Movie – Vertigo

Movie – Vertigo
Score : 8/10 (pending) 
Year : 1958
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Cinematography: Robert Burks 
Country : USA
Language : English

Authors : 
Pierre Boileau & Thomas Narcejac (novel) ; 
Alec Coppel & Samuel A. Taylor (screenplay) ; 
Maxwell Anderon (un-credited contributing writer) 

Duration: 2h08

*** important note : I don't post the images to steal art, but to showcase and I therefore submit that only the artists hold their own copyrights if there still are any*** 

Suffering from acrophobia, John ''Scottie'' Ferguson is a detective in San Francisco. After he retires from his duties, a friend offers him the job of following his wife to investigate her strange wanderings... 

Vertigo explores several psychological conditions, such as acrophobia, which is the fear of heights from which the protagonist suffers. I think certain lengthy suspenseful scenes could have been slightly shortened to add to the psychological exploration for an added impact. This is my only real regret for this movie, but it's not by much. 

Vertigo is known for its original and innovative imagery, right from its introduction, to scenes depicting said acrophobia and its effects - and a weird but well made psychedelic dream sequence. 

Bernard Herrmann's musical score perfectly fits this movie, and is one of the eeriest scores in any Hitchcock movie.  It fully engages the viewer into the oddities, suspens and action sequences and never wavers, never fails in its wavy, edgy notes. 

The acting is superb by James Stewart, one of my favorite actors ; he is always so versatile, even if there are often common traits to many of his characters, such as determination against the odds, a certain flair for the dramatic or sarcasm. This is the case again here, but in each role he infuses and portrays in a very believable and unique way. 
He often uses facial expression, and he is really good depicting fear and obsessional attitudes.

The rest of the cast is also well at their respective roles - and to avoid any spoiling, shan't detail any here. 

The cinematography and special visual effects are all excellently executed, and the only things one cannot really appreciate in modern days are the late 1950's colors, either tacky or drab, or a mix - but that's not a failure of the movie itself, just the period... However, there is a repeated color scheme that is most probably intentional, between greens and reds, and some greys and blues. 

A small remark : the bluray (that I shall detail another time) received such a high quality transfer that Vertigo looks brand new, with vivid colors and we saw for the first time one scene that we never could before on the lower quality dvd, depicting a store, where the lights dim greatly during sunset, until the store owner starts the lights - at first, we actually thought there was a glitch, until we understood this particularity. 

Vertigo is a very well put together film ; it has suspense, great acting, witty dialogues and good pace. The score is superb and it all results in a highly enjoyable cinematic experience.   

I cannot discuss the adaptation quality, as I haven't read the original francophone novel this is based upon, which is why there is currently a pending 8/10 - to be revised. 

Starring : James Stewart, Kim Novak, Barbara Del Geddes, Tom Helmore, Ellen Corby, et al.