Review of Vertigo (1958) by Sidney S — 01 Jan 2013

Brilliantly pieced together and masterfully told. The master of the thriller genre Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo may intact be the definitive thriller/mystery film with its bold and grim story of madness, lust, and mystery.

Vertigo is a great film that had a very simple story a man is concerned for his wife's state of mind so he hires a detective to follow her, a detective who is afraid of heights (This comes into play quite nicely in the film's opening and in the main storyline). James Stewart plays Scottie Ferguson, the detective on the trail. Stalking her every move the man believes his wife to be possessed or have "something" within her causing her mad and suicidal behaviour. The closer Scottie gets, the more fascinated with this woman, Madeleine he becomes.

Hitchcock's pacing of this film is brilliant, keeping you hooked and on edge for the entire length of the film. The music fits quite nicely into the film's thrilling and mysterious tone and image as well as the realism, grit and darker atmosphere that begins taking over as the film progresses. I praise this as perhaps Hitchcock's definitive work of his career, for the film's story, its performances (notably by Stewart), pacing of the plot the mystique and a twist that not many pictures can pull off with a haunting and climatic ending.

Hitchcock's filming from his camera angles, movement and locations helped also bring forth the film's style and purpose. The film's haunting dream sequences and "Vertigo" sequences are also classic scenes and purely great. Vertigo is a fine work of classic cinema that still has significance in the art of film making today.