Review of Vertigo (1958) by Jacob M — 11 Aug 2013

"You know, the Chinese say that once you've saved a person's life, you're responsible for it forever.".

Every decade or so, the magazine Sight and Sound reveals the top ten films of all-time with the help of the world's top critics. For many decades, the title of the greatest film ever made belonged to Orson Welles's Citizen Kane, a film that I define as decent, but very overrated. In 2012, a new champion was announced, and the film that ended up knocking Citizen Kane from it's top spot was Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece Vertigo, a thriller that was highly ignored in it's original release but has eventually gone down as one of Hitchcock's best films, and the popularity for it has increased every year ever since. For me, Vertigo is not only a masterpiece compared to Citizen Kane, but it's The Master of Suspense's best film, period.

Scottie Ferguson (James Stewart), a police detective suffering from vertigo, meaning he has a fear of heights, is called out of retirement by his old college friend Galvin Hester (Tom Helmore). We find out that Hester's wife Madeline (Kim Novak) has been mysteriously possessed and wants Scottie to investigate her sudden possession. Scottie, who's very skeptical, follows her around everywhere, and eventually realized that he's got more than he bargained for. (I would talk more about the plot, but there's so many twists and turns in Vertigo that it would be wrong to give everything away).

Vertigo also features Barbara Bel Geddes as Midge, a painter and fashion designer who is also girlfriend of Scottie, but finds suspicion in his assignment, Kim Novak also plays Judy Barton, a woman who looks awfully familiar to the possessed woman, and Alfred Hitchcock makes his usual cameo appearance by walking down the street, shown in the first ten minutes or so.

In 1958, when Vertigo was first released, it was a massive box-office failure. Hitchcock blamed he failure on Stewart, believing that a 50 year-old man and a 25 year-old woman do not go well together. (It was this reason why Hitchcock gave the leading role to Cary Grant in his follow-up, North by Northwest). But I believe that Hitchcock was missing the point. I believe the chemistry between Stewart and Novak worked, because the complexity of the story, which is supposed to be very creepy, allows it to do so.

Vertigo was one of the many Hitchcock films that needed a massive restoration in order for the film to be preserved for future generations, and I must say, the restorers did a fantastic job. The cinematography of 50's San Francisco is amazing, beautiful, and disturbing to look at.

When many people think of James Stewart, they think of him as George Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life. When I think of James Stewart, I think of him as Scottie Ferguson in Vertigo. Why, you ask? Because in Vertigo, Stewart gives a very powerful, compelling, and complex performance that makes George Bailey look like his problems were a piece of cake. The complexity of his character is so crazy and torturing that it's easier to root for. In the first half, he was a man with a free spirit. In the second half, he's a crazed lunatic looking for a lost soul. I can't say much, but I was amazed, and with this performance, Jimmy Stewart is in the list of one of my favorite Hollywood actors. As for Kim Novak, she was beautiful, stunning, and outstanding as the role of the possessed woman, though that grey suit was very ugly; don't know what Stewart was thinking when he was admiring it. Barbara Del Geddes was also very memorable as Midge, the other woman, and Tom Helmore as Galvin Elster is very suspicious.

But the greatest thing of all in Hitchcock's ultimate masterpiece is the score by Bernard Hermann. Hermann started out as a weak heart, scoring the atrocious mess that was Citizen Kane. But when the 50's rolled around, Hermann discovered Hitchcock and started scoring his films. In the case of Vertigo, which was I think his first collaboration with The Master of Suspense, I was stunned. Hermann's themes, such as a hypnotic repeated phrase during the madness of Novak and Stewart, and a beautiful, haunting piece, blew my mind. Had Hermann not done the score for Vertigo, it wouldn't have been the same. Man, that dream sequence would be an atrocious disaster.

With brilliant direction and cinematography, a chilling and outstanding Bernard Hermann score, the greatest performance from James Stewart, heavy twists and turns that made Hitchcock a film-making genius, and the greatest dream sequence to come out of a movie, Vertigo is Hitchcock's greatest masterpiece and is definitely deserved to outdo Citizen Kane on the Sight and Sound poll.

"One final thing I have to do... and then I'll be free of the past.".