Comments on Screen Savour: Vertigo (1958)

Excellent list there. I've always been a fan of
2009-01-31T11:21:00.000-05:00
Excellent list there. I've always been a fan of The Birds as well, and what's really amazing is that four of your five were directed sequentially by Hitchcock in the span of 1958 to 1963! Vertigo, then North by Northwest, then Psycho, then The Birds. What a feat.

In no order
Psycho
Vertigo
Rear Window
2009-01-31T01:30:00.000-05:00
In no order
Psycho
Vertigo
Rear Window
The Birds
North by Northwest

Thanks for the comments, all.

@DCD - Hmm.....

2009-01-28T21:15:00.000-05:00

Thanks for the comments, all.

@DCD - Hmm... good question. Of course Hitchcock was frequently close to his material – Rear Window as a summation of his views on the power of cinema and voyeurism, The Wrong Man as a summation of his fear of being wrongfully accused, and many others closer to other facets of the complicated man. I think Vertigo is his most personal film because it seems most closely tied to his obsessions, his life as a director, and because it's about control. It's about a man who has an evident fear (heights) that paralyzes him, and he "crafts" an object of his desire, much like Hitchcock crafted his pictures and women to fit the roles he desired.

@ R.D. - Oh yeah! Thanks for reminding me. Man, those writers couldn't have struck better luck than having Vertigo and Les diaboliques made from their material. Thanks for the nice comments, too.

@ Sam - Thanks for stopping by and the very kind words. I love Vertigo, and totally agree with all high placement of it. I'm very excited for you to reveal a '50s list; it's a great decade (maybe my favorite) for cinema.

@ Pacze - Yeah, I hear you. My love for Rear Window is largely due to its suspense, its craft, its actors and performances, and the intersection of Hitchcock and the pure expression of what it means to go to the movies. Still, one can't deny Vertigo... it's probably #2 in my Hitchcock listing.

@ MovieMan - Yeah, I did check out the link... part of me really wanted to respond to the thread, and another part of me thought, well, if they don't get Vertigo now, there's nothing I can say that will turn them around. But I agree: it got under my skin. I took Lincoln's advice, though... I wrote a long, long reply and then, instead of placing it in my desk drawer, I just deleted it. I was enough to get me through. Thanks for the good words here, too.

@ Farzan - Thanks for the comments, man. Definitely agree. What are your five fav Hitchcock films?

Fantastic review, this is easily one of if not the...

2009-01-27T23:11:00.000-05:00

Fantastic review, this is easily one of if not the best Hitchcock film. Nice info on the film.

Did you check out that link I provided a while bac...

2009-01-27T17:25:00.000-05:00

Did you check out that link I provided a while back, to the writer at The House Next Door who was trashing Vertigo? It drove me up the wall...

This is one of my two or three favorite films of all time. Rear Window is marvellously executed, a rich universe to enter, but - in addition to the plot twist whose sheer surprise has stayed with me over a dozen years and mulitple viewings - it's what Pacze calls the "aura of inspiration and magic" which has lingered over Vertigo and keeps it so high in my personal canon.

Funny - in a way - that the Cahiers folks should love this film, as the very French filmmakers Hitchcock was referencing were the ones they claimed to despise (particularly Truffaut, who wrote the infamous book on Hitchcock - yet beneath his iconoclasm, he had a definite stylistic affinity to Clouzot and other "quality" directors whether he wanted to admit it or not).

Thanks for the overview, which is remarkably generous despite the focus on Hitchcock.

I enjoy Rear Window more than Vertigo
2009-01-27T13:05:00.000-05:00
I enjoy Rear Window more than Vertigo, but whereas Window feels like a film expertly-made (written, directed, acted, shot, all of it!) Vertigo has the aura of inspiration and magic.

Excellent post.

"The Alfred Hitchcock film I have screened more of...

2009-01-26T22:42:00.000-05:00
"The Alfred Hitchcock film I have screened more often than any other is Vertigo, his 1958 masterpiece that may be the purest cinematic expression of obsession ever made. It is the film often considered to be not only his greatest, but one of the greatest in all of cinema."

And your passion for REAR WINDOW notwithstanding I must say I quite agree with the cahiers enthusism, not to mention Sight and Sounjd, whose well-respected decade-lists have consistantly named this among the greatest films in the history of the cinema. In trying to put together a list for out soon-to-be-announced 50's poll, I believe I will place VERTIGO third behind Mizoguchi's SANSHO DAYU and Ozu's TOKYO STORY, and ahead of Bresson's DIARY OF A COUNTRY PRIEST and Bergman's WILD STRAWBERRIES, so for me this is truly one of the greatest of films.
And a film this great deserves a great review, and you T.S. have hit a home run here, examining everything from the film's reception and reputation, to its artistry, themes, various components (yes Herrmann's score is one of the greatest ever written) to it's singlar setting to its production history. And ,like you (and Dark City Dame)I can't count th enumber of times I've seen this brooding, atmospheric masterpiece, yet everytime I've seen it I learn something new.

And a great review of a great film deserves great comments, and DCD has risen again to the occasion out of a deep passion for this film, which has received penultimate treatment at her Noirish City site over the past months.

Kudos one and all!

What a thorough, and thoroughly researched, analys...

2009-01-26T17:06:00.000-05:00
What a thorough, and thoroughly researched, analysis of "Vertigo," a movie I love. I especially like the way you give credit to the great Herrmann music score for contributing so greatly to the movie. Especially in the scenes where Scotty is tailing Madeleine around SF, the music score is an equal to the visuals in creating such unforgettable atmosphere. You mention Boileau and Narcejac and also "Les Diaboliques." Did you know that they also wrote the book on which that movie is based?

We could all tell that this was a very important p...

2009-01-26T15:26:00.000-05:00
We could all tell that this was a very important project for Hitch, and that he was feeling this story very deeply, very personally." - Vertigo screenwriter Sam Taylor.

T.S.said,"Cinema's most obsessive director regarded the film as one of his most personal, yet what we know about him allows us to know that even without this confession..."

Hi! T.S.,
Your review of Hitchcock's 1958 film "Vertigo" is very detailed and well written.(Of course, I plan to print out a copy of your review.) But, I have one question to ask...(Without running the "risk" of sounding "dense," but..Why is this considered director Alfred Hitchcock's most "personal" film? I'am quite sure this question has been answered, but maybe I have just overlooked the answer(s)...
...I have even asked author Dan Auiler, during our interview,

"I have also purchased your book "Vertigo: The Making of a classic" in order to try to find out "clues" into why is "Vertigo" referred to as his(Hitchcock) most personal film?"

but he didn't answer my question.(Unintentionally, of course!)

[Note:] In my previous post author Dan Auiler, last name has been mispelled 3 times.
I'am so sorry! about the incorrect spelling of author Dan Auiler, last name.
Thanks,
DCD ;-)

Hi! T.S.,
Speaking of author Dan Aulier, below...

2009-01-26T14:17:00.000-05:00
Hi! T.S.,
Speaking of author Dan Aulier, below is a question that I asked him (author Dan Aulier,) (when he was a guest on my blog.) about the "repeated" viewing of Hitchcock's 1958 film "Vertigo."

Why do you think Hitchcock classic 1958 film ("Vertigo") still require repeated viewing?

Personally, I have watched it so many times that, I have lost count of how many times that I have viewed the film. And in preparation for this interview,

I have again viewed Hitch's 1958 film Vertigo last night.

I have also purchased your book "Vertigo: The Making of a classic" in order to try to find out "clues" into why this is referred to as his most personal film."

Author Dan Aulier, response:
author Dan Auiler said,"Vertigo continues to stun me in that regard--in fact, I would have to argue that Vertigo cannot be understood until the second, third or beyond viewings. And even more profound, I think, is that it seems Hitchcock designed the film this way--there are several moments that are meaningless to the first time viewer and can really only be understood on subsequent viewings."

Comments on Screen Savour: Vertigo (1958)

In no orderPsychoVertigoRear Window 2009-01-31T01:30:00.000-05:00 In no orderPsychoVertigoRear WindowThe BirdsNorth by Northwest

Thanks for the comments, all. @DCD - Hmm.....

Fantastic review, this is easily one of if not the...

Did you check out that link I provided a while bac...

I enjoy Rear Window more than Vertigo 2009-01-27T13:05:00.000-05:00 I enjoy Rear Window more than Vertigo, but whereas Window feels like a film expertly-made (written, directed, acted, shot, all of it!) Vertigo has the aura of inspiration and magic.Excellent post.

"The Alfred Hitchcock film I have screened more of...

What a thorough, and thoroughly researched, analys...

We could all tell that this was a very important p...

Hi! T.S., Speaking of author Dan Aulier, below...

In no order
Psycho
Vertigo
Rear Window
2009-01-31T01:30:00.000-05:00
In no order
Psycho
Vertigo
Rear Window
The Birds
North by Northwest

Thanks for the comments, all.

@DCD - Hmm.....

I enjoy Rear Window more than Vertigo
2009-01-27T13:05:00.000-05:00
I enjoy Rear Window more than Vertigo, but whereas Window feels like a film expertly-made (written, directed, acted, shot, all of it!) Vertigo has the aura of inspiration and magic.

Excellent post.

Hi! T.S.,
Speaking of author Dan Aulier, below...