Vertigo
Known as the "Master of Suspense" for his skills in directing psychological thrillers, Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock was born in England in 1899. Throughout his illustrious career, Hitchcock directed masterpieces such as Psycho, Rear Window, The Birds, and Vertigo. Hitchcock, commonly called "Hitch", had the chance to evolve along with all kinds of remarkable innovations that revolutionized the film industry. When he directed his first motion picture, Mrs. Peabody, back in 1922, a film he never completed, film technology was still in its early stages. Movies were silent, shot in black and white, at a projection speed of 16 frames per second, on a rather square screen. Sound became available in 1926, color became increasingly popular in the 1940's, movies eventually started being shot at a speed of 24 frames per second, and the wide screen format was introduced in 1953. Hitchcock began making feature films in the United States in 1939 and subsequently became an American citizen. Vertigo was released in 1958 and had an immediate impact on the film industry. Hollywood was shocked by how abrupt and deceiving the movie's ending was, and some even spoke
out against it. Yet Hitch was at his peak at the time, and didn't allow the critics to affect his work. (http://www.widescreencinema.com/vertigo/tour.htm) The 127 minute-long Vertigo stars James Stewart as Scottie, a retired detective, and Kim Novak as Judy Barton, who gets disguised as Madeleine, a woman hired by Scottie's friend to act as his wife in order to frame Scottie. The story takes place in San Francisco in the 1950's. The film opens on a high building, where officer Scottie and his partner are in pursuit of a suspect. Scottie's partner's life is on the line and only he can save him. Unfortunately, he has vertigo, a fear of heights. Scottie is unable to assist his partner who unfortunately falls to his death. Hitchcock underlines Scottie's fear of heights by using intense music and a bird's eye view of the street below, to give the viewer an impression of height. Closeups of Scottie's face demonstrate his obsessive fear, hence making it more realistic to the audience. As the story develops, Scottie falls deeply in love with Madeleine, a beautiful young blonde woman. Madeleine later runs up the stairs of a church, unsuccessfully pursued by Scott
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Approximate Word count = 789
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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