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James Stewart, Kim Novak, Barbara Bel Geddes, Tom Helmore, Henry Jones ... see more see more... , Raymond Bailey , Ellen Corby , Konstantin Shayne , Lee Patrick , John Benson , Margaret Brayton , Paul Bryar , Roxann Delman , Roland Got , Fred Graham , William Remick , Nina Shipman , Dori Simmons , Ed Stevlingson , Sara Taft , June Jocelyn , Mollie Dodd , Don Giovanni , Buck Harrington , Jack Richardson

Dismissed when first released, later heralded as one of director Alfred Hitchcock's finest films (and, according to Hitchcock, his most personal one), this adaptation of the French novel D'entre les m... read more read more...orts weaves an intricate web of obsession and deceit. It opens as Scottie Ferguson (James Stewart) realizes he has vertigo, a condition resulting in a fear of heights, when a police officer is killed trying to rescue him from falling off a building. Scottie then retires from his position as a private investigator, only to be lured into another case by his old college friend, Gavin Elster (Tom Helmore). Elster's wife, Madeleine (Kim Novak), has been possessed by a spirit, and Elster wants Scottie to follow her. He hesitantly agrees, and thus begins the film's wordless montage as Scottie follows the beautiful yet enigmatic Madeleine through 1950s San Francisco (accompanied by Bernard Herrmann's hypnotic score). After saving her from suicide, Scottie begins to fall in love with her, and she appears to feel the same way. Here tragedy strikes, and each twist in the movie's second half changes our preconceptions about the characters and events. In 1996 a new print of Vertigo was released, restoring the original grandeur of the colors and the San Francisco backdrop, as well as digitally enhancing the soundtrack. ~ Dylan Wilcox, Rovi

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92% liked it

89,941 ratings

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98% liked it

58 critics

PG, 2 hr. 8 min.

Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock

Release Date: January 1, 1958

Keywords: media

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DVD Release Date: March 31, 1998

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Flixster Reviews (6,618)

  • c0up
    April 21, 2012
    c0up
    'Vertigo'. A tragic love story, an intriguing mystery, two top notch leading performances, and a score that heightens every second of the film beautifully!

    The stars of yesteryear have a most special quality about them. I was head over heels for the drop dead gorgeous Kim Novak ... read morewithin minutes, and charmed by Jimmy Stewart equally promptly.

    I had no idea how the story was going to progress after the first hour, and the second half of the film moves nicely into the dark, obsessive mind of Scottie, with a very satisfying finale.

    Bernard Hermann's score is truly great, and I could have watched those scenes of Scottie following Madeline through the streets of San Francisco forever.
  • StarCrossedVoyager
    April 11, 2012
    StarCrossedVoyager
    I'm very surprised to say that I really did not like this film. It was slow and boring to the point of tears. There is a great story with some really good chances to create a lot of mystery and suspense here however it got mixed up in Hitchcock's regime. Looking at the ratings fr... read moreom the critics, it seems to me that whatever Hitchcock sent out they'd adore it. The drama is barely there, the romance is dead and any suspense is liquified by the incredibly slow pace. Many times I had thought it was about to end.
  • FiLmCrAzY
    March 30, 2012
    FiLmCrAzY
    Another fantastic masterpiece from Hitchcock! I loved this movie, once again it was a suspenseful murder mystery that keeps you gripped up until the end!
    Just when you think the story has found the answer your hit with twist upon twist just to keep you guessing!
    Although wasnt a ... read morerated movie upon released and even Hitchcock blamed Stewart i still think theres nothing wrong with this movie and should be given its due!
  • mumby1988
    January 21, 2012
    mumby1988
    The 1950s found Alfred Hitchcock in his prime. Freed from both the shackles of the British studios and the meddling of David O. Selznick, he was finally free to make the films he wanted to make, exactly the way he wanted to make them. This period yielded many works which have bec... read moreome cemented classics - Strangers on a Train, Rear Window and North by Northwest. But Vertigo is arguably his finest work, being unbearably suspenseful and the greatest depiction of obsession in all of cinema.

    Although it was received mixed reviews when first released, Vertigo is now recognised as a highly influential work on filmmakers. Individual directors have paid tribute in their own way: Martin Scorsese has waxed lyrical about it in interviews with the AFI, while Mel Brooks used it as one of the main bases for his affectionate parody, High Anxiety. Its impact on the horror and thriller genres is plain to see, influencing films as varied as Single White Female and Mulholland Drive.

    The ironic thing in all of this is that Vertigo is not a characteristic Hitchcock film. It does not conform, at least not entirely, to the various tropes and conventions which we now associate with Hitchcock. Most of his thrillers are driven by narrative: the story is everything, and the characters involved in it are there only to advance the story in which they find themselves. Vertigo is more of a character study, with the narrative and much of its complexity deriving directly from Jimmy Stewart.

    Hitchcock described Vertigo as his most personal film, and it isn't hard to see why. Apart from the artistic freedom that he enjoyed making it, much of the film is self-reflexive: it is about his approach to filmmaking and especially his attitude to women. Hitchcock famously remarked that actors should be treated like cattle - being pushed and prodded around, told what to do, with someone else doing all the creativity. This approach is writ large in Vertigo in such a way that the characters mirror it directly.

    Scottie, played by Stewart, is Hitchcock, obsessively analysing people's motivations and behaviour, following them at length and attempting to mould them to look and act the way he wants. His dark obsession with Judy reflects Hitchcock's fascination with blondes: he wants her to be 'Madeleine', her character, because that it is the only version of her he cares about. But for all his hard work, no understanding is gained; the relationship is one of fascination, but never comprehension or satisfaction.

    A comparison can be drawn between Vertigo and Peeping Tom, Michael Powell's incendiary masterpiece from two years later. Both films have male protagonists who are obsessed with perfection, which they convey or project in their attitude to women. Both films are self-reflexive, shedding light on the relationship between a filmmaker and the actors who end up in font in his camera - a relationship which, in both cases, turns out to be fatal. And both are triumphs of their genre, which fulfil expectations in terms of terror and suspense while still feeling fresh and ground-breaking.

    A further similarity between the films is their extraordinary cinematography. Robert Burks collaborated with Hitchcock extensively between Strangers on a Train and Marnie, and his mastery of Technicolor is on a par with Powell's old master, Jack Cardiff. The recurring deep, passionate reds are as dazzling as anything in The Red Shoes, and are complimented brilliantly by the piercing, threatening blues of the New Mexico skyline and Stewart's purposeful eyes. The film invades your senses with its manipulation of colour, with every shot brimming with menace and intent.

    Equally impressive are the dream sequences. These are better integrated than the dream sequence in Spellbound, famously directed not by Hitchcock but by Salvador Dali. Hitchcock may not have the literacy of Dali when it comes to Freudian imagery, but the effects are impressive for the day. Better still is the image of Kim Novak as Judy emerging as 'Madeleine' - she appears to shimmer as fantasy and reality attempt to merge into a macabre fairy tale, to the internalised delight of Scottie.

    A further highlight of the film is Bernard Herrmann's soundtrack, perhaps his best and arguably his most famous other than Psycho. As Scorsese observed in an interview with Sight and Sound, the score is built in spirals and circles, mirroring the obsession of the character as he keeps coming back to the same point. The score is ever-present but not intrusive, perfectly judging every scene and never doing the work for the actors, as can often happen in melodrama.

    But what makes Vertigo ultimately so suspenseful, and so successful, is its confidence and attention to detail which is present in every aspect. Everything about its plot, its character construction and execution of suspense has been meticulously figured out, and yet it still has the ability to keep us guessing and genuinely surprise us at each turn. There are few thrillers which are so confident about the strength of their twist that they feel the need to withhold it for so long and so willingly. The twist when it comes is an absolute belter, rewarding our attention and pulling us further in.

    If Peeping Tom is the cinematic Bible on voyeurism (with Blue Velvet a very close second), Vertigo is the accompanying volume on obsession. It shows with great detail and intelligence how unhealthy fascinations can start with something so small, and grow almost beyond the host's control until they have consumed everything else. Scottie takes the snoop job as an innocuous favour to an old friend; the first sight of Madeleine plants into his mind a seed of sympathy, a desire not to see her harmed. From the moment he has saved her life, this desire grows into fascination, to the point where he cannot imagine life without her (hence his silence at the sanatorium).

    The story of Vertigo is a further reflection of obsession. We are made to study the characters, asked to decipher their every facial tic until we too are in danger of becoming obsessed with them. The twists and turns that occur make us simultaneously elated and frustrated - elated at what truth they reveal, frustrated that we could not spot them sooner. Both the characters' story and our experience of it end as they began - with one big shock which cements these emotions.

    Jimmy Stewart was blamed by Hitchcock for the film's failure when first released. Hitchcock thought the age gap between Stewart and Novak was too obvious, and the two never worked together again. In hindsight, it was a triumph in conveying the theme of a seemingly innocent man being manipulated and corrupted - a process which he both resists and encourages. Stewart, once the wholesome leading man in Mr Smith Goes to Washington and It's A Wonderful Life, is transformed into what is arguably the most skin-crawling character in 1950s cinema. It is a masterclass in subtle madness, and remains his finest performance.

    Vertigo is a terrifying triumph in every aspect of its execution. Hitchcock's subsequent efforts saw his abilities gradually diminish, but here the master is at the peak of his powers. The story is complex and rewarding, and the atmosphere which Hitch creates through lighting, music, colour and composition, is unbearably tense. Like Mulholland Drive more than 40 years later, Vertigo will pull you in to its dark, troubled world until you are unable and unwilling to escape. If you come away from this review convinced that I am obsessed, it means that the film has done its job.
  • fb1664868775
    November 13, 2011
    fb1664868775
    Hitchcock's most haunting film is a strange one. Dreams and real life blur to create a visual masterpiece.
  • spielberg00
    September 18, 2011
    spielberg00
    The Master of Suspense strikes again with VERTIGO, a definite work of art. The plot keeps twisting and twisting, but somehow, we can always follow it, until the ending, a huge surprise, and a memorable one, too. I don't list my favorite Hitchcock films, even though I've seen th... read moree majority of them, but if I did, this would probably be number three, topped barely by the two other classics PSYCHO and DIAL 'M' FOR MURDER. Yes--this is truly brilliant, and thoroughly astounding. If you haven't seen it, rent it before you forget. I'll guarantee that you'll enjoy it.
  • fb1672039553
    June 25, 2011
    fb1672039553
    Surprisingly unconventional, I was reminded of Tarantino's Kill Bill in the abrupt change in visual styles. I look forward to watching it again with knowing eyes. That last scene! Also noteworthy, this movie was the debut of the dizzying "dolly zoom."
  • jamers2011
    January 10, 2011
    jamers2011
    Great film, but I was expecting so much more. I wasn't dissappointed, just surprised by how I didn't like it as much as I thought I would. Not as intense as I expected, but definitely a film for everyone to check out. The pacing is brilliant, as it seems all of Hitchcock's films ... read moreare, the story is interesting and intriging, but not as mind blowing as I had heard. Maybe it's because I've seen to many new thrillers that like to spoil the ending right away and incorporate unrealistic twists. I have more Hitchcock films left to watch so hopefully my understanding of his strategy will improve.
  • mjgildea
    November 21, 2010
    mjgildea
    THE perfect movie. Arguably but definitely Hitchcock's best, he turns Jimmy Stewart (in a brilliant performance) into an obsessive neurotic against a beautiful San Francisco backdrop. Kim Novak is haunting in a dual role that would be liberally borrowed for many following years (... read moreLost Highway, anyone?) The masterpiece of all involved with a truly beautiful restoration
  • ajv2688
    November 17, 2010
    ajv2688
    Most people say that this is Hitchcock's greatest film ever, personally it's not my favourite, but it is a fantastic movie. If you haven't seen it, please go rent it right away.

View All Vertigo Reviews

Critic Reviews

April 20, 2009
TIME Magazine

The old master, now a slave to television, has turned out another Hitchcock-and-bull story in which the mystery is not so much who done it as who cares. Full Review

Dave Kehr
April 20, 2009
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

One of the landmarks--not merely of the movies, but of 20th-century art. Full Review

David Ansen
August 18, 2008
David Ansen, Newsweek

Why is this movie Hitchcock's masterpiece? Because no movie plunges us more deeply into the dizzying heart of erotic obsession. Full Review

February 13, 2001
Variety

James Stewart, on camera almost constantly, comes through with a startlingly fine performance as the lawyer-cop who suffers from acrophobia. Full Review

Jeff Millar
January 1, 2000
Jeff Millar, Houston Chronicle

There is a glumness to the film that is notably missing from the director's other films of the period.

Robert Horton
January 1, 2000
Robert Horton, Film.com

One of the things that still amazes me about this movie is the way its study of obsession is so single-minded.

Mike Clark
January 1, 2000
Mike Clark, USA Today

You watch this guy going slowly over the brink and realize, good grief, this is Jimmy Stewart.

Roger Ebert
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

It is about how Hitchcock used, feared and tried to control women. Full Review

James Berardinelli
January 1, 2000
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

From a craft standpoint, Vertigo represents the director in peak form. Full Review

Janet Maslin
January 1, 2000
Janet Maslin, New York Times

With less playfulness and much more overt libido than other Hitchcock classics, Vertigo was always anomalous. Full Review

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Facts

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    • Madeleine Elster/Judy Barton: If I do what you tell me, will you love me?
    • John "Scottie" Ferguson: Anyone could become obsessed with the past with a background like that!
    • John "Scottie" Ferguson: One final thing I have to do... and then I'll be free of the past.
    • John "Scottie" Ferguson: You shouldn't keep souvenirs of a killing. You shouldn't have been that sentimental.
    • Madeleine Elster/Judy Barton: Here I was born, and there I died. It was only a moment for you; you took no notice.
    • John "Scottie" Ferguson: Did he train you? Did he rehearse you? Did he tell you what to do and what to say?
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Vertigo Trivia

  • Alfred Hitchcock classic with Jimmy Stewart as an excop with a fear of heights hired by a friend to uncover Kim Novak's secret?  Answer »
  • What was James Stewart's character afraid of if the movie 'Vertigo'?  Answer »
  • Who directed Rear Window and Vertigo?  Answer »
  • Name the three Alfred Hitchcock movies that James Stewart has starred in.  Answer »
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