertigo would probably not make my list of the top five Hitchcock movies, but not because it is not five stars. It is every bit of that and then some. It's just that I like some others a little more. This may be Sir Alfred's most complex and deep movie ever. Unlike North by Northwest, which came out the year after Vertigo and was very much a fast paced action film without a lot of thinking involved, Vertigo takes place almost exclusively in the characters' minds. Until you realize that, the movie can seem slow and dull. Once you see how Jimmy Stewart is manipulated, you understand the horror of Vertigo. Stewart plays Scottie, a former detective who had to quit because he lost a partner in an unfortunate fall from a roof. Scottie developed a fear of heights from this accident and has vertigo when he climbs even a little ladder. This renders him almost useless in the field of detective work. A former friend named Gavin, knowing Scottie is out of work, hires him to trail his wife (Kim Novak). Gavin thinks his wife is crazy, that she believes she is someone who died many years ago. Scottie reluctantly takes the job and begins following the woman to report to Gavin how she spends her afternoons. It is strange what she does. What I have done is just set the physical scene. But believe me, the real story is ahead. There is tragedy in the movie, along with a complete switch of characters. Eventually the watcher learns what has happened to the characters in the movie, but the way Stewart is cruelly manipulated throughout is tragic. I would rather not give away what is really going on. I would only encourage you to give the film at least two viewings to try to catch the whole story This has been called Hitchcock's most personal film. It is certainly the most emotional of his work, showing the heartbreak that comes with true love being ripped away in an incredibly cruel manner. It took me several viewings to really grasp what this movie was about. I have loved it since. By the way, the top 5 Hitchcock movies in my opinion:
1) Notorious
2) North by Northwest
3) Psycho
4) Rear Window
5) Strangers on a Train
Rating: 
Summary: BRILLIANTLY FLAWED RESTORATION
Review: This transfer is the restoration done in the mid nineties, which unfortunately had the restorers replacing the Hitchcock sound effects track with their own amatuerish one. Clearly they do not know what they are doing in this area, and should have retained the Master's Original above ANY OTHER consideration...but alas, this is why these men are technicians and not directors.
Rating:
Summary: DEEPLY FLAWED RESTORATION
Review: This video is the restoration done in the mid nineties, which unfortunately had the restorers replacing the Hitchcock sound effects track with their own amatuerish one. Clearly they do not know what they are doing in this area, and should have retained the Master's Original above ANY OTHER consideration...but alas, this is why these men are technicians and not directors.
Rating: 
Summary: A Creepy Time-Waster
Review: As solemn and slow-moving as the funeral mass for the Il Supremo of a Central American banana republic, and about as rewarding. The main characters are played by Jimmy Stewart, who's afraid of heights, and Kim Novak, who passes the time by changing hair colors and throwing herself off of church towers. The film's main assests are Robert Burk's lovely wide-sreen color photography (much location shooting in San Francisco and environs, of which Hitchcock was clearly fond) and Bernard Herrmann's score, with its echoes of Wagner and Mahler, yet never something so simple as a rip-off. Stewart is really quite good as the creepy title character, a repressed stalker, and Novak is suitably pathetic as the object of his obssession (and beautifully costumed by Edith Head), but despite the good work of many involved, by the end I felt that I wasted a lot of time and need a long, hot shower with lots of soap . . .
Rating:
Summary: A spellbinding masterpiece
Review: As I watched Vertigo for the first time, I was completely captivated. There are twists and turns in this movie that you would never expect. I can remember being in disbelief as the film whisks the viewer into a world filled with deceipt, betrayel and even romance. A powerful ending to an amazing movie. Definitely Hitchcock's best, and this collector's edition is something that can be watched again and again.
Rating:
Summary: Hitchcock's Masterpiece
Review: Needs no other explanation. This is Hitchcock best movie and in the top 20 in movie history. Highly reccomended.
Rating:
Summary: Vertigo: a Masterpiece?
Review: With less than enthusiastic reviews upon its' 1958 release, Vertigo has since been proclaimed one of Hitchcock's best. Although very well done, I am not sure it qualifies as a "masterpiece". John 'Scottie' Ferguson (James Stewart) is a former detective suffering from Vertigo. He is hired by an old acquaintance, Gavin Elster (Tom Helmore) who is very concerned about his wife's recent behavior. He convinces John to shadow his wife constantly so together they can decipher the odd happenings that are taking place. His wife, Madeleine Elster (Kim Novak) seems to be pulled by someone or something from the past but totally unaware of her actions. Midge Wood (Barbara Bel Geddes) a long time close friend masks her true feelings for John, standing by him no matter what. In time John falls in love with Madeleine, and she with him. All is lost when John, due to his extreme Vertigo is unable to prevent Madeleine from leaping to her death from a bell tower. John is traumatized and spends time in an asylum trying to recover. After leaving the asylum his obsession with Madeleine continues. He wonders around aimlessly and in a haze until he discovers Judy Barton (Kim Novak). She ignites within him a reason to live once more. They embark on a relationship, one that is based entirely on his terms, which creates emotional havoc for Judy. Against her better judgment she complies with his demands and, just as she feels things will work out, John has a revelation that destroys everything. A suspenseful and intriguing film with a true Hitchcock style ending.
Rating:
Summary: Those Who Don't Understand, Never Will...
Review: And for those that love this movie, no explanation is required and all criticism is valueless mutterings. On the surface it may seem like a typical thriller, but those capable of understanding recognize that this film operates on another level. It's power lies in it's ability to evoke or suggest. Like in a poem, it is not the literal meaning of the individual words that matters but rather their power to suggest or evoke less obvious things. All great art functions in this way. To truly appreciate any great work of art you must feel it on an intuitive level and not merely on an intellectual one. If what I'm writting is baffling and frustrating, I'm afraid no amount of explaining will help you.
Rating: 
Summary: If you don't like it, it's OK.!
Review: I turned to these reviews to find out if there is some criticism at all on this film and thank God there is. I primarily bought this because it is regarded a masterpiece by so many people. How strange that so many think so high of this one and I don't get it. To me the main flaw in this one is the story itself. Just at the moment you are getting involved in the story the plot is given away and it is precisely the one outcome you predicted in the first place but hoped it would take an unexpected turn. What is left in the last third of the film is a story about obsession. I think the only way to love this one is when you can relay to having an obsession in one way or another. If you don't you can not identify with James Stewart at all, even though he is the man that represented all man, according to Hitchcock. He is a rather silly man if you look at his relationship to Eden Bell, a girl who is close to everything a man could ask for, but lacks only mystery. He falls for Kim Novak who, apart from her good looks, has only mystery to offer but nothing more. And being mysterious should not be confused with being interesting (there's some food for thought!). So basically I had to sit through some scenes that are really embarrassing if you regard how Stewart's character makes a fool of himself. Towards the end, again you can see what's coming for miles and miles. You hope you're wrong, but again there is no twist or surprise, but an ending that is so blunt that it made me laugh and cry at the same time. Both because I didn't really care anymore at that point. I stick to Rear Window. The 3 stars are mainly for photography.
And where the hell did that nun come from?
| 
