Review of Vertigo (1958) by Steve G — 12 Jun 2013

Critics have recently deemed this the greatest film ever made. While it is great, it's probably not even the best Hitchcock, let alone the greatest ever.

It was a powerful study in human emotion, desire, & ideals. Yet it is flawed.

Firstly, half the movie is made up of San Francisco chase scenes that drag on & on.

The other half is a horny old retired guy chasing after a quasi-possessed married woman.

There was a lack of reality to it. I can't really imagine her & her "husband" conversing about Scottie...

"Okay, so now I got him believin' that I'm totally spooked... what next?" That is what is supposedly taking place off-screen. But it's strenuous to even imagine.

Then he sees a girl, & she kinda, sorta looks like Kim Novak, & he's pissed she doesn't realize it. And then he's gonna go and make her so, & she's gonna take it; and Scottie, all the while, is convinced this doppelganger would simply do this for him. And then, oh shucks, it IS Kim Novak! That whole pretense is just exceedingly absurd to me.

Sorry for indulging in continuity issues, but how exactly did they leave the bell tower without ever being seen?

It also never really touches on the fact that Stewart was chasing after someone who, in his mind, was the beloved wife of a good friend.

Critics like this movie because everybody's a little off...because they're off. That's what they relate to. They don't like it when people are on, because they consider it unrealistic, because it's not who they are.

The most terrifying aspect of the movie are Kim Novak's eyebrows.

Not at all the most satisfying Hitchcock experience. But there is enough to enjoy. I suppose I just enjoy things less when I think they're overrated. If that wasn't the case, my words would likely be less harsh.