Vertigo (1958)

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  TheMovieDiorama

  8 / 10

  Vertigo is a masterful example in creatively blending mystery, suspense and romance. Another film that is often regarded as "the greatest movie of all time" and many proclaiming "Hitchcock's masterpiece" which is quite a title considering his filmography. Whilst I don't think it's as good as some of his other work, it's definitely worthy of the eternal praise. A retired detective, who suffers with acrophobia, is hired to privately investigate a woman who is behaving strangely. It's told in a classic Hitchcock-ian narrative including several twists, taut suspense and a theme tune that will stay with you forever. Technically, this film is flawless. Hitchcock intricately utilises lighting to create perfect shadowing for shrouding ominous figures. The infamous use of his zooming technique to produce the vertigo effect was profound and increasingly heightened the suspense. Remembering that this was released back in 1958, it really has stood the test of time. Watching this for the first time now, I still felt the suspense and wonderment as if I was viewing this upon its initial release. And it's because of Hitchcock's directing techniques that allows his films to be invincible to time, Vertigo more than any others from his canon. A few famous scenes such as the kiss with a backdrop of crashing waves and the staircase climb shows how influential this romantic thriller is. Stewart, although slightly too old for this role, and Novak had decent chemistry with some fine acting. The twisted story does evoke themes of love and loss with some psychological details embedded. A man succumbing to the fixation of a woman, a prominent portrayal that only becomes more apparent after the plot twist. The pacing is very inconsistent, switching between rapid car following sequences to slow dull conversations that really don't add any necessary development to these characters, whilst occasionally running into some contrivances along the way. Is this Hitchcock's best? No. However it is a classic romance with masterful direction where the finest aspects come from the details, just not dizzyingly thrilling.

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