Vertigo 1958
This is one of Hitchcock’s all-time classics. I had seen it before and enjoyed it, but watching it again and being a little more critical, this movie is just weird. First, Jimmy Stewart follows this woman around spying on her (he’s a detective, so maybe that part is okay). Then he “falls in love” with her after rescuing her from a drowning, undressing her while she is unconscious, and keeping her in his house against her will. Since he doesn’t really know her, I’m not sure what the basis of their love is. Once she “dies” he finds a look-alike who he insists change her clothes and hair to look like his dead girlfriend even though clearly the woman is completely against this and protests over and over before giving in until she has become the woman he is obsessed with.
The detective story itself is enjoyable, but the obsessive stuff just feels very wrong. Stewart’s character has a great friendship with an attractive woman who he refuses to date (though they were engaged at some point?). Though it might have been unthinkable at the time, a confirmed bachelor in San Francisco whose best friend is a woman he has no romantic interest in would certainly be considered gay automatically today.
So the gay man falls for the gorgeous blonde and then cruelly transforms someone else into that blonde against her will.
Weird, weird movie.
Update in 2021: Lately this movie has worked its way to the top of some rankings as the greatest movie of all time. I thought I would give it another chance and bought it on 4K. Old movies don’t necessarily look great in 4K, but this movie really looks great. There was some weird darkening going on at one point in the bookstore, which may have been my TV. Also there are a couple of good extras about a restoration done in 1996 which also has a lot of stuff in it about making the movie. Then there are small features about Hitchock’s collaborators including Saul Bass for the titles, Bernard Herrmann for music, and Hithcock’s wife, Alma for story advice. These are older features, but worth watching.
Vertigo has some great elements and I can see how people would consider it one of Hitchcock’s best made movies, but I still feel the story fails in a lot of ways, ultimately very gimmicky like so many Hitchcock films. Not just the weird way Scottie almost date rapes his friend’s wife and obsesses about a girl against her wishes. It is a movie about abusing, controlling, and murdering women made by a guy (Hitchcock) who liked to control (and probably abuse) women, during a time in Hollywood when that was accepted. Stewart’s mania about remaking Judy goes on for too long and Judy’s character makes so little sense (more about that in the spoiler) that she is more of a plot device than a character. This still gets a B-.
Written: 24 Dec 2007
Owned on: UHD, Blu-ray, Digital