Vertigo
~ Film Noir, Psychological Thriller, James Stewart, San Francisco, Hitchcock ~
Any one of these elements would warrant attention on their own, but all these attributes, arranged in this stunning constellation of Cinematic magic equals...
The Perfection That is Vertigo (Hitchcock 1958).
Is it my favorite Hitchcock film? No, how can you have a favorite? My top tier favorites, besides Vertigo include: Rebecca (1940) and Rear Window (1954) followed almost imperceptibly by Strangers on a Train (1951), The Man Who Knew Too Much (1954, ya - I like the remake more!), Dial M for Murder (1954). Then just behind those, are all the other classics/favorites: North by Northwest (1959), Psycho (1960), The Birds (1963), Lifeboat (1944), Shadow of a Doubt (1943), Notorious (1946), Suspicion (1941), The 39 Steps (1935) and To Catch a Thief (1955).
And... Am I the only one who thinks the portrait of Carlotta in the museum looks uncannily like Midge not Madeleine? As if it must have been painted by the Barbara Bel Geddes' character? Could it be they could only afford one artist to work on the production, so all the art looks alike?
It doesn't matter, I still love Vertigo (Hitchcock 1958). It's dark and it's perverse and it's a wild ride and I love it.
Despite perhaps all efforts of the director, there is something so comforting about Hitchcock films. Despite the suspense and at times, outright terror. Maybe it's because by comparison, their violence seems so tame, almost quaint by today's standards, or because everyone is so dressed up and sophisticated, or maybe because I was first introduced to Vertigo in my formative college days by dear friends — and soon to become relatives: Kathy & Dave.
Kathy is my husband's cousin and in our early dating years, they shared a house in the west end of Hartford — she the landlord, he the tenant. A bond forged that thankfully survived our many moves, kids, politics and our collective coming-of-age rollercoasters, those oneway rides to maturity that tend to cull the once robust herd of friends. When we get together we laugh until our sides ache, and that means a lot in this world.
OK, so back to Vertigo...
More mid-century work of art, than movie, Vertigo is personal, Vertigo is erotic, Vertigo is dark, very dark. And, filled with symbolism. Madeleine's curling, coiled hairstyle to represent Scottie's swirling vertigo, hallways and tunnels to represent death, and green... Green which represents all that is scary and un-right...
But green also represents, life and renewal, as in life after death... The sequoia forest Scottie and Madeleine visit is filled with green.
