Vertigo (Universal Legacy Series) Reviews

• Earns every bit of its reputation.

  
  By AL4MKKO24563R on 2000-04-07
  Vertigo is one of those films that is so good, no one at the time of release is able to appreciate it. It was dismissed by critics, ignored by audiences and, to my knowledge, didn't win a single Academy Award (this last part isn't shocking -- Citizen Kane didn't win Best Picture). It's interesting that the reputation of this film seems to have grown substantially since the public found out more about Alfred Hitchcock's private life. For example, Scottie Ferguson's obsession with Kim Novak mirrors Hitch's own obsession with beautiful blondes, most notably Grace Kelly. Actors often bare their souls to the world, but very rarely are we aware when a director bares his/her soul. Those who dismiss Hitchcock as just a taskmaster director of suspense films should study Vertigo. He is essentially dealing with his own weaknesses and inner demons on film.

  Vertigo also contains two great performances -- those of James Stewart and Kim Novak. Stewart reveals a dark side that might shock those who just know him from Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and It's a Wonderful Life. He is completely believeable as a man (Hitchcock's alter ego) who is consumed by obsession. Likewise Kim Novak is wonderful and totally convincing as Madeline/Judy. Vera Miles (Lila Crane in Psycho) was originally cast, but it's hard to see anyone else but Kim Novak in the role. She is utterly convincing as the distant, aristocratic Madeline AND as the earthy working class girl Judy. I can't think of many actresses who could be so effective in both roles. Grace Kelly, for example, might have been able to pull off Madeline, but probably would have been laughable as Judy. It's too bad more directors couldn't see past Novak's sex kitten image and cast her in more substantial roles.

  In case you couldn't guess, I highly recommend this DVD. The documentary about the restoration of the film is very interesting and makes you realize what a job it is to restore a film. The DVD edition also includes an ending that was only on the foreign release prints. This edition does Hitchcock's masterpiece all the justice it deserves and then some.

  (An additional note: I live in the San Francisco Area and have visited many of the locations featured in the film, including Madeline's apartment, Muir Woods, Mission Delores, The Palace of the Legion of Honor and Fort Point. Just to clarify for those of you who might be wondering: (1) there is no portrait of Carlotta at the Palace of the Legion of Honor and (2) there are no stairs leading down to the water at Fort Point -- the stairs were an in-studio shot that enabled James Stewart to more easily fish Kim Novak out of San Francisco Bay.)
  
  

• A Masterpiece, but not Hitchcock's alone

  
  By A6FIAB28IS79 on 2005-05-03
  There's a film critic, David Thompson, who claims that Hitchcock's movies are "shallow." Although unfair, irrelevant, and short-sighted, it's an argument one could make about the Master's oeuvre-with the exception of "Vertigo," a film that exceeds the control of its director, a movie that bears the stamp of the auteur yet must be judged a deeply resonant, collaborative triumph by three of the screen's indisputable geniuses: Hitch, Bernard Herrmann, and James Stewart.
  
  On my third screening of this film, the story of obsession became my own, producing a reeling sensation that has yet to lift. Compared to "Vertigo," the other films of the so-called Hitchcock great trilogy--"Rear Window" and "Psycho"--indeed do seem shallow. Prior to this viewing I had listened to Wagner's "Tristan and Isolde" with its thrilling "liebestod"-the moment when the consummation of passion must also be its end because it is a love of love rather than of a person. Then I began to reflect back on similar stories-Morte Darthur, Troilus and Cressida, Romeo and Juliet, La Belle Dame Sans Merci, Wuthering Heights, The English Patient. "Vertigo" belongs to the same narrative pattern, perhaps realizing it more compellingly than any other representation.
  
  In the moment when Scottie forces Judy to become Madeleine, Herrmann's score recalls Wagner's liebestod, crescendoing to an unforgettable emotional peak, at once riveting and disturbing. In the same moment that Madeleine has been exhumed from the dead by the obsessive man-child, we see that Judy's desperate attempt to draw Scottie's attention to the "real" Judy is doomed and that Scottie's fixation is beyond cure. The lost child that won't release Madeleine/Carlotta, the compulsive boy who can not be "taught" to love by either Judy or Midge, the frustrated and pathetic "mother" Midge--all remain forever disfigured by the fantasy constructed by Stewart's obsessive, stubbornly regressive, character.
  
  In the film's last scene, Scottie overcomes his vertigo but not the need to avenge himself on the figure who has betrayed him and his boyish fixation. Here Stewart's voice takes on the same feminine register, breaking and cracking, changing timbre, speaking in irregular, breathless meter, that we see in George Bailey's conflicted moment between strangling and loving Mary before giving up his dream in favor of marriage and the savings and loan. "Vertigo" is the George Bailey who left Bedford Falls, determined to pursue his magnificent obsession and the elusive grail. It may not be a wonderful life, but it's a life that haunts the moviegoer's consciousness like no other film I've seen.
  
  

• Hitchcock's film is great; the restoration has big problems

  
  By A5MFI4CHD7JIY on 2004-12-05
  Vertigo is a tremendous film; if rating the film alone, I would give it the maximum rating. Vertigo deserves to have been carefully restored and preserved for posterity. The reason for my low rating for this DVD is that the restorers have seriously overstepped the bounds of conservation, actually changing the film for the worse. They have eliminated many original sound effects and created many new ones, to jarring effect. Evidently, their discovery of a stereo recording of the musical score so excited the restoration team that they felt they had to incorporate it into the restored print. As the original mono mix included effects with the score, this means that the restorers went into a Foley studio and cooked up replacement sounds--newpaper's rattling, footsteps, doors closing, cars driving past, etc. The result is VERY noticable: the modern, digitally recorded sounds have a sharply different quality from the analog originals, and the two are mixed together uneasily. The film was mixed, presumably under Hitchcock's careful supervision, with a mono soundtrack, which has survived in good condition. (Although the individual elements were scandalously destroyed in the 1970s as the result of a tussle over distribution rights to the film.) The soundtrack may have benefitted from some "cleaning up," but there was no good reason to create a new soundtrack. Please, Universal: include the original soundtrack as an option, at least, on future editions of this DVD. (The stereo recording of Herriman's musical score would make a nice DVD bonus track, too.) And please be more circumspect in future restoration projects. (There are problems with the color restoration, too, but at least there the restorers were addressing a real problem--the existing prints and film elements had seriously deteriorated. With the soundtrack, the restorers actively created problems where none existed.)
  
  

• A re-release of a classic

  
  By A2E3F04ZK7FG66 on 2008-08-17
  It is unusual to see a director produce his best work after the age of 50, but that is exactly what Alfred Hitchcock did. Starting in 1948 with "Rope" and ending with "The Birds" in 1963, this was the era of his most inspired films. "Vertigo", in my opinion, is the best film of his entire body of work.
  
  It is funny to note that when this film was first released in 1957 that it was not that popular in theaters and was pretty much universally panned by critics. In 1992, when the British Film Institute performed a survey of the world film critics to compile an all-time ten-best list that comes out every decade, Vertigo came in at fourth place. It didn't even make that list in 1962 or 1972. Part of the reason for the delayed popularity of the film could be that it requires repeated viewings to really gain an appreciation of it. Such repeated viewings were not possible for most viewers until the advent of home video systems and cable around 1980.
  
  As for the film itself, it is a brilliantly twisted movie infused with touches of genius and madness that focuses on the interconnected nature of love and obsession. Interwoven with this main theme is a crime mystery that is revealed to and solved for the audience but not the protagonist, James Stewart's character, for the last 45 minutes of the film.
  
  Alongside these themes is the issue of lost opportunities - how we grieve over them, and whether or not what we perceive as lost opportunities were ever "real" opportunities in the first place. This issue is raised not only for Scotty (James Stewart) - if only he could have gotten to Madeleine (Kim Novak) in time, if only he could have rescued the policeman from falling to his death at the beginning of the film, if only he could have seen through the scheme that manipulated him so perfectly and ultimately drove him temporarily mad - but for just about everybody else in the cast too. This includes Scotty's college girlfriend (Barbara Bel Geddes) who has remained his friend through the years and obviously still harbors thoughts of what might have been if only she had accepted Scotty's marriage proposal years before.
  
  Besides the excellent acting and superb plot, the score is outstanding as is the cinematography, especially the visual darkness of the mission San Juan Bautista versus the angelic beauty of Madeleine which belies what is really going on. I highly recommend this film to anyone who has the time to watch it more than once. Just one viewing won't do it justice.
  
  As an aside, this film is so contagious that I am sure that it has influenced other filmmakers over the years to the point of plagiarism, the most obvious example being Tim Burton's 1989 film, "Batman". The Joker dragging Vicki Vale to the top of Gotham cathedral's stairway and the confrontation and revelations of the past once at the top of the tower sure look like the closing 15 minutes of this movie. The following are the extra features:
  
  Disc 1: Main Feature
  1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
  English DD5.1 Surround and DD2.0 Mono
  English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles
  Feature Commentary with Associate Producer Herbert Coleman, Restoration Team Robert A. Harris and James C. Katz and Other Vertigo Participants
  Feature Commentary with Director William Friedkin
  Foreign Ending
  The Vertigo Archives
  Production Notes
  Original Theatrical Trailer
  Restoration Theatrical Trailer
  
  Disc 2: Extra Features
  Obsessed with Vertigo: New Life for Hitchcock's Masterpiece
  Partners in Crime: Hitchcock's Collaborators
  Hitchcock / Truffaut Interview Excerpts
  Alfred Hitchcock Presents "The Case of Mr. Pelham"
  
  

• Keep "Citizen Kane;" I'll Take This One Any Day!

  
  By A31U2QT7SAL7K on 1999-12-28
  There are not enough words in the English language - or any other - that can accurately describe the PERFECT film. This is one of those pictures that only improves after each viewing. James Stewart and Kim Novack are stellar in this true masterpiece of filmdom. Bernard Herrmann's score complements the movie immensely and is an integral part of the story. Only Alfred Hitchcock, a man who epitomizes the movie-making art could have made this film. No one can touch the master, Sir Alfred, and the film is evidence of that very fact. To show genius at work, the viewer needs to check out the backgrounds or the beautifully photographed scenes of San Francisco and surrounding areas; they are as meticulously done as any of the works of such painters as Degas or da Vinci. Hitchcock may not have invented the motion picture camera, but he certainly understood it! It's too bad that the rating only limits me to five stars. THIS ONE RATES A 10!
  
  
• It continues to haunt me after 41 years
  By on 1999-11-19
  I was only 10 years old when I saw Vertigo in 1958 at St. Cloud, Minnesota's wonderful picture-palace Paramount Theater. Young as I was, the movie instantly grabbed my emotions in a haunting way I could not understand. Well, the movie still does and I still can't quite explain it. You could be blind and still love this movie: the great score, Barbara Bel Geddes great cameo and the way she says, "Now, Johnny." Novak's forlorn voice, Stewart's obsessive love-desperate voice. It's just incredible: those hazy San Francisco scenes, the prowling car, the glimpses into groves and museums, the scene in the redwood forest. It's really about the evanescence of life itself, about how you can only glimpse its deep, rich beauty and its terror in blinks, in things half-seen, half-remembered and in emotions blurring into one another, shifting in that haunting kaleidoscope, impossible to pin down or grasp. Anyway, as I said, Vertigo is hard to explain. It is without a doubt my all-time favorite movie.
  
  
• Bad jump
  By A1U6B2LDK3BUVU on 2005-06-19
  I think that this movie, though interesting, is overrated and has flaws. I notice that the only time it seems permissible to give Vertigo less than 5 stars is if you are criticizing the DVD quality, not the movie itself. Well, I will have to break the mold here and give the movie itself only 3 stars because of its flaws. We have a tendency as a culture to place certain things on pedestals and not look at them critically, and Hitchcock is one of them. It's like the story of The Emperor's New Clothes. This movie is good, but it's not worthy of being the icon that people make it out to be.
  
  If you haven't seen it yet (and you are the only one left in the country who hasn't), don't read the rest of this review, because I am about to completely reveal the ending. It is the biggest flaw in the movie. It is terrible, not because it is sad, but because it is just plain stupid. That was my reaction, and it was also the reaction of the person I was seeing it with. Why? Because it is just plain stupid.
  
  Judy/Madeline gets spooked by the approach of a nun, and jumps to her death. Idiotic ending. But it fulfills the old film adage that crime doesn't pay. Since she had lied to our hero, and since she had been part of a murder plot, it was not permissible for her to end up in a happy marriage. She had to die because crime doesn't pay, and she had to be punished for her lying and her complicity in a murder. The rules had to be observed. Reality be damned. Reasonableness be damned. Let her jump to her death the way the murder victim's body was thrown. What a nice way to tie up loose ends. Sorry, it's just too damn stupid.
  
  Being prepared to overrate Hitchcock, I was surprised early in the movie when Jimmy Stewart's character took a fall from a step ladder and landed oh so conveniently in the arms of his pal. When you fall from a step ladder like that, you come crashing down, messily, probably backwards. His fall was so staged, so unrealistic, so neat and clean. If you have seen it, and if you have any standards of reality, this scene has to offend you for its phoniness.
  
  Other than that, I have to commend this movie for being interesting and giving us some good twists and turns. But to say it is the best picture ever made, or close to it, is an insult to movies that are better.
  
  It all reminds me a bit of the overrating of the Hawthorne book Scarlet Letter. It too has a foolishly unrealistic ending, and it too is overrated. Hester Prynne, unexplainably, abandons her daughter and grandchild in England in order to return to New England where she was humiliated. What? What a load of nonsense. The ending to this movie is almost as weak. Hey Charlie, let's have the chick jump from the same place that the body was thrown from, wouldn't that be a hoot. Yeah, great, nice neat little ending. Come on.
  
  If you love this movie and want to tell me off, don't email me. Don't do anything. This is my opinion. I'm entitled to it, and you are entitled to yours. It's amazing how Amazon customers can be so opposed to freedom of speech and expression if the opinions expressed differ from their own. Some people just don't "get" America and what it stands for.
  
  
• The restoration is beautiful and breath-taking.
  By AQ01Q3070LT29 on 2002-12-31
  This review is for the DVD version itself. The restoration and color is beautiful. Breath-taking. The wide-screen is almost a full-screen. It is not as irratating as the DVD version of "Cleopatra". Of all versions I have seen, this DVD version made me give "Vertigo" a second look. Colors are important in this restored version because the color of say a door or the clothes that Kim Novak wears explains the psychological state of the character. One of the bonuses is a fine documentary, originally seen on American Movie Classics cable network, about the films' restoration and includes new interviews with Kim Novak and Barbara Bel Geddes.
  
  
• Vertigo a masterpiece by the master of suspense
  By A2HXXE89A37861 on 2008-07-19
  This film wonderfully realized and brought to the screen by the master of suspense Alfred Hitchcock, is truly one of Hitchcock's very best, a masterpiece of the cinema. Jimmy Stewart gives perhaps his finest performance in this Hitchcock classic, as Stewart is able to express many emotions with just the look in his eyes, fear, longing, love, desperation, anger, and finally total despair. Stewart plays a detective forced to retire fom the police force because of his fear of heights (vertigo). He later is hired by an old college chum who fears his wife may be possessed by a spirit of a long dead ancestor,and in danger perhaps even from herself. Stewart is asked to follow her to insure that no harm will befall her. There are many plot twists and turns and for those who may not have seen this classic, I don't want to give away any more of the plot. This film was beautfully restored, but unfortunately released in letterbox form a few years ago. Now thankfully this edition is in widescreen where it can truly be appreciated. The cover art of this DVD edition gives us a glimpse into the magic of Stewart's performance. Not a great success originally at the box office, this film is now universally recognized as one of the finest films ever made. Vertigo
  
  
• "Vertigo" - - - -Hypnotic, Amazing, Unbelievable
  By AQT98WKAOD1RA on 2000-09-16
  Compelling. Tradgic. Lovely. Vertigo is amazing. From the opening squence, you are pulled into the dizzying shots and romantic story. James Stewart plays one of his best roles (along with Rear Window) as a retired detective head over heels, and somewhat obsessed with Madeleine, a "possesed" and mentally ill wife of a college friend. Amazing acting and probably the best Hitchcock shots are contained in Vertigo. The trick shots involving the Church staircase are fantastic and quite effective, making the audience just as dizzy as Scottie (Stewart). When Hitchcock made it, I think he was in heaven. Why? Because the movie is ABOUT modeling a woman into what you want her to be. And thats what Hitchcock did with Tippi Hedren (The Birds, Marnie) Grace Kelly (Rear Window, Dial M For Murder, To Catch a Thief) and Janet Leigh (Psycho). He molded them into the perfect blondes, and in fact, his dream women. Also, half-way through the film, Hitchcock suprises us, releaving a secret BEFORE revealiong it to Stewart. Aside from the underlying meanings, Vertigo is a splendid and nail-biting romantic suspense thriller about uncontrollable obsession and loss. As always, the final moments of the film are suprising and heartbreaking. AMAZING. The is without a doubt, Hitchcock at his best, and most content.
  
  
• HAUNTINGLY BEAUTIFUL
  By A1DVRYNCJFPS8X on 2000-02-02
  I am always trying to convince my friends to watch what I consider my favorite movies. Often they see them and I can tell they become bored or not entirely impressed. At first I usually got mad and could not understand why someone would not love a movie like Vertigo. Then I realized something very important. I have seen the movie numerous times and have also read many critical insights about it. The first time I saw Vertigo I thought it was good. The second time I saw it I knew that it would become one of my favorite films. I recommend watching this movie once. Then going back several weeks later and watching it again. It works on so many subtle levels that it actually is better to see it when you already know the basic outline. Fully enjoying this film takes time and knowledge. It is like classical music that may sound good as a melody, but becomes an obsession when you know a little about the history of the composer and the historical context it was written in. Vertigo belongs to that short list of films that actually becomes better with each viewing
  
  
• Hypnotic Masterpiece, Hitchcock's Finest
  By ACIBQ6BQ6AWEV on 2002-02-13
  As much "art" film as Hollywood product, VERTIGO was generally savaged by critics upon its release; today it is widely regarded as Hitchcock's single finest film. The story is extremely well known: a retired police detective with an incapacitating fear of heights, Scottie, is engaged to shadow a beautiful woman, Madeline, whose husband suspects her of being suicidal. Scottie soon becomes obsessive about Madeline--but circumstances quickly spin out of control, and his love turns to tragedy and maddness.
  
  Unlike most Hitchcock films, VERTIGO unfolds slowly, drawing the viewer into the relationship between Scottie and Madeline at the same pace as the characters experience it. At the same time, Hitchcock presents the viewer with a number of visual motifs (such as the famous spirals found in the film) to reenforce the increasingly disturbed nature of the story. As the film progresses, VERTIGO develops a powerfully hypnotic quality rather like the dreamed nightmare of a slow-motion fall.
  
  To a certain extent, the stars of VERTIGO are cast against type. This is particularly true of James Stewart, who is best known as the All-American Everyman, and his performance as the increasingly neurotic Scottie is all the more disturbing for our knowledge of his more typical performances. Although usually noted more for beauty than for acting ability, Kim Novack gives a remarkable and extremely believable turn in what is easily the finest performance of her career. The supporting cast--which includes particularly fine performances by Barbara Bel Geddes and Konstantin Shayne--is also excellent, and Bernard Hermann's excellent score adds tremendous dimension to the film. Some viewers, particularly those enamoured of such rapid-fire Hitchcock romps as TO CATCH A THIEF and NORTH BY NORTHWEST, may find themselves impatient with the film's leisurely pace; some viewers will themselves unable to see beyond the twists in the script to grasp Hitchcock's statement on obsessive love. But for most viewers--myself included--this is the ultimate Hitchcock film, the great masterpiece by a director reknowned for masterpieces. A personal favorite, and very highly recommended.
  
  
• Brilliant Film; Needs a Better Transfer to DVD
  By A30BWARQ4EC0F2 on 2004-08-03
  I won't go on about the film; rest assured that the other review's claim that this is on of the very greatest of all of Hitch's film are not hyperbole.
  
  The 1998 restoration was wonderful. They did an excellent job of restoring the original Technicolor to its vibrant intenseness. In the theaters, it was an amazing visual experience.
  
  However, that is NOT TRUE of the DVD release.
  
  Be aware that this is NOT ENHANCED for widescreen TVs. It is NOT an anamorphic DVD. The owners of this title should be ashamed for not re-releasing the DVD in a version enhanced for widescreen TVs.
  
  A great great great great film. But *if* you own an HDTV, hold off buying this title until they re-release it.
  
  
• one of the most beautiful film of all time , but....
  By A2WAJWFB6ZPEGW on 2000-12-09
  VERTIGO is one of my personal favorite film of all time, and if I write to praise this emotinally- filled obsessive love story, I just won't be able to stop. But following the lesson from the great Hitchcock himself, less is more.

  What I'd rather like to critisise is the "restoration" that was the basis of this DVD. Now it's true that VERTIGO has never looked as beautiful as this for the last doezen years or so before Harris and Katz restored and re-release it. The re-release print of the mid eighties was so poor in quality. So in that sense, you should buy this DVD because it is the best version available so far--for most of the audience.

  But this so-called "restoration" is controversial, and has a lot of problems. I must say that the best available version of the film is still the TECHNICOLOR-IB prints from the 50's and 60's, because IB prints don't fade in colors and there are still some prints available.

  Harris and Katz did the best they could to capture the colors, the visual beauty of the film, using the original negative, and their version basically looks fine, except for the very dark scene (such as the tower of San Juan Batista at the end). Now, as they and the film's associate producer Herbie Coleman points out on the commentary track, they restored the correct darkness, but not the contrast, which they should have enhanced to simulate the original TECHNICOLOR look in which the shadows are really black but at the same time keeping the details. On an IB-TECHNICOLOR prints, the faces of Jimmy Stuart and Kim Novak really pop out of the darkness, allowing the audience to understand the incridible dramatic conflict of the scene....but on the "restoration", you see vertually nothing except the darkness.

  The biggest problem is the sound. In order to create a digital DTS sound track, they removed all the original sound effects, and replaced with new effects created on folleys. They must have done the best they could, but still those new sound effects are so annoying, and it destroys the atmosphere and emotions of the film. They just sound noisy. The original version of the film had a soundtrack which is much more subtle, which creates a beautiful dreamy, moody atmosphere totally in the spirit of the film. Bernard Herrmann's beautiful music (probably the best music ever written for a film) suffers a lot because of that, which is a real pitty.

  Since the DVD format allows to have many different sound tracks, it would have been nice if they could keep the original monaural sound as an additional track. Then those who are in favor of the more "modern" digital sound can have their fun, while those who has a deeper, true understanding of the film could fully enjoy Hitchcock's masterpiece, truly in its original form (Hitchcock had never intended to make this film in stereo anyway).

  I am very afraid that from now on, people will missunderstand that this is the standard version of VERTIGO. It simply is not. It is a much much much more beautiful film
  
  

• Painfully Personal
  By A1TUP0W3IO6IGZ on 2000-07-02
  A painfully personal work of beauty from one of the most underrated artists of our times...apart from its well-known, much discussed themes of love, obsession, death, loneliness, guilt, etc, it is, on the surface (and please watch the restored version!) too, such a gorgeous-to-look-at film. It's almost as if you can sense Hitchcock agonising over every single shot, knowing that each in moment, each nuance, he was revealing the real himself to his audience like he never would at any other point in his career. James Stewart's extraordinary (and astonishingly daring, given the actor's image) performance, one of the greatest in the history of the medium; Kim Novak, whose role is so complex and multi-layered that it's easy to be ambivalent about her performance (as Hitch himself surely was) but whose work here is considered by many to be the finest of her career; Herrmann's haunting score, one of the greatest (and most appropriate) ever composed for film; and above all else, one of 20th century art's most important personalities at his most intimate. Unlike a lot of Hitchcock's more commercial works, this is a film that is easier to admire from a distance than to actually count as a personal favourite - but either way, it's a deeply rewarding watch for anyone who's not afraid to open themselves to it fully.
  
  
• Highly Overrated. Don't expect much from it.
  By A1NBGC1YBZY9DQ on 2000-07-18
  This movie must be one of the most highly overrated movie. I liked Hitchcock's Psycho very much but was totally dissapointed with this one.

  To begin with, the movie is very slow. It is unnecessarily lengthy and the story is unbelievable. I am not surprised at all that this movie bombed at box office when originally released. Overall, a very overrated movie. Gets 2 stars because of good acting.
  
  

• Fall For Vertigo
  By A1GN8UJIZLCA59 on 2003-01-27
  1958's Vertigo was the fourth and finale film that Alfred Hitchcock and Jimmy Stewart made together and they went out with a masterpiece. The film centers around a familiar Hitchcock character trait, obsession. Mr. Stewart plays a retired San Francisco police detective, Scottie Ferguson, who leaves the force after bizarre rooftop chase with a criminal who falls to his death and he finds can no longer cope with his acrophobia. He is then hired by his friend Gavin Elster (Tom Helmore) to follows his wife Madeline, who is played by the voluptuous Kim Novak, whom he believes is under a spell. Scottie trails Madeline to various locations in San Francisco and learns that Madeline's great-grandmother had killed herself at the same age Madeline is now and the locations have a connection to her. They eventually end up in a Mexican mission town where Scottie cannot prevent Madeline from jumping to her death. Scottie is traumatized and spends a long time in an asylum. Upon his release, he sees Judy Barton (also played by Ms. Novak) who bears a remarkable resemblence to Madeline. Scottie becomes obsessed with Judy and tries to mold her into Madeline, but along the way he discovers a sinister secret about Judy and a horrible plot of foul play. Vertigo is hailed by many to be Mr. Hitchcock's masterpiece. While it is not as popular as some his other films like Psycho and The Birds, the film is a brilliant display of storytelling and is magnificently filmed using the panoramic San Francisco landscape as a intricate part of the plot.
  
  
• Letterbox format
  By AFN5MLXXUJ309 on 2003-12-19
  I'm not going to waste your time telling you about this movie. You already know all there is to know - it's a classic.

  I've been collecting Hitchcock movies for years - and am currently upgrading my titles from VHS tape to DVD (widescreen, where appropriate).

  Widescreen is appropriate in this case (1.85:1) - but we are only offered the film in letterbox format. That is a significant compromise - I wanted anamorphic widescreen (enhanced for 16:9 screens).

  Three stars for half-hearted effort.
  
  

• The movie is great, the transfer is poor
  By A3MIO391SMTQ7E on 2005-04-04
  I won't address the relative merits of the content of Vertigo. I think the vast majority agree it's one of Hitch's best, and that's saying a lot.
  
  The Universal transfer is NOT anamorphic, which means if you have a HDTV you're going to be either watching this in "zoom" mode or window-boxed AND letterboxed. Frankly this is inexcusable, this DVD was released on September 2, 2003 and by that time EVERYTHING that's not 1.33:1 aspect ratio was anamorphic.
  
  So Universal dropped the ball with this DVD (and the whole set)...I would steer clear and use your old VHS copies until they get around to releasing the "super-deluxe Hitchcock collector's edition".
  
  
• I must be thick
  By on 2000-06-24
  Why is this interminable film so highly regarded?

  We do a lot of driving around. We climb lots of staircases that are filmed from weird angles. We get some classic shots of San Francisco. We get a story line that's implausible but which is gussied up to respectability by the use of terms such as "obsessional".

  We learn in the DVD bonus material that Hitchcock actually used a metronome to pace Kim Novak's final traipse up those wooden stairs from which she takes her biiiiiiig step.

  I reckon Hitchcock used the metronome throughout the movie and set to its slowest possible speed. Slow pace = suspense. Doesn't it?

  Yeh, I must be really thick.
  
  

• A Hitchcock Masterpiece
  By A3CWH6VKCTJAD on 2001-01-02
  Many believe that this was greatest work of a master renowned for the outstanding direction of suspense thrillers. Alfred Hitchcock creates a vortex of emotion and deception in this classic film about obsession.

  There are so many complex themes to this story that it requires several viewings to appreciate. It metamorphoses numerous times, shifting from a detective story, to a love story, to a murder mystery, and finally to neurotic obsession. It is a deep character study of flawed characters. Some are not what they appear to be and others change before our eyes.

  Hitchcock's direction is superb, not only from the standpoint of assembling the story, but from a technical perspective as well. The photography, lighting and perspectives are brilliantly done and the locations wonderfully selected, especially the shots at the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge. Hitchcock also brings forth outstanding performances from Kim Novak and James Stewart. Stewart generally played admirable and heroic characters in his career, so the deeply flawed John Ferguson was a clear departure for him. This is probably his best and most gut wrenching performance. I don't think it would have been possible without Hitchcock's direction, because Hitchcock was the master of bringing such characters to life. Novak and Barbara Bel Geddes (most famous as Miss Ellie on TV's "Dallas") also give excellent performances.

  Bernard Herrmann's musical score is superlative. It is beautiful, compelling and chilling and brought additional power to almost every scene. Hitchcock had such great respect for Herrmann that he stated during production that whether the scenes of the film worked or not depended completely on the music Herrmann would write. He trusted that Herrmann would create just the right mood, and he was correct.

  The DVD version presents us with a completely restored version of the film with rich color and powerful sound. The new DVD is the only way to watch this film if one hopes to experience it the way it was originally presented in 1958.

  This film is ranked number 61 on AFI's top 100 movies of the century. I rated it a 10/10. It was virtually ignored at the Academy Awards garnering only two nominations for set decoration and sound. However, it endures in the opinion of many as one of the best suspense thrillers ever made.
  
  

• Absolutely the best film Hitchcock ever made
  By A3MPEDYM4DGS5O on 2001-03-17
  Everybody's got a favorite Alfred Hitchcock movie. Mine is VERTIGO. Everything about this movie is more than perfect. The performances from Kim Novak, James Stewart and Barbara Bel Geddes- beyond Oscar quality. The film is a masterpiece. There are multiple themes that are repeated throughout the movie, which make it subject to many repeated viewings. I've seen it many times, and I could see it all the time. Every time I see it, I find out something new. When you see John "Scottie" Fergeson going over the top, you'll have a hard time believing that it's Jimmy Stewart up on screen. Kim Novak is a beautiful, shimmering brilliance in her two- actually THREE roles (Madeline, Carlotta Valdes, Judy). And I found it hard not to sympathize with Barbara Bel Gedde's Midge. Alfred Hitchcock's meticulous direction pays off more than ever. The ending delievered such an emotional, psychological shock that I couldn't stop thinking about it. My advice to you: stop reading, go out and see VERTIGO. You won't regret it.
  
  
• This DVD Is So Good It Gives Me ... VERTIGO
  By A2F8R40Z2OMIJM on 2000-02-27
  Now this is how DVDs should be made! Universal has done an excellent job with this Hitchcock classic.

  First of all, as far as audio commentary goes, more DVDs should take their cue from this one. VERTIGO features at least 3 different voices and points of view as narrators. You do not have to listen to the same person for two hours. Granted, some audio commentators are very entertaining (see/hear Terry Gilliam's commentary on BRAZIL or 12 MONKEYS). Some are not. Plus, it's more bang for your buck listening to VERTIGO's film restorers and original associate producer. Another disc that handles the commentary issue well is CONTACT.

  Back to VERTIGO: The other bonus stuff is great. We get to see original and re-release trailers; lots of great production photos; and the "Foreign Ending", which is very interesting.

  The documentary about restoring VERTIGO (which was originally on cable's A&E channel) is fascinating and well done. I find the restoration process very interesting. The picture and sound on the DVD are exquisite. It's never looked better!

  VERTIGO, the film, is a classic. I agree with some of my fellow reviewers that the story's structure is a bit odd -- Hitch reveals the "secret" half way through the movie. However, VERTIGO is a film about obsession. It doesn't matter who Madeleine really is. Scottie is in the throws of his own personal vertigo and that is far more interesting to watch than a gimmicky who-done-it.

  This DVD is definitely for the collection!
  
  

• Everybody's dizzy...
  By A1TJP9UGULGNUH on 1999-12-08
  Some films are able to twist time to their advantage. Few contemporary critics cared for Vertigo when it debuted (though some will lie otherwise). Today, critics have enshrined it as Hitchcock's finest. A shame.

  Vertigo's first hour is hypnotic. Jimmy Stewart, a retired cop who suffers from the title ailment, is persuaded by a friend to follow his wife, suicidal Kim Novak, for her own protection. One especially excellent scene involves Stewart examining Novak as she walks through a garden and studies a picture. The mystery seeps through the film's atmosphere, and the scene is quietly beautiful in a way Hitchcock seldom is.

  Eventually, Novak does kill herself, and so does the film. Stewart soon meets a woman closely resembling Novak and grows obsessed with her. There is a plot twist, but it is so terribly transparent I doubt anyone is surprised. Unfortunately, what little suspense lurks in the second half hinges on this twist, negating Hitchcock's supreme talent. Characters begin acting with little or no believable motivation, and Stewart descends into frenzied rants and raves that are pretty funny to watch. The surprise ending is foolishly revealed before the ending, and when the final scene finally arrives, the melodrama is hilarious. The film nosedives after a promising start and wrecks itself.

  Critics praise the second half of the film as self-revelation on the part of Hitchcock. Maybe, but most people do not watch films because they care about the director. They watch films because they like films, and Hitchcock's films are more interesting than Hitchcock himself. Naturally, Hitchcock scholars are interested in Hitchcock, and this interest accounts for Vertigo's inflated reputation. The sad truth is Vertigo is a flawed failure.

  I'm wagering time will straighten itself out. In twenty years, true Hitchcock classics such as North by Northwest will replace Vertigo at the top of critics' list When it does, I'll be the one collecting bets and wearing an obnoxiously smug grin.
  
  

• Vertigo: Hitchcock Climbs the Misson Tower
  By A4Y233WXK7DQ3 on 2000-06-03
  It is a funny thing about great movies, your favorite films, and polls of the greatest films every made. If you have a Top Ten, at least one Alfred Hitchcock has to be there with all the other masterpieces of the cinema. The ultimate story of obsession and guilt, Vertigo works on many levels. What really matters is that this film succeeds on every level. Visually gorgeously shot in and around San Francisco, this city has never looked so good as a background for a film. With its alternately bright days and lurking nights we see shifting moods and points of view. Lots of bright sunlight and dark shadows. The acting is superb. James Stewart, as the guilt-wracked detective, shows us his darker side and he has never been better. Kim Novak is a revelation in double roles. And the costumes. That gray suit! Watch movies such as Marnie, where Tippi Hedren has a gray suit on and blonde hair pinned up into a twist like Novak and you begin to think about Hitchcock's obsessions. There are so many "classic" scenes, the beginning (How in God's name did Stewart, dangling from the high building gutter, get to safety?) Was the rest of the movie his last thoughts and dream before dying? The spinning love scene that is sensual but ominous at the same time, the final remaking of Judy, slowly walking out of a greenish fog of fantasy, transformed back into Scotty's dead dream girl. And then all of this set to the haunting, beautiful music of Bernard Herrman, who was at the height of his music powers with Vertigo.It is also a brilliant study of place. Highly recommended in this wonderful restoration with footage showing how Vertigo was restored, with fascinating interviews with those intimately involved in the making of both versions of Vertigo. This is one of my favorite films, one of the best American flims ever made, and stands high with any made in the world. A true work of art.
  
  
• VERTIGO is Classic, but Where's the Anamorphic Version??
  By A2F8R40Z2OMIJM on 2003-03-03
  There is no arguing that VERTIGO is a materpiece of filmaking. The art direction, acting, cinematography, and Hitchcock's direction are incredible.

  My biggest qualm with this DVD is that there is no Anamorphic version included! I recently upgraded my television to a 16:9 widescreen, High Def set. Most of my DVDs look gorgeous on it. VERTIGO does not -- there is no Anamorphic version on this disc, which means that for people like me who have 16:9 televisions we have two choices: (1) watch the film in "widescreen mode", which elongates the letterbox frame and distorts the image, or (2) watch the film in "square" format, letterboxed, which is not why I bought a widescreen television! Some would say "just zoom!" -- but for those who have watched TRUE Anamorphic transfers, zooming is a silly option.

  This is very disappointing. I then put in my other Universal Hitchcock DVDs (MARNIE, THE BIRDS) and they *are* Anamorphic, but the quality looks terrible. I'm not a DVD expert, but they look very "pixilated" -- like some of those low-quality videos you watch online. I popped in NORTH BY NORTHWEST, which is a Warner Brothers DVD, and it looks gorgeous - Anamorphic, high quality transfer, no obvious "digital-izing".

  So I'm beginning to think that Universal and its DVD production is the culprit. I'm not impressed at all with what I've seen so far with the Hitchcock titles.

  If you are a widescreen television owner and appreciate a good Anamorphic (or "enhanced for widescreen") disk, you will be sorely disappointed by VERTIGO from Universal.
  
  

• The Cream of Hitchcock's Crop
  By A36EW68H08UOCS on 2004-06-03
  Although Alfred Hitchcock is universally acclaimed as a film director and something like 70 or 80 movies were made under his gifted hand, only a few have risen to be considered "cream of the crop", and "Vertigo" stands alongside "Rear Window", "North by Northwest", and "Psycho" as among the Master's greatest.

  Vertigo is a very "adult" story, and although there's nothing in the movie that would be inappropriate for children to watch, this movie only "means" something to people who understand things like lust and love and betrayal. Jimmy Stewart did some of his greatest work for Mr. Hitchcock - particularly in Vertigo and Rear Window, and Kim Novak gives one of the greatest femme fatale performances in cinematic history, even though Vera Miles was Hitch's first choice for the role.

  To preserve the value of his estate for his heirs Hitchcock removed 5 of his movies from circulation and the first time I saw "Vertigo" was in an art-house cinema at it's reissue in the mid-80's. At the end of that viewing I sat motionless in the theater for several minutes with my heart pounding from the emotional response produced by this film. I can't think of any other film that stunned me as much as this one.

  Like many film lovers I have compiled a list of my very favorite movies and my "top five" list is:

  1. Raiders of the Lost Ark
  2. Casablanca
  3. To Kill A Mockingbird
  4. The Godfather
  5. Vertigo

  If you fancy the first four and haven't seen #5 on my list - I recommend it.

  One word of caution: The film requires close observation from start to finish. There are extended sequences that contain no dialogue whatsoever and "following" the story requires that you watch what the characters are doing.

  The score by Mr. Herrmann is one of his best and fits perfectly. The costumes, set design, cinematography are all perfect fits for the story. In addition to being just a doggone fine movie, there were also many innovations that have been copied over and over since. For example, the famous "vertigo" shot (produced by zooming the lens forward while simultaneously physically moving the camera backwards) was invented for this film. And think about how many times you have seen THIS shot: the characters are motionless in the center of the frame while the camera circles 360 degrees around them and the surroundings swoosh by - as far as I can tell this technique was first used in this film as well.

  Another technical note: The movie was perfectly restored more than 2 decades after it's initial release, and the transfer seen on this DVD looks fantastic.

  I can't recommend this more highly, although this version of the DVD seems to be out of print and the "special edition" DVD is the same transfer.

  Get this movie.
  
  

• Now I buy it
  By A2Z28WKY1LHBKY on 2005-03-24
  Several reviewers have admitted to being puzzled by this movie's high ratings, and I'm one of them. It surely isn't down to the plot, which is one of the goofiest and most unbelievable ever filmed. Gumshoes are often presented as pretty stupid guys who don't really know what they're doing, but Stewart comes across as just about the dumbest, most naive and amateurish detective who ever lived. You mean he took on this ridiculous assignment, tracking Novak all over the place, without doing any checking on his client, the background to this crazy set-up, or even seeing a photograph of the mentally challenged wife? Where was she anyway all this time? OK, Hitchcock was never strong on convincing stories, and we are told he didn't give a hoot about believability. That isn't what his films were about: apparently what he was doing was playing on the audience's emotions as if he was a kind of Wurlitzer-meister. OK. So it still doesn't explain what the ravers see in this film. Here's a suggestion. This is a woman's picture, and it is devised to explain to women why men don't love them, or why both parties wind up disappointed in each other. Men are in love with some kind of remembered fantasy of the perfect woman, which no real woman can ever be. This fantasy is probably their mother, who is barred to them anyway (except in the case of Oedipus, just like Freud said). Barbara Bel Geddes, who looks like a really nice real person, keeps calling herself Stewart's mother. He can't take this; which is why he's a grey-haired aging bachelor who lives alone. (Actually, he's supposed to be the same age as Bel Geddes). Novak looks like a cream cake, good enough to eat, especially for a small boy. Trouble is, too many cream cakes make you feel sick. Novak knows this, but she has low self-esteem, so she plays along with Stewart's fantasy, hoping it will work out after the marriage. It never does, of course. So is this what the critics recognize as so great about this story? I wouldn't know. The narrative is slow, true, but bearable if you're feeling relaxed. The acting by Stewart and Bel Geddes I thought was good. Novak was playing an amateur actress anyway, so she was OK. Some of the shots were pretty memorable. The dirty double-dealing husband sounded English to me; and that figures, in an American film. Well, I'm still puzzled. No 4 in the hall of fame? I don't get it. Three stars.
  
  November 2006. Eureka. Now I begin to get it. This is after watching it several times in an effort to understand why it gets so many votes. And I've also been greatly helped by a discussion on the Imdb website. However, nobody on this site has put forward what seems to me the convincing theory which is at last emerging, based on the many plot holes and flaws in the story, which is otherwise being praised for its beauty, scenery, acting and so forth.
  
  It is often said that just before his death a man's entire life flashes before him in his mind. Not that I know how anybody knows this, but it's a persistent folk-belief. Its application here is that what we are seeing is the inside of Jimmy Stewart's mind during the split-seconds between the moment that his police buddy falls to his death, and the moment Stewart himself also crashes to his own death on the street below.
  
  One of the nagging flaws in the story, as told, is that we are never shown just how Stewart got rescued from where he was hanging from the rooftop gutter. Was he actually rescued at all? If he was rescued, why is he wearing a corset? Did he break his back from falling? How could he have survived falling from such a height?
  
  Second flaw. The whole story is entirely goofy. The murderer's plot is so complicated and insane, it couldn't possibly have been planned with any hope of succeeding --- if it had been real.
  
  Third flaw. How did Kim/Carlotta do her disappearing act in the old hotel? Was the little old desk lady in on the trick? Why wasn't this explained?
  
  Fourth flaw: Are we seriously being asked to believe that Kim/Carlotta and Kim/the shopgirl in green can't easily be recognized as the same person? And how did Kim/Carlotta come up with all that brilliantly improvised dialogue when playing her part as Carlotta?
  
  Fifth flaw. Where did the nun come from? And there are others. Why is the couple sometimes shown driving on the left-hand side of the road? What about that strange backdoor entrance to the flower-shop ? With no way for Stewart to pass the other car? And so on.
  
  Finally: why does Stewart make that strange gesture with his arms in the final shot of the film, when he is shown as if from the top of the tower, looking down at Novak's body?
  
  The solution would be that that is the moment when he dies, both emotionally and physically, and is lying as a crumpled corpse on the street. The whole sequence of events consists of things that are going through his mind, dredged from his past, as he is clutching at straws but actually falling to his death. The story is a rip-off of Ambrose Bierce's brilliant short story, An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, also made into a brilliant film, where we experience the thoughts of a man about to be hanged. Time and again through the film, Stewart is pleading for a second chance, for survival, for release from his sense of guilt, from his hallucinations and bewilderment. But the answer is that it is too late. He has let his hands slip from the guttering, which has probably broken anyway.
  
  As a poet once wrote: We do not die of death, we die of vertigo.
  
  But I can't change the stars when I edit my review. I'd add an extra star, if I could, but it's still not 5. It's a rip-off. See also the Lee Marvin film, Point Blank.
  
  
• art
  By A3OPOTLOE33R9H on 2007-03-05
  i am terribly surprised about how many seemingly quasi-intelligent people have left less than stellar reviews. and one of the only things i can think of that could cause these people to react in this way is that they just really dont think with the literary mind. why must we always be entertained the way we expect to be? our expectations of what someone else is saying always taints the way we listen. an objective ear is needed. a truly artful one. one that is connected with the greater picture of human existence, not our tawdry allegiances to technicality.
  
  there is a thing we talk about in all stories called the suspension of disbelief. people read beowulf and dont believe that any of it really happened. but you allow yourself to be deceived by the story so that you can see something else beyond it. if all you look at is what is spoonfed to you and if it doesnt add up.....well im sorry to be so abrasive but what a sad existence you must lead.
  
  
• Hitchcock's Most Personal Film
  By A1GB1Q193DNFGR on 2000-03-04
  Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo is so complex in its intentions and so intricate and fascinating in its scope that it will take multiple viewings to uncover and comprehend the savagely beautifullandscape of Hithcock's most poetically vunernable and unberably passionate film. The damaged heart of Scottie Ferguson portrayed so dramatically and effectvely by James Stewart, in his most accomplished role, illustrates the damage caused by romantic obession and the danger inherent in loving a fantasy. This meticulously crafted Hitchcock masterwork is so unbeleiably vivid in its emotions and true to its own creative genesis that it remains Hitchcock's definitive work dealing with love, loss, romance, illusion, and romantic obsession. A movie watchers must-see. The DVD edition is also quite a package within itself as gives the viewer abundant Vertigo extras including an alternate ending.
  
  

• Rear Window (Universal Legacy Series)
• North By Northwest
• The Birds (Collector's Edition)
• To Catch a Thief (Special Collector's Edition)
• Dial M for Murder