Vertigo

 

 

"Good Evening....."

 

 

Welcome to my blog.  I have become a very apt pupil on several genres of mystery movies.  But my main love is Alfred.  And if you are reading this...he may be a love of yours as well.  I'd like to feature a different random thought on one of his movies as often as they pop into my head.

I think the place to begin is in the middle.  Lets go with "Vertigo".  If you haven't seen it, I think you should feel shame and embarrassment.  If you have, let's move on!

 

The Film

 

This is the film Hitchcock regarded as his most personal.  He became obsessed with it.  He dreamed of it while making it, had nightmares while deciding how to portray the film's most compelling theme throughout, the vertigo that the main character Scotty (played by James Stewart) suffers from, and became so obsessed with his leading lady (Kim Novak) that she was not allowed to date or see men socially during its filming.  She was HIS for this period of time and he wanted her to focus on nothing but that.

Camera trick

The film is famous for a camera trick Hitchcock invented to represent Scotty's vertigo - a simultaneous zoom-in and pull-back of the camera that creates a disorientating depth of field.
The visual, often imitated, has become known as a "dolly zoom" or "trombone shot".  It was the first time an audience could see and almost feel the loss of equilibrium that the character could feel.  The fear.



Watch the effect here...

 

James Stewart as 'Scotty'

 

If you watch the above video, and I hope you do, you can see how genius James Stewart was portraying the film's main character.  He breaks from his norm.  He becomes a character the world has never seen him be.  A man...obsessed...haunted...out of his mind.  In watching that video, I'm compelled.  How would you portray "obsessed, haunted, out of your mind?"  Norman Bates did it one way...James Stewart did it another.  Both were wonderful, but Stewart is delicious.  He perfectly portrays a normal man, one with no problems to speak of, (could be you...or me..) to eventually becoming an obsessed mad man.  He's perfect.

 

For now..

I'll leave you with these images.  And this tidbit of information:

Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo has replaced Orson Welles's Citizen Kane at the top of a poll that sets out to name one film "the greatest of all time" - British Film Institute's Sight and Sound

I'm sure Vertigo will come up again in this blog, as it is one of my favorites, so this is just a little teaser.

Stay tuned.  I'm thinking some Dial 'M' for Murder may be coming soon.