Universally regarded as Hitchcock's masterpiece, but I beg to differ. As with any of his movies, there are stunning visuals and photography and cool opening credits. Sadly, the characters here are not likeable, and don't make up for their mental issues with other qualities. James Stewart is amazing, and Kim Novak is just OK. Barbara Bel Geddes is very good as Scotty's best friend. Interesting score. The last 40 minutes are superb and very different from the boring first hour.
There is no words that will ever quite capture the sheer brilliance of this film. It is essential film noir and utterly captivating from the opening credits. The Score, The filmography, The visual effects. Everything blends so seamlessly it appears effortless. This unconventional story is what you, an audience member, make it: A tainted love affair. A physiological thriller. A voueristic fantasy. A haunting detective story. James Stewart is truly mmesmerising it is like no performance he has delivered before and combined with Kim Novak's stunning beauty that just grasps you in a way that you can really believe Stewart's obsession with her character. Together their chemistry is enough to ignite a response that could keep anyone enticed. I could watch this film over and over again and each time find some new aspect to love about it. It is the perfect film and a remarkable achievement to the craft of filmmaking. Hitchcock could never top this no matter how he tried, every single scene is like that from a dream. It's poetry for the screen. The calibre of movies today could not even dare to stand next to this. There is a reason this film has a huge following. Visually inspiring. An absolute masterpiece.
This films can only be put into one word: "Masterpiece". It is amazing to watch and it has such a plot twist that even you can't believe it. More will come later.
Personally, this movie is uncomfortably confusing for me. The small revelations that are unveiled throughout the story are pretty neat, but not enough to make me sit through half an hour of following one person (mostly in a car). I really just couldn't stand the intense, intimate obsessions of each character for one person or thing; it just made each character "creepy" and pathetic, and not in a good way either. The fact that I was in a constant state of "Huh?" or "Really?" throughout the film just didn't work for me.
After watching "Vertigo" a couple of times, I think it's official: it's my new all-time favorite movie. Maybe it ties with my former all-time favorite, but, damn! - I just love this film way too much.
Hitchcock's films have always been pretty much hit-or-miss for me: I either love them (Shadow of a Doubt, Psycho, Lifeboat) or hate them (The Birds, Frenzy, The Man Who Knew Too Much). VERTIGO, howver, is one I've never really been able to decide how I feel about. I'm leaning towards putting it in the "miss" column, since it's pretentious and muddled, but then again it may well be Hitchcock's most technically well made film.
Oh well, maybe I'll just forget it and go watch an Orson Welles film instead...
Just seen this movie for the first time. I enjoy a really good thriller now and then - one you can really sink your teeth into - and this is certainly one of them. I am always impressed by clever, original writing and a plotline with the kind of twists and turns that keep you guessing and on the edge of your seat throughout, rather than leaving you totally confused and reaching for the aspirin. "Vertigo" is an interesting mix of fear, love, murder, and betrayal and has just enough of a darkside without making it too gloomy. I must admit I haven't seen many of Hitchcock's works, but this film has peaked my interest and now I have a compulsion to see more. And, of course, I have to mention the sheer class of James Stewart. There'll never be another quite like 'Jimmy' :)
I thought Hitchcock's moves would have been copied million times so far but still he managed to surprise me! What a movie! I think if the ending was different this film would have been so different. It is the wow-factor.
Una pelicula que tiene muchas cosas resctabales, independiente a su maravillosa calidad cinematografica. Vencer los miedos, superar el pasado, el karma y el amor, que es la fuerza mas grande que hay. Yo creo que es todo un clasico y aunque, sinceramente la primera vez que vi la portada, no creia que fuera una pelicula asi.
Psychological thriller from Alfred Hitchcock.When an ex- detective gets asked to spy on an old friends wife who he believes has become posessed the detective reluctantly agrees.But after following the young woman for a while he starts to believe that she could really be posessed and not only that,he falls in love with her.But the love soon becomes obsession and when the woman seemingly commits suicide this has a very negative effect on the former detective.Despite being a bit over long this has a few decent twists and good performances, especially from James Stewart as the ex detective with a fear of heights.The film as a whole is very good now so in 1958,the films original release,people must've been messing their pants!
The best movie of 1958 and the strangest Hitchcock tale yet, telling of a man who is afraid of heights, and of a paranoid mystery caper about loss and redemption.
LETTERBOX. Algunos elementos anticuados, como el sueño, son la única queja. Por lo demás, es una excelente puesta en escena de una historia fascinante y onírica. / Some dated elements, like the dream sequence, are the only complaint in this otherwise excelent staging of a fascinating, dreamlike story.
This is Hitchcock's best. I was confused when I first saw the movie, but after I understood what was going on, it became one of my favorites. The musical scores in this movie really fit perfectly I think. It just doesn't get much better than this.
A classic Hitchcock film with alot of tension and alot of romance aswell. James Stewart is brilliant in this film and so is Kim Novak. This film is quite a disturbing film but it is absolutely awesome though. One of Hitchcocks best films but not his best in my opinion. I prefered Shadow Of A Doubt, North By Northwest, Psycho and Rear Window.
Un détective engagé pour suivre la femme d'un ami s'éprend peu à peu d'elle jusqu'à l'obsession. Du très grand Hitchcock. Deux à trois intrigues en un même film, dont un puissant "MacGuffin" qui éveille grandement l'intérêt du spectateur pour le diriger vers une autre avenue, technique typiquement hitchcockienne.
L'ambiance de folie obsessionnelle est très sentie. James Stewart livre une performance crédible dans le rôle principal. Certains artifices visuels kitsch font sourire, mais rien qui ne fasse vraiment décrocher. Des prises de vues très audacieuses, une réalisation sans failles. Définitivement un classique du septième art.
Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece was recently ranked as the best mystery film by the AFI and it's quite hard to argue with that sentiment. The sprawling, nearly labyrinthine tone to the film puts the viewer in the sense of vertigo that Stewart's character is stuck in throughout the entire storyline. It is also, quite possibly, one of the most personal films Hitchcock ever made. Stewart's character has an unhealthy obsession with icy detached blondes and remakes his brunette girlfriend towards the end of the film into the dream. Hitchcock and Stewart's character are both obsessed with the image of the icy blonde, and not their reality. Stewart and Kim Novak deliver performances that should have gotten more awards time attention. Seeing Stewart play this kind of obsessive creep is like watching Tom Hanks play a rapist -- it's so fascinating, yet bizarre to see him in such a twisted role.
It's hard to believe that this movie wasn't well received when originally released 50 years ago. James Stewart plays against type and gives us an incredible performance that's almost uncomfortable to watch as we see him go from 'regular joe' to an obsessed, tortured wreck. Kim Novak was just the perfect amount of cool to keep the intensity level manageable, and Northern California has never looked so good. One of Hitchcocks best!
There is definitely no false advertising on the cover poster which states that this is Alfred Hitchcock's Masterpiece. In fact somehow "masterpiece" seems like a bit of an understatement.
Structurally perfect, yes; psychologically harrowing, yes; gorgeous musical score; but the truly mystifying thing about this movie, for me, is how drawn I am to the subtle, dreamlike world in which it takes place. I truly forget myself watching it.
Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments Will hum about mine ears, and sometime voices That, if I then had waked after long sleep, Will make me sleep again: and then, in dreaming, The clouds methought would open and show riches Ready to drop upon me that, when I waked, I cried to dream again.
MCT:August 5, 2008
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