Vertigo details
| Formats: | PG DVD, TBC Blu-ray |
|---|---|
| Starring: | Ellen, Roland Got, Jack Richardson, James Stewart, Kim Novak, Barbara Bel Geddes, Tom Helmore, Henry Jones, Raymond Bailey, Paul Bryar, Ellen Corby, Mollie Dodd, Fred Graham, Lee Patrick, Julian Petruzzi, William Remick, Konstantin Shayne |
| Director: | Alfred Hitchcock |
| Genre: | Thriller - General, Mystery |
| Studio: | UNIVERSAL MUSIC OPERATIONS |
| Collections: | 100 must-see movies, 100 Top Thrillers, American Film Institute's top 100, Our Favourites, Top Must See Movies |
| Name | Discs | |
|---|---|---|
Vertigo |
PG Feature |
DVD Information
| Run time: | 2 hours 4 minutes |
|---|---|
| Rental release: | 21 Apr 2003 |
| Main languages: | English |
| Dubbed: | German, French, Spanish, Italian |
| Subtitles: | Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Swedish |
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Most helpful review
Not the masterpiece we are told to believe, but a very fine film nonetheless.
By roncoach (369 reviews) from suffolk , 08 Nov 2012[Highly rated reviewer]
Hitchcock and Jimmy Stewart-----yes, it has to be a very good film. It certainly is.
I do not think it is a 'Great' film ( for 4. 5 *) , nor is it a personal favourite of mine ( so 5 * is out of the question).
I do not even think it is Hitchcock's best movie.
But it is a very significant film in some respects.
Recently voted 'Best Film Of All Time' ( beating 'Citizen Kane' for the very first time), I cannot go along with that sort of rating ( though it IS better than 'Citizen Kane').
Hitchcock directs as well as ever, but this film belongs to the great Jimmy Stewart-----one of the Top 10 all-time greats in screen history. I have recently been rewatching some of his fine Anthony Mann Westerns, so it was odd to see him again in modern-day clothes and setting in 'Vertigo', though I have seen it many times. He is a stunning screen presence and a real superstar in the days before the word had been invented------and now the word is absurdly used to describe Tom Cruise or Leonardo de Caprio( blimey !).
Kim Novak is a Tippi Hedren lookalike ( a Hitchcock fetish for that certain female look) and acts in just as mediocre a manner. But she is competent enough. Grace Kelly should have starred with Stewart again as in 'Rear Window'.
So what is that I find 'not quite right' about 'Vertigo'----why can I never see it as a masterpiece such as 'Gone With The Wind' or 'Dr Zhivago' or 'Sullivans Travels' or 'The Adventures Of Robin Hood' or ' It Happened One Night' etc etc ?????
It's all a matter of personal taste, as with all art, but in this case I do not think the plot is as clever as it thinks it is, I miss a star leading lady, I do not believe how Technicolour ( the finest colour system ever invented) made such a poor job on this film, I miss a good supporting cast ( which so often enhances films), I do not like the script.
I DO like the photography ( excepting the colour), the fine locations, the director's splendid efforts , the editing and the star performance.
This is a film that all film fans should see. But, if you feel anything like me, you will not go along with the herd and say it is a masterpiece just because so many professional critics have tried to brainwash us all.
Highly Recommended.- Was this review helpful to you?
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(96)Hitchcock's dizzy heights
By FullofStars (42 reviews) from Scotland , 13 Apr 2013If you don't like this then you don't like films! A masterpiece of suspense and character development from beginning to end. James Stewart is brilliant, as always. Seen this a dozen times over the years and I will watch it again. Recommend highly.- Was this review helpful to you?
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Deserves the number one spot
By a customer , 02 Jan 2013I've been a bit put out by the backlash against Vertigo because it's now at the number 1 spot. The critics have no reason to 'brainwash us', besides we are all critics in some way and it's also been my favorite film for years. But as they say, a review says much more about the person then the object of their criticism. Vertigo is pure cinema and as Hitchcock said it is anti literary. As such the plot is simply the bones of the film, and like with all really excellent cinema the story isn't the thing that gives it masterpiece status, if we only watched films for the story then we'd never watch a film a second time, let alone discuss it. What matters is how it's told, how it provokes us and what it's really about; voyeurism, middle age, the unconscious mind, male desire. Another reviewer mentions the poor use of technicolor, what format were they watching it in?! The lingering shots, incredible compositions, set design, fetishistic use of body parts and objects, symbolic imagery and creepy camera movements culminate to make it like no other film. Bar some silent cinema, it's the only film I've seen that has ever created that same enigmatic dream like atmosphere and been able to sustain it for the duration. It seems pastel and muted and then suddenly violent and that's only the use of colour. The entire film moves forward at perfect dream pace and repulses and attracts in equal measure. Vertigo works on many levels (like many Hitchcock films), and has lots of Freudian labyrinths you can wander down, most interestingly is the possibility that the 'story' is the unconscious desires and fears of dying Stewart. If the above themes resonate with you personally, you'll find Vertigo a challenging, dense and profound film, that opens up with more ideas each time you watch it. I've seen it over 20 times and the fact that I, along with many other fans, can't dismiss it or critically explain it away is testament to it's brilliance. Vertigo is not a big Hollywood epic in the style of Gone With The Wind, it is a much deeper and more resonant experience. As for the actors, Kim Novak was able to 'float' which was far more important for the film than being Grace Kelly or any other star. Jimmy Stewart is indeed exceptional. I'm not even going to start on about the incredible score. No one likes being told what to like but Vertigo does deserve it's place in the top spot, despite the silliness of ranking art. It just takes a closer look and for me repeated viewings. When we watch we are like Scottie and the fantasy, the dreams and nightmares are taking place internally. Superlative.- Was this review helpful to you?
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Good but ending is disappointing
By clicketyclick (5 reviews) , 01 Jan 2013Great film with great acting. The style of the characters is great. The ending leaves a lot to be desired in my opinion, first of all in being a cop-out in that it's almost slapstick and doesn't happen for a good reason. Secondly it doesn't resolve what Scottie does about his mastermind once-friend.- Was this review helpful to you?
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Not the masterpiece we are told to believe, but a very fine film nonetheless.
By roncoach (369 reviews) from suffolk , 08 Nov 2012Hitchcock and Jimmy Stewart-----yes, it has to be a very good film. It certainly is.
I do not think it is a 'Great' film ( for 4. 5 *) , nor is it a personal favourite of mine ( so 5 * is out of the question).
I do not even think it is Hitchcock's best movie.
But it is a very significant film in some respects.
Recently voted 'Best Film Of All Time' ( beating 'Citizen Kane' for the very first time), I cannot go along with that sort of rating ( though it IS better than 'Citizen Kane').
Hitchcock directs as well as ever, but this film belongs to the great Jimmy Stewart-----one of the Top 10 all-time greats in screen history. I have recently been rewatching some of his fine Anthony Mann Westerns, so it was odd to see him again in modern-day clothes and setting in 'Vertigo', though I have seen it many times. He is a stunning screen presence and a real superstar in the days before the word had been invented------and now the word is absurdly used to describe Tom Cruise or Leonardo de Caprio( blimey !).
Kim Novak is a Tippi Hedren lookalike ( a Hitchcock fetish for that certain female look) and acts in just as mediocre a manner. But she is competent enough. Grace Kelly should have starred with Stewart again as in 'Rear Window'.
So what is that I find 'not quite right' about 'Vertigo'----why can I never see it as a masterpiece such as 'Gone With The Wind' or 'Dr Zhivago' or 'Sullivans Travels' or 'The Adventures Of Robin Hood' or ' It Happened One Night' etc etc ?????
It's all a matter of personal taste, as with all art, but in this case I do not think the plot is as clever as it thinks it is, I miss a star leading lady, I do not believe how Technicolour ( the finest colour system ever invented) made such a poor job on this film, I miss a good supporting cast ( which so often enhances films), I do not like the script.
I DO like the photography ( excepting the colour), the fine locations, the director's splendid efforts , the editing and the star performance.
This is a film that all film fans should see. But, if you feel anything like me, you will not go along with the herd and say it is a masterpiece just because so many professional critics have tried to brainwash us all.
Highly Recommended.- Was this review helpful to you?
- (29) Yes |
- No (1)
past is falling
By juradino (813 reviews) from London , 11 Nov 2011Classic Hitchcock psychological melodrama that involves heights and that has been used as template for example in Brian da Palma's Last Embrace. There is a film, western, with Kim Novak riding a horse naked, but I am not telling you its name.- Was this review helpful to you?
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