Vertigo (1958)

Country: USA

Director: Alfred Joseph Hitchcock
Genre: Romance/Psychological Thriller/
Avant-Garde
Rating: 8.5/10

Scotty Ferguson (James Stewart) explains to his friend Midge (Barbara Bel Geddes) - a woman to whom he was briefly engaged to, that Vertigo is a condition, a feeling of dizziness due to fear of heights. and as he explains this to her, he tries to reassure himself that it's possible to overcome this condition of his - the so called acrophobia.

The movie begins with a man being chased by Scotty and a policeman on the roof-tops in San-Francisco. Scotty is left hanging from a high rise building during the chase – at this point the camera zooms in and tracks back to evoke the feeling of "Vertigo", and it does so very effectively. So what's the big deal if the camera zooms-in and tracks-back you might say? Well....you will have to see it to find out the kind of optical illusion these opposing movements create. Furthermore, The movie was shot in San-Franscisco for the simple reason (or is it so simple?) that the city itself is Vertiginious in its topography.

Coming back to the story, after the tragic death of the police officer, Scotty retires from his job as an investigator, only to be lured back into it by a friend of his named Gavin Elster (Tom Helmore) who asks Scotty to personally scout on his wife Madeleine (Kim Novak). Elster explains that his wife Madeleine has been possessed by a spirit and persuades Scotty to tail her. With some hesitation, Scotty finally accepts to investigate the matter…. and thus begins a wordless musical montage that is so very hypnotic that it takes you to a different time and place…. a San-Francisco that is full of deserted parks, rustic buildings with their beautiful sign-boards decorated in neon lights, a secluded museum, an abandoned monastery or so it seems, and so on… all of these images add to the suspense. The screenplay by Alec Coppel and Samuel Taylor is tight, and the pace perfectly complements the story as the movie progresses. Hitchcock, like Kurusawa is masterful in the way he controls the pace of his storytelling.

note: When I describe/comment on the SF (also short for Scotty Ferguson) of 60s, it's from what I have read about it in the books, snippets so to say. During the 1960s SF was experiencing social and cultural revolution, what's called the San-Francisco Renaissance. Therefore, I can safely say that SF was not the way the movie portrays it was in the 60s.

An element which plays a very key role in the movie is the haunting background score, beautifully crafted by the late Bernard Herrmann (North by Northwest, Psycho). Herrmann debuted as a music composer in Orsen welles's Citizen Cane. After which he worked with hitchcock on several other projects. There are very few movies that employ music which stir our emotions. and it is amazing, and in a way inexplicable to the extent to which what the background score does to this movie. The music precisely translates the feelings and emotions of the two characters (Scotty and Madeleine) involved. Few movies have employed music so effectively as the way Vertigo did - Bad Education, The Motorcycle Diaries, Autumn Sonata, Requiem for a Dream to name a few.

After saving Madeleine from committing suicide (she's suffers from hallucinations of death), Scotty begins to fall in love with her and it seems like she does too. But tragedy strikes again only this time Madeleine succeeds in killing herself (by falling from the mission tower) as scotty witnesses this act helplessely. He tries to follow her up the stairs but his vertigo prevents him from doing so. Scotty does not seem to come to terms with her death and is mentally paralyzed and so suffers from conditions of delusion - melancholia and hypochondria, and is admitted to an asylum where his friend Midge tries to get him out of it (by playing Mozart). Then one day as he's walking down a street he notices a woman who uncannily resembles Madeleine. He follows her up to her room only to find out that her name is Judy Barton from Salina, Kansas. But at this point in the movie, Scotty is so obssessed in making her look like Madeleine that he somehow convinces Judy to dress up like Madeleine to which she agrees.
I just love the way this part of movie heads from here, not sure as to what's going to happen of Scotty and Judy (or is it Madeleine??). Well I guess you will have to watch the movie to find out.

As all the these events take place, the camera movement is subjective, meaning, for most part we see it through the eyes of our protagonist, mostly because hitchcock wanted to explore/depict the fascination of males with femininity. Which is just the opposite in the case of Rear Window, where the male character (Jimmy Stewart) hardly seem to notice his female counterpart (Grace Kelly). Surprisingly, scotty seems to have knowledge on how to dress woman to the minutest detail. This in a way reflects the sense of taste hitchcock has in woman and/or in the way they dress (as is evident in his other movies too).

The movie presents Madeleine as a fetish object - an object of desire for our protagonist, a desperate man who is at the mercy of this beautiful woman whom he's investigating and is madly in love with. and then he meets Judy Barton in whom he's trying to reconstruct Madeleine. Only Jimmy Stewart could do justice to this role.

Alfred Hitchcock is "The master of suspense". The film Vertigo is his greatest directorial achievement and is also ironically the most under-rated and under-appreciated work of art of his. Adapted to screen from the French novel d'Entre les Morts (from among the dead) by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac, this movie explores the Psychopathology of love rolled into a suspense/thriller.

The Movie starts with spiralling designs in the background and with titiles displayed in the foreground, designed by the very talented Saul Bass. He was, and is one of the best ever graphic designers the film industry has had. Some of his works include title designing for - Scorsese's Goodfellas, Ridley Scott's Alien, Hitchcock's North by Northwest which has inspired opening credits of Fincher's Panic Room. Kim Novak is stunning, a visual treat so to say for which the credit purely goes to Edith Head for her beautiful costume design. My favourite scene of novak is when she makes her first appearance in the dimly lit restuarant (Ernie's). Those pastel colored costumes were meant for her. The Cinematography by Robert Burks is stunning in the way it captures the beauty of the scenes both indoors and outdoors. Wide angle lenses are used to get the panoramic shots of the city which includes the famous golden gate bridge, the twin peaks, and the legion of honor. Kudos to Henry Bumstead without who's thoughtful production design the movie would not have had the feel and aesthetics it extravagantly displays.

This movie is the ultimate in aesthetic experience I have had in my last nine years as a film viewer. Other films in this so called aesthetic bracket include Sunset Boulevard, Casablanca, All about Eve, Lawrence of Arabia, The English Patient, and most recently The Motorcycle Diaries to mention a few.

Vertigo is definitely a must see for people who appreciate and celebrate art in every form, not to mention the complex story line. It will leave you in a state of shock, and confusion; perfect in every sense, mostly because this is a movie as writer/Director Scorsese says was personal to Hitchcock in more ways than one.

Prasad Bhat.