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Hitchcock's Vertigo is kind of overrated, no?

Don't get me wrong: it's a good film but I find it a bit head-scratching that it was proclaimed THE GREATEST FILM OF ALL TIME by those Sight & Sound guys a few years ago (I wouldn't even put it in my top 5 favorite Hitchock films).

I was actually blown away by it when I saw it on the big screen for the first time a few years ago but I just watched it again on TV tonight and all the magic was gone: I thought the film was overwrought, overlong and oversaturated. And James Stewart was totally miscast as a romantic lead (watching women like Grace Kelly and Kim Novak in their prime creaming over him in Hitch's films just looks laughable today). The score and Kim Novak's face are this film's greatest assets.

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by Anonymousreply 86April 5, 2020 3:07 PM

Novak is pretty, but just leaden onscreen in this one. And Stewart struck me as creepy and crazy rather than sad and haunted.

And elements of the story are confusing and/or downright silly. There's some very dated Psychology 101 at work here.

Not even close to my favorite Hitchcock.

by Anonymousreply 1July 13, 2019 3:44 AM

Vertigo is my favorite Hitchcock film. As with other Hitchcock films from the period, the plot keeps you guessing till the end. Kim Novak was right for both characters, to everyone surprise.

by Anonymousreply 2July 13, 2019 3:55 AM

Loved it! I watched it at the Castro and it was most wondrous cinematic experience. What really hit me very hard was the theme of the duplicity of love. The twists in the middle of the film and in the end were quite staggering when I saw it for the first time.

Then I came out of the theater to immerse myself in the most beautiful city in the world.

by Anonymousreply 3July 13, 2019 3:58 AM

Is this the film where Jimmy has a shirtless scene? Seeing his flabby, out-of-shape body gave me nightmares as a kid.

by Anonymousreply 4July 13, 2019 4:03 AM

I think Novak's very moving in Vertigo, cool and aloof as Madeleine, awkward and vulnerable as Judy. She often seemed a little uncomfortable in front of the camera but it works for this film.

Her other great part is Bell Book & Candle (also with Stewart, oddly enough)

by Anonymousreply 5July 13, 2019 4:04 AM

R3 , did you come to your senses after you stepped in a pile of human shit?

by Anonymousreply 6July 13, 2019 4:07 AM

R4, that’s Rear Window.

by Anonymousreply 7July 13, 2019 4:08 AM

R6 Is that your regular shitting spot? I will be more careful next time.

by Anonymousreply 8July 13, 2019 4:43 AM

Correct, OP. VERTIGO is a dud.

by Anonymousreply 9July 13, 2019 4:53 AM

I prefer Psycho, but Vertigo has some unforgettable moments too. For me, the plot of Vertigo got a bit far-fetched, some effects were a little cheesy, and the acting was just OK, not great.

by Anonymousreply 10July 13, 2019 5:06 AM

The majority of Hitchcock's films were overrated, especially "Rear Window." It's obvious who the killer is halfway through the movie. So lame.

His only good movies were "Psycho" and "The Birds."

by Anonymousreply 11July 13, 2019 5:06 AM

[quote]The majority of Hitchcock's films were overrated, especially "Rear Window." It's obvious who the killer is halfway through the movie. So lame.

Uh, that's kinda the WHOLE point of "Rear Window". If you didn't know who the killer was, there wouldn't be ANY suspense. Duh....

by Anonymousreply 12July 13, 2019 5:10 AM

R12 No you dummy. Suspense would have been not being so sure who the killer was, and it ending up being someone you never would have guessed.

But I guess someone as simple as you would like a simple, unimaginative movie.

by Anonymousreply 13July 13, 2019 5:14 AM

[R13] No, you dummy. You obviously don't know anything about Hitchcock's notion of "suspense". You are talking about "surprise" and "shock", NOT "suspense".

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by Anonymousreply 14July 13, 2019 5:22 AM

R14 And because HitchCOCK said it, everyone must agree. *roll eyes*

by Anonymousreply 15July 13, 2019 5:24 AM

Foreign Correspondent is a good thriller too. Besides Joel McCrea was hot in that movie.

by Anonymousreply 16July 13, 2019 5:27 AM

Vertigo is NOT a whodunnit, you idiot at r11 and r13. It’s a suspense film, but not a mystery per se.

Jesus, could you be any dumber? Well, no matter. We’re used to seeing your nasty, ill-informed opinions on other threads. Everyone just ignores you by this point.

by Anonymousreply 17July 13, 2019 5:29 AM

[R15] You don't have to agree. But it's HIS fucking movie!

by Anonymousreply 18July 13, 2019 5:29 AM

I tried to like Vertigo, I really did. But I don't, and agree that it's incredibly overrated. The effects are laughable, the '50s psychology embarrassing, Stewart creepy and unlikable.

Fantastic score, though. I was glad to see it make a minor comeback in The Artist, that Best Picture winner everyone has forgotten.

by Anonymousreply 19July 13, 2019 5:35 AM

Stewart's character isn't supposed to be likeable. He's a control freak whose obsessive tendencies lead to tragedy. Novak falls for him out of guilt and because her self-worth is nil. A lot of Hitchcock protagonists are neurotic, but the leads in Vertigo are especially fucked up.

by Anonymousreply 20July 13, 2019 5:49 AM

[quote]Fantastic score, though. I was glad to see it make a minor comeback in The Artist, that Best Picture winner everyone has forgotten.

Here's the clip.

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by Anonymousreply 21July 13, 2019 5:54 AM

I love Vertigo, one of my favourite movies. Using Jimmy Stewart for such a dubious and broken protagonist was great casting. The filming and the colour scheme is great and Kim being needy and insecure while so beautiful adds another layer. When in California I searched all the filming locations...

by Anonymousreply 22July 13, 2019 6:09 AM

I love Vertigo too, it's my favourite Hitch and one of my very favourite films. I love the narcotic, woozy sickness that pervades the film, it's a dream/nightmare made real. The San Fran setting is glorious and the languorous pacing coupled with the fabulous Bernard Hermann score come together to create a hypnotic and immersive world - definitely best experienced in the dark on the big screen.

by Anonymousreply 23July 13, 2019 6:51 AM

Some of the score is used in AHS Murder House season as well.

by Anonymousreply 24July 13, 2019 8:06 AM

I’ve tried to love it. Truly, I have.

by Anonymousreply 25July 13, 2019 9:04 AM

Film buff/TCM devotee’ here: not a fan of Vertigo. Some gorgeous cinematography but otherwise slightly underwhelming. Kim Novak’s spit curls are lousy, too.

I prefer Bell, Book and Candle.

by Anonymousreply 26July 13, 2019 9:19 AM

One of the things to remember about “Vertigo” is that it developed a tremendous cult reputation, driven by highbrow critics such as Robin Wood, in the 20 years it remained in the vault, uncirculated. It almost magically appeared on “Sight and Sound” magazine’s poll of 10 Best Movies around ‘81 or ‘82, but it hadn’t been screened theatrically since 1964 (and was broadcast only once on American TV in the late ‘60s). It had never previously appeared on the poll. “Vertigo” was obscure, and the fact that it had been panned by the critics and unloved by the public in its original run added to its allure. Scholars might have arranged to see it through Hitchcock himself, as Donald Spoto did— or insiders might have smuggled a print for a very select viewing. So it was a HUGE event in 1983-1984 when all five of the Hitchcock movies he owned outright were re-released, one title every two or three months, by Universal. “Rear Window” was the first to be re-released, and its performance well exceeded expectations of audiences and box office. Hitchcock and Grace Kelly had recently died, and “Rear Window” truly represented something lost, an art never to be equaled, and that aura also fueled the anticipation and reception “Vertigo” received. Except for those people in the late ‘60s who first saw “Vertigo” on TV, just about everyone’s experience with the film was in a theater with a big, enthusiastic audience— and “Vertigo” really is a film which MUST be seen in a theater, or its long stretches without dialogue will not work. Remember, Hitchcock was a silent movie director at heart, and “Vertigo” demands a certain commitment from viewers who may be more attenuated to dialogue than to images and music. Even in 1958 sound film had corrupted the audience appreciation for Hitchcock’s “pure cinema,” which partially accounts for its poor initial reception. Our attention span has been further eroded by the advent of home video and all the other advances made in media over the last 35 years. “Vertigo” essentially found its perfect audience in 1984, and moviegoers willingly surrendered to its spell after waiting 20 years to see it. Many became evangelists for the movie. I believe the film stands on its own, of course, but I think it helps to understand the specialness it had— and still has— for legions of us just because it was like opening Tutankhamen’s tomb for the first time in thousands of years. Lots of us have tried to pass on that experience, but you really had to be there.

by Anonymousreply 27July 13, 2019 10:37 AM

Or, it's another mediocre movie that hasn't aged well.

I prefer FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT. Not only because Joel McCrea is hot to death in it, but in part. Everything about it is more interesting than VERTIGO. The black and white photography is splended and you get George Sanders, too.

If you have a chance to see Hitchcock's silent film THE LODGER, go for it. There's so much Hitchcock on display in this film. It points the way to all that followed.

by Anonymousreply 28July 13, 2019 12:08 PM

I like “Foreign Correspondent,” too r28 , but it is creaky, especially the “before the lights go out” propaganda speech at the end— and the musical score is terrible. You get a better George Sanders performance in “Rebecca.” Hitchcock’s first choice for FC, Gary Cooper, would have been better, though McCrea is a good runner up. “The Lodger” has probably aged better than FC.

by Anonymousreply 29July 13, 2019 12:27 PM
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by Anonymousreply 30July 13, 2019 12:34 PM

ALL of Hitchcock's films are overrated.

by Anonymousreply 31July 13, 2019 12:52 PM

I saw Vertigo and Rear Window when I was a kid, when they were re-released in the 80s. Loved Rear Window and feel lucky to have first experienced it on the big screen. But Vertigo was too slow and heady for me at that age. Maybe I never got over that first impression, because while of course I appreciated the movie more when I saw it again years later, it has never been one of my favorite Hitchcocks.

I don't like the word "overrated" but I am suspicious of the idea that Vertigo is Hitchcock's deepest movie and therefore his best. There is a lot to be said for the sheer pleasure of movies, and for my money many of his other films are better crafted and more enjoyable.

by Anonymousreply 32July 13, 2019 12:58 PM

I know Vertigo has been hyped massively among film cognoscenti - didn’t it get voted best movie evah - like a decade or so ago on a BFI poll? It looks really stylish in places and has its moments - but always feels too overwrought and just a bit...silly?

Vertigo is about a straight guy who can't get off unless he kills the pussy he fucks. It's there in the text and visually. How many times and when does Stewart step through a stylized vagina to get completion?

I still hate Vertigo. Very misogynistic, sick film. Speaks volumes that whoever votes at BFI voted for this. And I used to like BFI.

Vertigo is so dreamy. It's such a pleasure to watch. Kim Novak was perfect for the role, even though she wasn't a great actress. Just like Tippi was perfect for The Birds.

Barbara Bel Geddes doesn't get enough praise for her performance in Vertigo. She's sublime in it. I can't understand why she didn't get an Oscar nomination.

I honestly don't think VERTIGO would be nearly as revered today if Vera Miles had played the lead. That was a very fortunate piece of casting.

There was something truly hypnotic about Novak's looks that made her a true screen icon. She was at her best playing love objects, like here and in PICNIC.

I was a teenager when I first saw Vertigo. It was playing on TV as part of a week long Hitchcock festival, and I was watching it with my mom, who of course had seen it before. After Madeline died, I got confused and a little restless. I asked out loud, "where is this going?" My mom said, "just keep watching."

Then Scottie starts seeing this red-headed Judy girl from Salina, Kansas, and I wondered out loud, "what is this about? why is he attracted to her?" My mom said, "just keep watching."

Then we see a close up of Judy's face and she looks directly into the camera, and now I'm freaking out. We hear her letter to Scottie about how she loved him, and then we see her tear it up. Then my jaw dropped open and I looked at my mom and said, "WHAT?! She's the same girl?! Played by the same actress?!" I was totally duped into thinking there were two different actresses playing two different characters. My mom loved it. I can only imagine what it was like to see this movie in the theater and have the same reaction.

by Anonymousreply 33July 13, 2019 1:36 PM

Hated Vertigo, loved Rear Window.

by Anonymousreply 34July 13, 2019 1:47 PM

R27 Yeah, that was fun and we saw those films re-released in art houses and we reveled in the big-screen lustre of the restored prints and the nostalgia but then we woke up.

by Anonymousreply 35July 13, 2019 4:22 PM

[quote] I prefer Bell, Book and Candle.

R26 Me, too, but the even more decrepit Jimmy Stewart with his hammy acting stinks it up.

by Anonymousreply 36July 13, 2019 4:25 PM

I find it overwrought and melodramatic.

That's just me.

by Anonymousreply 37July 13, 2019 5:34 PM

you also have to remember that it was a different time

by Anonymousreply 38July 13, 2019 5:39 PM

Every time is a different time. Last year was a different time.

by Anonymousreply 39July 13, 2019 6:13 PM

It’s a 60 year old movie with a 100% Metacritic rating. Every other critic group around the world holds it in the same esteem.

It’s great to have minority opinion threads, but after decades of conversation and acclaim, the needle on this one isn’t going to change any time soon.

But keep at it!

by Anonymousreply 40July 13, 2019 7:02 PM

'Vertigo' is the heterosexual 'Wizard of Oz.'

by Anonymousreply 41July 13, 2019 7:30 PM

I saw it in a movie theater on a double bill with Rear Window. I was really young, 10 maybe. It was a matinee. Rear Window was first and I loved it. Then Vertigo came on and I was mesmerized. The Bernard Herrmann score is haunting. I remember I sort of stumbled home in stunned silence. It is a masterpiece. If you don't appreciate Hitchcock you are missing out.

by Anonymousreply 42July 13, 2019 7:33 PM

Vertigo is best watched while on the dolls.

Just like Mulholland Drive.

Float along with them while watching.

by Anonymousreply 43July 13, 2019 7:38 PM

Vertigo is not my favorite Hitch, and I understand why many don't like it or are indifferent. But it is poetry, not really meant to be literal. Some respond to it, some don't. I'm in the middle, but both sides are reasonable.

by Anonymousreply 44July 13, 2019 7:54 PM

R43 Exactly

by Anonymousreply 45July 13, 2019 7:56 PM

[quote]Very misogynistic, sick film.

I think it's clear in the movie - or at least it's very obvious to me - that it's the character Scotty (Stewart) who's the one who's sick (and creepy).

In that respect I disagree with those of you criticizing the film.

There are a number of books that do a nice job delineating why the film works. Someone above mentioned Robin Wood's book Hitchcock's Films, and there's also one by Doland Spoto called The Art of Alfred Hitchcock.

Molly Haskell's From Reverence to Rape has this: "Jimmy Stewart walks out on the wonderfully warm, intelligent Midge to chase a phantom woman, the blonde Madeleine. His delirious pursuit, her 'death,' and his terrible disappointment when he sees her 'reincarnated' as the crude and vulgar Judy, form a perfect paradigm of the romantic's cruel and persistent obsession with the ideal over a mixed reality, of Hitchcock's ambivalence to his stars, and to our own. In Stewart's desperate attempt to remake Judy over Madeleine's image (and our sympathy with the attempt), Hitchcock exposes the romantic impulse to turn women into an art object. In our instinctive preference for the elegant, silent, 'period' Madeleine to the noisy, everyday modern Judy we are made aware of both sides of illusionism. For as Robin Wood pointed out in his book on Hitchcock, there is a sense in which Madeleine [bold]is[/bold] more real than Judy as she gives expression, in her heightened theatricality, to feelings and refinements that are beyond the course Judy. In such a way do the stars symbolize the beauty and romance and independence we seek. The danger is in mistaking them for the reality, in imposing (as Stewart insists on doing) the star image on the stubborn, distinctive faces on real people."

And from David A. Cook's book A History of Narrative Film, there's this: "Vertigo suggests not only the fraudulence of romantic love but of the whole Hollywood narrative tradition that underwrites it. At a deeper level, however, it suggests a more difficult truth: that the ultimate consequence of romantic idealism - of aspiring beyond the possible - is, successively, neurosis, psychosis, and perversion, or, more specifically, necrophilia."

by Anonymousreply 46July 13, 2019 9:05 PM

[quote]Jimmy Stewart walks out on the wonderfully warm, intelligent Midge to chase a phantom woman, the blonde Madeleine.

I thought Midge was a pain and wish she had been the one who did the tower dive.

by Anonymousreply 47July 13, 2019 9:11 PM

[quote] There are a number of books that do a nice job delineating why the film works.

Ridiculous. If one must rely on a number of books to know tell you that a film worked, it didn't work very well at all. Take VERTIGO, for example.

by Anonymousreply 48July 13, 2019 9:19 PM

TEAM MIDGE

by Anonymousreply 49July 13, 2019 9:23 PM

Movie critics love movies that are ultimately about movies. It makes the feel important..

by Anonymousreply 50July 13, 2019 9:26 PM

I saw it on the big screen when it was re-released in the 80's, and probably that's why I love it. You can take what you want from it R48. As a teenager I was enthralled by shifting identities, the colours and the score. As an adult I appreciate the symbolism of Scotty's vertigo, is it fear of not being in control? Is it impotence? And Kim interprets two of the canonical female figures, the Madonna and the slut, as seen through the male gaze. I could go on for ever, better stop.

by Anonymousreply 51July 13, 2019 9:29 PM

[quote]If one must rely on a number of books to know tell you that a film worked, it didn't work very well at all.

That has to about one of the dumbest (and funniest) things I've read around here.

In that case R48, take 2001, The Seven Samurai, The Searchers, The 400 Blows, The Seventh Seal or The Apu Trilogy -

All of which are discussed in quite a number of books.

Similarly many works of literature and many paintings are each discussed in a number of books.

by Anonymousreply 52July 13, 2019 9:31 PM

YES!!!

Lifeboat was far superior. Even Rope! Rear WIndow was better! To Catch a Thief was better! Psycho better! North by Northwest was better! Even Marnie was better!

Rebecca (Laurence Olivier) and Dial M for Murder (Ray Milland) were the best for me.

Vertigo was just strange. It was only better than that movie where they were on the train and the movie where the girl got followed home.

by Anonymousreply 53July 13, 2019 9:47 PM

Jesus, not this again. "Vertigo is overrated" is such a lame attempt at sounding smart about cinema. It's a masterpiece. But it's a Hitchcock film, so it has that highly controlled thing that he excelled at. But thematically it's very rich, and every single shot is connected to its plots and themes. It's just a very sophisticated, mature film by a great master in his late period.

But yeah, "Lifeboat" is better. LOL

by Anonymousreply 54July 13, 2019 9:52 PM

Hitch brazenly stole the bell tower scene in Vertigo from Powell and Pressburger's masterpiece, Black Narcissus...

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by Anonymousreply 55July 13, 2019 9:53 PM

The people who didn’t like this movie are probably too stupid to realize the second half is a dream.

by Anonymousreply 56July 13, 2019 10:00 PM

R56 That's one theory of many.

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by Anonymousreply 57July 13, 2019 10:25 PM

For me, Hitchcock's portrayal of 1950's San Francisco made the biggest impression on me when I first saw Vertigo on the big screen in an art-house revival. Others have mentioned the colors. This piece breaks it down...

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by Anonymousreply 58July 13, 2019 10:47 PM

Yes, Lifeboat for me was better. It was made in 1944, during the war. The characters discussed being afraid of entering a concentration camp, and it's one of the few movies of that time that portrayed a black man with empathy. It was one of the only films of that time to show any empathy, remorse and acknowledge the plight of black people. Terms we use still to this day like "slummin" when Tallulah Bankhead's wealthy character goes after the poorer one, and when they bring the German aboard and he asks if they're going to shoot him. "What are you going to do with people like that?" It reminds me of a time when America was about being good to others.

Vertigo? How could you get around Kim Novak's cringeworthy acting and Jimmy Stewart's age? It was a dreamy, visually stunning film, but the story was crap. Reminds me of Inception. No one understood it, so they thought it was deep.

by Anonymousreply 59July 13, 2019 10:49 PM

Yes, R55, Hitchcock was so obsessed with Black Narcissus that when he filmed the final scene at the Spanish Mission he instinctively replaced the originally script circus clown with a nun.

by Anonymousreply 60July 13, 2019 10:53 PM

Rebecca is Sarah Jessica Parker's favorite movie. I still remember how breathtaking Shangri-La was. When Joan Fontaine walked into the letter writing room. So good.

by Anonymousreply 61July 13, 2019 10:59 PM

I ADORE this film! The San Francisco setting that's so atmospheric you can practically feel the chill fog on your skin, the lush photography and lusher score, the mystery and romance, the utterly sick and twisted relationship between the principals. IMHO it's the last that makes the film complex and memorable; usually I'm turned off by relationships between old straight men and young straight women, but in this case it works. He's old and fucked up and loses his shit over a hot young woman, she's desperate for a man and so riddled with guilt she'll take any amount of abuse, it's totally believable that those two could get into a twisted and destructive relationship.

That said, IMHO the reason it's tops of all the critics' lists is that it's one of those rare movies that gets better with repeat viewings. Critics do tend to end up watching all the great films so many times that they lose their surprises and impact, "Vertigo" is one where you actually have to see it several times to understand the story. You just don't get it, until you can see the whole thing from Judy's POV.

by Anonymousreply 62July 13, 2019 11:02 PM

Vertigo filming locations then (1957) and now (2019)...

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by Anonymousreply 63July 13, 2019 11:23 PM

Shangri-La? Oh, no. No.

This is going to get so ugly.

by Anonymousreply 64July 13, 2019 11:45 PM

Dial M for Murder.

by Anonymousreply 65July 13, 2019 11:52 PM

Dial M for Murder viewed in 3D is extremely interesting. Hitchcock made wonderful use of that new technology.

by Anonymousreply 66July 13, 2019 11:59 PM

I don't like 3D.. The red and blue, meh. Uncomfortable.

by Anonymousreply 67July 14, 2019 12:05 AM

[quote] Dial M for Murder

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by Anonymousreply 68July 14, 2019 12:05 AM

Tippi Hedren had a Me Too moment with Hitchcock. Said he insisted she sleep with him and when she refused , he ruined her career.

I would have just slept with him. It wouldn't have that bad.

by Anonymousreply 69July 14, 2019 12:07 AM

Ah,but the scene in Dial M where Grace Kelly reaches back for the scissors! In 3D, that is an unforgettable experience.

I knew the flat version of the film and then I had a chance to see it in 3D. Hitchcock explored that technology and did some very effective shots with it. Usually, losing the 3D matters little. Not with that film.

by Anonymousreply 70July 14, 2019 12:10 AM

Don't forget......

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by Anonymousreply 71July 14, 2019 12:21 AM

r61. Yes, but it's heartbreaking when she leaves Shangri-La and transforms into an ancient crone (played by Dame Margo Anderson) before our eyes! And Ronald Colman was so dreamy as Conroy de Winter. Though what a lama was doing in England I'll never figure out.

by Anonymousreply 72July 14, 2019 12:27 AM

When I first saw Vertigo, in a movie theater around 1964, I was unimpressed by all the holes in the plot, practical considerations that starkly stood out, making the story seem ridiculous. (Too many to elucidate here...)

But, over time, I began to see the whole thing as a poetic miasma, using color and music to hypnotize us into the same kind of obsessive spiral as Stewart. The whole thing is just hypnotic.

Favorite line, which I have used: when Stewart asks how her love life is going, Barbara Bel Geddes quips, “Oh, it’s following a train of thought.”

Bernard Herrmann was famously quoted as saying he hated the film, chiefly for casting Stewart, and for changing the original novel’s locale of New Orleans to San Francisco.

As for 3-D, Dial M for Murder has a marvelous sense of depth, which is totally lost in the flat version most people have seen, notably in that handbag floating in front of you, so elusively escaping Milland’s grasp, and the hair-raising glint of those scissors, sweeping above you in a deadly arc.

Anyway, my favorite Hitchcock is North by Northwest, which has all his best elements mixed together, along with a great sense of pace. Saw it at a local theater in 1959, and though I now understand all those double entendres, they only enhance my enjoyment.

by Anonymousreply 73July 14, 2019 12:29 AM

Commercial movies rarely engage general audiences in a way that taps into their subconscious. Vertigo is one of the best examples. There’s a narrative, but really only in the service of a perverse mediation on obsession and loss.

I love how the chatty ‘normal’ opening scenes that Scotty has with Elster and Midge give way to long, silent yearning ones with both of Novak’s personas. The romance and dread that permeate the whole movie are pretty heady.

The structure is ballsy and the execution is brilliant, with a simultaneous mix of the laconic and ecstatic that is pretty unique.

If you get to the end of a movie like this and start carping about the plotting, you’re looking through the wrong end of the telescope.

by Anonymousreply 74July 14, 2019 12:56 AM

I love Vertigo. Great film.

by Anonymousreply 75July 14, 2019 1:32 AM

Thank you R63 for that.

I found it very interesting!

by Anonymousreply 76July 14, 2019 4:37 AM

Vertigo IS a great film. It's got everything!!!! It's one of my favorites in the BFI list. Others are better for certain things but Vertigo has it everything, as I said.

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by Anonymousreply 77July 14, 2019 4:53 AM

The best part is the inquest scene where Jimmy gets massive and expertly thrown shade dumped on him.

by Anonymousreply 78July 14, 2019 6:25 AM

Although I love a bunch of Hitchcock's films for a variety of reasons, I keep coming back to Shadow of a Doubt (1943).

by Anonymousreply 79July 14, 2019 6:29 AM

[quote]Then Vertigo came on and I was mesmerized. The Bernard Herrmann score is haunting. I remember I sort of stumbled home in stunned silence. It is a masterpiece. If you don't appreciate Hitchcock you are missing out.

Agree.

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by Anonymousreply 80July 14, 2019 6:29 AM

[quote]I prefer Bell, Book and Candle.

One of my favorite films. She t has the advantage of the fabulous Elsa Lanchester and Jack Lemmon in major supporting roles and a delicious cameo from Hermione Gingold.

by Anonymousreply 81July 14, 2019 6:54 AM

Or maybe if we don't appreciate it it's because we heard the hype as the greatest movie ever, built it up in our heads and were severely disappointed.

by Anonymousreply 82July 14, 2019 7:20 AM

R81 Yes, although it doesn't belong on this thread about Hitchcock, the Richard Quine masterpiece deserves a brief mention for having an LGBT subtext...

[quote]Yet, there is another interpretation. John Van Druten was gay, most famous for his play I Am a Camera, which became Cabaret. But, in Open Secret, David Ehrenstein notes that Bell, Book and Candle is his gayest work. "No one with any degree of familiarity with post WWII Greenwich Village will have any trouble seeing the "witches" and "warlocks" of this romantic fantasy for the gays and lesbians they really are, even in the midst of a purely heterosexual main plot." So, there are three ways of watching this glamorous product of the twilight of the Hollywood studio era. Uncritically, enjoying the superb comic performances and exquisite production design, as a pre-feminist cautionary tale, or with an intriguing subtext the author slipped magically through the Hollywood Production Code.

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by Anonymousreply 83July 14, 2019 7:31 AM

I'll say. Nobody gets his wings at the end.

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by Anonymousreply 84November 19, 2019 4:40 AM

I used to think it was overrated until I saw/read/heard the opinions of people who actually know film. They opened my eyes to subtle layers and techniques that I was not aware on my initial viewing. I don't know if I would go so far as to say that it is the single best film ever made but I can't call it overrated.

by Anonymousreply 85April 5, 2020 2:50 PM

I'm with you, OP. Don't like this film, never have. Love Les Diaboliques, love Psycho. But this one... meh.

by Anonymousreply 86April 5, 2020 3:07 PM
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