Review of Vertigo (1958) by Colby H — 13 Jul 2017

Ahhh...

Vertigo...

Back when it was released, it was one of the first films to compete with Citizen Kane as the greatest film ever made. Is it? It stars James Stewart as a former detective who suffers with a disease known as acrophobia which is a fear of heights which gives him vertigo. (hints the title) His college friend (played by Tom Helmore) is wanting him to privately investigate his wife as she is going through strange stages involving her ancestor. I'll start off by saying that this is Hitchcock's masterwork. He directs with an original style of filmography. He uses unique camerawork. Camerawork that is beyond breathtaking. Not only for the time. It still holds up very well. He also knows how to use different colors to express emotion, and to tell the story. James Stewart plays his character very well. In fact, everyone pulled off a very solid and believable performance. If you notice this in a movie, than it is a good sign. The VFX were nothing short of fitting as it matches perfectly with the protagonist's disease. Not to mention, this is one of the best thrillers ever made. (at least in my opinion) The first act gave us very useful information that you need to know for the rest of the movie, but at the same time, something was building up tension. I don't know what it was, but it was a bomb ready to go off. Once you see what it builds up to, the plot thickens to an extreme extent. So extreme that it becomes completely unpredictable and you don't know if it wants you to figure out what will occur in the future, or if it wants you to sit through the tension and see how it ends. All of it unfolds, and at the end, my head felt heavy with information. It is a film that made me want to see more with all of this information. It is a movie that requires a few viewings to lay out all of this info and come up with a conclusion of how it all unfolded. How did it do this so perfectly? Two words: Alfred Hitchcock.

Plot: 9.5/10.

Visuals: 10/10.

Acting: 8.5/10.

Sound: 10/10.

Editing: 10/10.

Cinematography: 10/10.

Entertainment value: 9.9/10.

Over all score: 10/10.

Over all, Vertigo was a brilliant thriller. One has a heck of a good reputation because of the perfect combination of style and substance. Everything that could've went south went north in the best possible way. 5/5 stars.