Vertigo (Universal Legacy Series)

Vertigo starring James Stewart is considered a major classic but I found this Hitchcock mystery a letdown. The beautiful backdrop and costume design is breathtaking but the story is slow and kind of made me sick, all the vertigo, ugh! I prefer The Birds, Marnie, or Psycho instead. It's a mixed bag for me.

The picture looks better, no more blips or speckles. And I thought it was interesting when William Friedkin says Hitchcock loved working with fake backdrops. I never knew that, interesting in the age of CGI technology.
Some people don't like this movie, that's fine, everyone doesn't like everything. But it's the second in a trilogy of Hitchcock films based on voyeurism, that's why it's ponderous because so much is trying to be seen. The other voyeur themed movies are Psycho and Rear Window. In a way it explores the idea in western society that women are to be seen and men are to act. For me this movie will always be one of my favorites.
Favorite scenes: the one where Scotty is trailing Madeline in the graveyard, the scene in Muir Woods where they talk about time and trees and the scene in the stables where Scotty is telling Madeline to think about her past for him.

I can't imagine why this movie is so highly regarded by some critics and moviegoers. It is too slow, too complicated by half, has flaws of logic, and is indifferently acted.

Kim Novak has about as much facial expression as Paris Hilton. Oh, she's pretty, but acting should be more than a plastic doll. Barbara Bel Geddes has a part that is not necessary to the plot and she does little with it. James Stewart is his usual laconic self.

The plot is far too complicated. I can't go into much of the difficulty without giving away the ending to those who haven't yet seen the film. Suffice it to say that too many movies devise a Rube Goldberg way to murder someone when a simple gunshot would be more likely to work. In this film the setup takes far too long. Stewart chats with Bel Geddes about nothings and then with his old college friend about this and that before we get down to being introduced to the plot.

Then there are the flaws of reality. Stewart, who is retired form the police force, suddenly flashes his badge to a hotel clerk in order to get personal information. When a cop retires he forfeits both gun and badge. Then on several occasions Stewart follows Novak in his car, and something untoward happens miles from home. But Stewart returns with Novak one assumes in a single car, and yet the other car is also retrieved. Look at the scene again where Stewart saves Novak from drowning and try to figure out how Stewart gets his own car back--or how Novak managed to look so good after being fished from the cold and dirty water of the bay.

Details, details, details. They are what make the difference in a really good book or movie. In this case the details mar the film beyond enjoyment.

If you have fallen under the spell of Vertigo (hopefully, only the movie) and have a high definition, 1080p TV, particularly one with the latest 120 herz sweep rate and 24 frame-per-second (film) signal transfer, you owe it to yourself to experience this new 2008 remastering of the 1996 film restoration. Although the bonus materials do not include a discussion of the technology used for the remastering, it is little short of amazing - much better definition than the master done for the 1998 Collector's Edition and, of course, a much higher resolution than any movie theater presentation. The only aspect that gives this edition away as not having been made this year (rather than the actual 1958) is the slight brightness of color that was inherent in the Technicolor process. A minor item, given the stunning definition and intensity of this transfer; it is truly state-of-the-art.

Other reviewers have noted the higher intensity of the sound effects that were redubbed for the 1996 restoration, particularly noticeable if you have a high-resolution sound system. Given the terrific quality of the restored main voice and music tracks, however, these effects soon fall into the background and out of notice, as you are enveloped in one of the best film scores ever written.

When so much of Vertigo is told by the expressions and body language of Stewart and Novak, the higher resolution and intensity of this remaster makes the "suspension of disbelief" in the unbelievable plot all the more possible. It also makes you appreciate all the more that Stewart was one the few best (the best?) actors in the history of film and that Novak gave the performance of a lifetime; together, they made this film felt if not believed. As the saying goes "see (experience) it as it has never been seen (experienced) before".

A man who's afraid of heights is responsible for the death of someone he loves. He is paralysed by his inability to overcome his fears and later when he meets someone, who reminds him of his lost love, becomes consumed and obsessed. Imagine it's a summer afternoon and you find out someone you care about has died and you are desperate not to believe the nightmare, but the day is beautiful and the nightmare is true and you have to go on. This film enters our psyche and gives us the most incredible perspectives on obsession and sense of devastating loss. Visually one of the most arresting films ever put on screen!