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Vertigo - Collector's EditionRating:
Release Date: 02 September, 2003 Retail Price: $19.98 OUR Price: $13.99 You SAVE: $5.99! Cast: Complete Cast (9 total) |
Vertigo - Collector's Edition Reviews
The master filmmaker's finest and most complex film
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.
One of the best movies I have ever seen
I have recently got into watching Hitchcock movies; this was the fifth I watched and by far the greatest one so far (and one of the greatest of all movies I have ever seen). Jimmy Stewart plays his part even better than in Rear Window, and this was the first time I had seen Kim Novak in a movie - she was wonderful! At first I expected her to be a pretty face and an enticing voice, but she was so much more than that, proving to be a versatile actress, in a demanding role!
The movie kept me hooked throughout - I forgot where I was; nothing mattered but the film. In typical Hitchcock style, the film is thrilling and mysterious, and leaves you changing your mind about the plot every few minutes. He knew exactly how to keep you guessing and keep you enthralled.
See this if you haven't already - they don't make 'em like this anymore!
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