Vertigo (1958)

There's a reason why Hithcock's Vertigo is seen in the eyes of many film critics as the best film ever made. It's truly a masterpiece. Hitchcock's crowning achievement. The acting by Jimmy Stewart, Kim Novak, and Barbara Bel Geddes is extraordinary. The music pulls you into the oddly hypnotic suspense even further. The cinematography is so beautiful and so vivid that it adds more depth to the film. It's almost as if it's the fourth character of the film.Both leads played two parts in the movie. Jimmy Stewart as the calm and mostly collected former detective, and Jimmy Stewart as the unhinged madman trying to get back to his Madeline. And Kim Novak as the beautiful wife of a former friend of Scotty's, hauntingly possessed by the spirit of Carlotta Valdez, and as the "tawdry" (original trailer's description of her character) redhead from Kansas.Haunting, hypnotic, beautifully strange, suspenseful and unhinged all are descriptives that can easily be used to describe this wonderful film. It is a MUST see!

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.

An incredible perfect blend of background music, camera work, fascinating story, acting, suspense, and mesmerizing romance.

In today's overly sensitive world, a man acting like james Stewart in this film would've been arrested, pepper sprayed and/or shot. Why couldn't he just love Her for Who she was? Because it wouldn't be a Hitchcock film. She should've been stronger with herself. Why didn't Alfred Hitchcock ever win an academy award for directing? The academy voters were really snobby back then. Great film. Tragic, and unfortunate for their potential love.