Hitchcock once referred to this film as his "most personal." It's basically a meta commentary on his obsession with icy blonde actresses like Grace Kelly and, later Tippi Hedren, and how he tried to mold Vera Miles into the same. This film screws with your mind in so many ways, through the story, the acting, the cinematography, the music, everything. But it's completely rewarding to rewatch multiple times. It's definitely one of the top 5 films of all time.
I took my adult daughter to see this in a theater here in Hiroshima about 6 years ago. It was a great experience to see this movie on a big screen with her.
Oh, it's cool that Japan has places where you can watch older movies at. That sounds like a great activity to do with parents. I'm trying to think of things to do with my adult parents and that's a solid idea.
Judy's death was accidental. Because of her feeling of guilt, she backed up when she saw the shadow of the nun in the tower, thinking it was the ghost of Madeline. There was no railing or step up to reach the ledge that she fell from, so when she backed up in horror and guilt, thinking that the ghost of Madeline had come to get her, she fell to her death. As for another Hitchcock film, I would recommend the 1956 "The Man Who Knew Too Much". There is a previous version of the film, also directed by Hitchcock, but as he described the difference of the two, that the first (from 1934) was "the work of a talented amateur, and the second was made by a professional." This 1956 one stars James Stewart and Doris Day and features the song "Que Sera Sera", which won an Oscar for Best Music, Original Song.
The transition of Madeleine to Judy is done so well. Not many realizes at first that it is the same actress. Excellent job of hair and make-up transformation and Kim Novak did a great job of playing two different characters. And Hitchcock's playing with colours is also masterfully done.
@@yourmother2739 also, the Academy disliked Hitchcock. Rebecca was the only one of his to win Best Picture, and that was just because Selznick produced it. Then they gave Joan Fontaine Best Actress the year after for Suspicion, but really it was for her performance in Rebecca. Historical movies, biopics and melodramas. The way of the pre-60s academy
Finally! You guys are watching my favorite movie of all time. Hitchcock at the peak of his powers to manipulate and twist your mind into knots! Kim Novak is my favorite actress of the 1950s. Flawless beauty.
@@davidz3879 agreed and when I saw this in Theater after it was restored in 1985 my date and i almost fell asleep during that I think almost 10 min with no dialogue. Still one of Hitch top 8 because I love R Window, North by nwest, Shadow of a doubt ,Notorious, Lifeboat and even SABoteur with Robert Cummings
@@michaelceraso1977 'Life boat' rarely gets a mention, Underrated. Rear Window is my favourite. I think 'Rebecca' should be next, just to lead to Du Maurier... 'Don't look now', anyone?
The next Hitchcock movie you two should do is Rebecca (1940). It’s his only movie to win Best Picture and is a masterpiece beginning to end. Other great ones are Rope (1948), Notorious (1946), and Shadow of a Doubt (1943). You guys have the best reaction channel on TH-cam, so it’d be wonderful to make sure the classics are well represented!
I feel like people have this typecasting in their heads of James Stewart as a kind of “Oh-Golly” everyman. This film is definitely him playing against type as a much darker type of character. The man truly was a brilliant actor.
Vertigo stands out in Hitchcock’s filmography. It isn’t really a thriller or a suspense film. It’s a very beautiful and tragic drama about obsession, memories and human weaknesses. It isn’t a fun movie, but it is truly a masterpiece. Thanks for your channel. I always enjoy watching you two watch stuff.
It is a story of heartbreak, dramatic, the romantic Hitchcock and obsessions, it is the most atypical and at the same time personal film of the director.
About the sudden ending and Midge's early exit from the movie. There was an additional scene shot to appease the censors where Scotty goes back to Midge's apartment. She fixes him a drink while we hear over the radio that the police are searching for Elster. The Hayes Code at the time had a clear rule that murderers couldn't get away without being punished. The fastest (and the one that packed the most emotional gut punch) way to expedite that for the censors was to the have Judy die "by accident". Hitchcock fought like heck to remove that scene in Midge's apartment because he hated having any extraneous bits after the emotional climax. He won the fight for the US release, but some overseas distributors did keep it in.
The Production Code specifically allows criminals to not be punished provided it was made clear to the audience that it was wrong. It was the public who objected to it.
@@thorstrebla980 Which is funny because it's a adaptation of a French book, where the husband DOES get away and the protagonist straight up, unequivocally, murders the girl at the end.
I love the use of color in this movie. it adds so much to the story tells. Having our main character be red and his love interest be green was such a master stroke in storytelling. Even their clothes and cars follow the theme.
I was laughing at the inquest scene when the two of you were saying that Gavin (the husband) was "such a great guy" for being so nice to Scotty and not blaming him at all.
You didn't get full attention to this extraordinary scene. Hitchcock gives full of subconscious hints. In this scene you see the genius of Hitch in action. Like the amazing restaurant scene.
@@antoinemozart243At this point of the film you think that Gavin is a good guy and his wife is dead and Stewart is partially responsible. Yes, there may be subtle hints earlier in the film that hint at the truth of the plot, but nothing overt. No one is watching that scene and thinking that Gavin is the villain and that he killed his wife.
FUN FACT: This was the first movie to use the “dolly zoom” camera technique, where you pull the camera back while zooming the lens in. That’s what gives the feeling of vertigo. Hitchcock conceived of the idea 18 years earlier on the film “Rebecca” but it wasn’t technically possible until Vertigo. It’s a technique that has been frequently used since then to enhance suspenseful moments
What is interesting about James Stewart character transforming Judy into Madeline is it mirrors Hitchcock himself and his obsession in creating his "Perfect Blonde" He had found her in Grace Kelly and would spend the rest of his career trying to find her again after she left the industry as she was his original choice for this film.
Hitchcock was indeed obsessed with Grace Kelly, but Kelly retired in 1956, two years before Vertigo. Hitchcock had constructed Vertigo to star up-and-comer Vera Miles but she had to bow out due to pregnancy. Only then did Kim Novak get the role.
@@glennwisniewski9536 True, but I had heard he wanted to call back Grace out of retirement and she was interested, but her now role as Princess would no longer allow her to take part in motion pictures.
@@gutz1981 That's a true story, but it was for the movie Marnie. Hitchcock ended up going with Tippi Hedren (The Birds) who was pretty good in the role.
Any film with a score by Bernard Herrmann is immediately in a special category. (The Ghost and Mrs. Muir is one of his most beautiful scores.) His music tells something that dialogue and setting cannot. This film’s soundtrack creates a bittersweet romance.
The lady that portrays Midge Wood is Barbara Bel Geddes. Famously known as Ellie Ewing from the "Dallas" television series. Fantastic reactions for a movie that always makes me queasy. I also suffer from acrophobia. So of course, it stands to reason that the first thing I do after graduating high school is join the Air Force.
Another actor in this who later went on to great success on TV towards the latter end of their career is Ellen Corby, the manager of the hotel, who played Esther "Grandma" Walton on The Waltons.
You two are the smartest of the reactors on TH-cam, and I said so on my own video of the best TH-cam channels. TBRS was the only reaction channel I selected for the video. Vertigo is a difficult film and you guys did amazing for a first view. I was so clueless the first time I saw it.
I used to have vertigo. When I was a teen our cat climbed too high up a tree, it took me days to figure out where she was. One day I just could hear her and spotted her way up in a tree not far from our house. I brought a ladder and placed it very close to the tree to get most possible altitude out of, but it wasnt't enough. I held on to the tree and climbed all the way up to the last step on the ladder (10-15 ft?) and as I was standing on my toes trying to encourage the cat to come down to me the ladder tilted away from the tree, and I shit you not, for a brief moment I was just standing on top of it wiggling back and forth, my arms waving all over the place. I remember thinking with an eerie sense of calm "ok, this is happening. will I die och just break my legs and back?". Something got me tipped back against the tree though and I grabbed it for dear life. The cat came down closer to me, I could grab her, and we got down safe. After that I could barely get up on a chair to change a light bulb in the ceiling. It's gotten better with age though. However, I'm never spending any time on my balcony..... This is a great movie, very psychological thriller with awesome plot twists, just the way I like ' em! I'm glad you liked it too! Thanks for uploading! Greetings from Sweden
Interesting "trivia" I didn't see mentioned yet... Bell, Book and Candle was also the inspiration for the series Bewitched. It's why in the opening animation, there is a cat (who turns into Samantha) when the family doesn't actually have a cat. PLEASE react to BB&C if at all possible! ☺️
This movie is stunning, script and visuals, the colours, so much hidden meaning. And San Francisco in those days, the old and the new side by side, the drives through the streets up and down like riding waves, between the forests, deserts and the sea. It all looks so magical. I can not imagine this film happening anywhere else.
Hitchcock had a team of great behind the scene talents that if you check his movies from the 50's to the mid 60's their names come up again and again. Composer Bernard Herrmann, cinematographer Robert Burks, editor George Tomasini and Saul Bass doing the credits just to name a few. Not to be left out his wife Alma Reville who always had a hand in the scripts.
From the early 1940s until the early 1960s, Hitchcock produced masterpiece after masterpiece, a record of accomplishment unequaled by any other filmmaker, and itis a delight to see these two discover his greatness.
I usually don't like when some reactors try to make "funny" or "clever" comments but, I have to say you guys were clever and funny. I really like your channel and your commentary and wit are just right. I hope you keep making great movie selections. You know can never go wrong with the classics.👍🏼
You guys have got to watch The Birds! It was a different direction for Hitchcock to go as far as genre, and although some of the special effects didn't age the best, it doesn't matter because the idea is presented regardless and there are still quite a few very effective shots and is one of my favorite Hitchcock films. Also, Dial M for Murder is great as well! Loved your reaction to my favorite Hitchcock film Vertigo. It really is a dazzling dizzying spiral of events and gets better with each viewing.
I've seen this movie a bunch of times. It's been my impression that Judy thought the nun, who could not be seen clearly at first, was the ghost of Madeline. Judy tried to flee but fell out the window.
The key to understanding the ambiguous ending is in the title. What is "vertigo"? It's a false perception of the world caused by fear; the world isn't spinning, but Jimmy Stewart perceives that it is. There are clues in the movie, especially in Act 3, that the movie takes places from Jimmy Stewart's point of view, and you're not seeing events as they are, but as he perceives them.
Exactly. The nun is in the shadows so all she knows is that this woman is coming out of the shadows towards her. She's already thinking about Madelyne, and the last time she was in this tower, so she thinks this is Madelyne come for revenge and runs out the window.
I have watched tons and tons of classic movies and I must say that I have never seen Jimmy Stewart in anything that was bad. Every movie the man was in was a total success. I love the guy. He was a gentleman and a superb actor. Also, btw, in WWII he flew combat missions and was eventually promoted to the rank of General in the United States Air Force. Thank you guys for another very spot on and killer cool reaction, as usual. Shoutout from your old hippy dude in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. See y'all on the next. Later.
I really love this movie. The writing, acting, Hitchcock's direction. The cinematography. My favorite shot of the movie is when they are in the hotel room and Judy' is talking in a side profile with her silhouette against the green glow of the sign outside the window.
One of the greatest shots in film history. "Because I remind you of her?" The camera tracking in, Stewart's facial acting, and the musical swell as he semi realizes how similar she looks in side profile. Cinematic perfection.
Not just one of Hitch's greatest films (if not his greatest), but greatest of all time. A bit of ironic background information for you, Hitch himself was obsessed with Grace Kelly (who starred in Dial M for Murder and Rear Window), she was the ultimate girl for him, but she retired from acting when she married the Prince of Monaco in 1956. In every subsequent film, Hitch tried to recreate the 'ice princess' - everything from how the new lead lady dressed, to how she spoke and the color of her hair. They all rebuffed his advances. In the final bit of irony--it was Hitchcock's wife who chose "The Living and the Dead," (the book that Vertigo was based on) for Hitchcock to film.
So, what i've learned from this video is that if you want to kill TBR Schmitt you put him up really high and surround him with hundreds of spiders. Just thought i'd throw this out there as a suggestions for watching... "THEM!" It's a classic 1950s atomic-age suspense-horror film. It's really welld one for its time.
Oh yeah, they're just giant, radioactive ants. He'd be totally cool with it. There is, however, a movie called The Incredible Shrinking Man that would scare the bejezus out of Mr TBR especially for the life and death fight with the spider. Enjoy.
Loved this reaction. So much fun watching a younger generation diving into the works of the Master of Suspense. As for the dream sequence, there's another amazing one in the movie "Spellbound", designed by none other than Salvador Dali. Have a great week. ❤ 🎬
Even though it’s not a absolute favourite of Hitchcocks movies, it’s still an amazing watch and a film I like to go back to every few years. In particular, I love those wordless scenes as they travel through San Francisco…..pure cinema! One fond memory I have of Vertigo is going to an outdoor showing of it in the cemetery at Glendale in LA.
The repetition in this movie alone is worth an hours-long in-depth discussion. Even just the double repeated dialogue from Jimmy Stewart as they climb the stairs in the end, which of course they did earlier already.
I am always under the assumption, the subconscious detective side of his brain always knew Judy was Madeline. I don't think he was asking her to "change" to feed into some fetish need, but to solve the puzzle he was not fully aware he was piecing back together.
My interpretation of the movie and Scotty's motivation is exactly the same as yours. I think a lot of people forget that Scotty was a detective before he was forced to retire due to his vertigo.
What I'm about to say doesn't invalidate your interpretation, because the film is the film, but the story's background has always influenced my reading of it and I see it as a film about obsession, and Scotty's behaviour is obsessive first and foremost. So, the film is based on a book, and the book is based on the story of Tristan & Isolde... and the key part of T&I is that when Tristan is parted from Isolde (another man's wife), in his desperation and heartbreak he marries another woman, also called Isolde. She's known as Isolde of the White Hands, and she obviously reminds Tristan of his 'real' Isolde... but not enough, and the marriage is never happy. In some versions of the story Isolde of the White Hands is simply jealous and second-rate, but in the more sensitive readings of the character she's somebody who tragically loves a husband who will never love her for her, and who only married her because of a similarity to anoither woman. I think the similarities to Judy's dilemma - her realisation that the only way she can truly get Scotty's love is to stop being herself and gives herself over to the illusory Madeleine that obsesses him. Bernard Herrmann at least was conscious of the debt to Tristan & Isolde, because his love theme in the scene where Judy emerges transformed blatantly draws on the Liebestod from Wagner's opera 'Tristan & Isolde'. It's also worth bearing in mind that the novel on which the film was based is even darker, with its protagonist seemingly obsessed by the idea that he can literally bring his lost love back from the dead... Of course, none of this means that Hitchock wasn't telling his own, different story, so as I say it doesn't invalidate your reading of the film... but I think it's relevant all the same.
100% agreed. He was traumatized twice and being a detective to resolve his suspicions was going to answer his questions. I don't think this "obsession" would last once she confessed. But reenacting the crime unexpectedly sealed her fate.
@@petersvillage7447you are the only one besides myself to educate people on the Tristan and Isolde story. It seems you have listened to the Wagner opera as you commented on the transfiguration scene as she shimmers in the green light after fixing her hair. The music is so rich and thick with death and transfiguration motivs.
@@jeffreyjeziorski1480 For me it's the result of intersecting teen enthusiasms - Arthurian myth, Film Soundtracks and Classical Music particularly. Obviously all three of those roads lead to Wagner, of course... and I have an additional, personal fascination resulting from seeing the film Twelve Monkeys (with its key use of Vertigo and Herrmann's Scene D'Amour) in the company of a young woman when I'd not yet seen Vertigo and didnt understand its relevance - and then I saw it a second time in the company of another woman who reminded me of the first, and with whom I'd finally watched Vertigo. So when, in Twelve Monkeys, Bruce Willis watches Vertigo and muses on how a film seems different every time you watch it not because it has changed but because YOU have changed... now I understood why the Vertigo scenes with all their layers were in the film, and understood the music... and now I associated it with my personal Judy rather than my Madeleine... the film was indeed very different because I had changed, my mind was somewhat blown. The final layer? Well - I'll let you guess what my first name is...
"Dial M for Murder" is another amazing Hitchcock movie. It spark a new type of detective/mystery genre in movies/TV where the focus isn't on whodunit, but howcatchum.
I love it when you two do classics! You really bring me back to when I first watched them. You are spot on regarding old movies - the good ones were so well crafted and innovative. They had to be; they couldn't fill anything in with digital manipulation. I have a particular history with Vertigo. The first time I saw it was when it had its television premiere sometime in the mid-60s. Even though I was only 10 or 11, my mom let me stay up to watch it since she knew how much I loved movies. To be honest, the opening rooftop chase scene hit me harder than anything else, especially when the cop fell to his death. It was years before I had the opportunity to see Vertigo again, but that sequence is what I really remembered. I was definitely too young to understand the rest of the movie, but with subsequent viewings, I now put it in my top 10. Thanks.
Not all old movies were great. There were always a lot of terrible movies. Probably the worst ones of the past were worse than the worst ones now. But when they are great, there's nothing today that can even come close.
People often don't understand the multilayered complexity and amazing substance of this masterpiece. Vertigo is not about a man suffering from vertigo and manipulated. This movie is so deep that Hitch never achieved a movie of this calibre again. I think Vertigo overwhelmed his conscious capacity.
A gem about this movie was that Hitchcock avtually invented a bunch of different camera shots for this film that had never been used before.. and are now standard practice in the industry.
One of the best movies of all time as voted by film critics and in my top three. A film that rewards multiple, multiple views. Once you already know the plot, there is so much symbolism and deep themes to explore (red and green colors are certainly meant as key symbols to some of the themes). Loved the reaction, guys!
Part of the magic of Vertigo is exactly as you touched on here. You spend the first half of the movie thinking you're watching a supernatural thriller. You then see the trauma of a man who is ACTUALLY haunted by someone he lost and couldn't save. Judy is also haunted by her experience-how she was manipulated, and that she was put in such a position to traumatize someone. And in the final moments, the tragedy of it all comes together. The residual feelings of supernatural thriller come BACK to you and for a moment, you see a terrifying silhouette that scares Judy and causes her death. The movie says our traumas shape us, they are a prison, they ARE the supernatural thing haunting all of us. It's brilliant.
Great analysis that I've never really considered. You could put forward about twenty different analyses of this film and they'd all be valid. True multi-layered filmmaking brilliance
According to some sources, it was actually Hitchcock's second unit camera man and visual effects specialist Irmin Roberts who invented the technique, after Hitchcock described what he was trying to achieve. Hitchcock said the idea came to him after getting extremely drunk at a party and feeling like the room was moving away from him.
@@catherinelw9365 yeah, it's been used Ina lot of movies over the years. Even in Scarface, the first time Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer do coke together, in his convertible.many comedies have used it too.
“Technicolor” was a unique feature- it combined special film stock, its own cameras, mandatory consultants from the company on every set, specially trained camera operators and has the ability to create superior saturated color. If you love Technicolor, 3 films by Michael Powell/Emeric Pressburger are among the most beautiful ever made: The Red Shoes, A Matter of Life & Death, Black Narcissus. ❤️
If you guys want to be on the edge of your seats for a Hitchcock film, I highly recommend “Rope”. It’s incredibly impressive, especially considering the time that it was filmed.
If you ever seen '12 Monkeys' they are watching Vertigo in the movie theatre scene, when she is counting the rings of the redwood, tracing her past life, which resonates with the themes in 12 Monkeys.
Off the top of my head, a couple recent films with great color use are the great musical La La Land and the stunning romance In the Mood for Love. Next Hitchcock should be Notorious with Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman or The Birds. Thanks for the great reaction!
Rope (also with James Stewart) is my favorite Hitchcock movie. Vertigo and Psycho are amazing and other suggestions beside Rope would be The Birds, Dial M for Murder, Rebecca, Spellbound, Marnie and Strangers on a Train.
It's always fun to watch someone else watch one of my favorite movies for the first time. But your questions and comments made it much more fun. Love how engaged you two were, noticing lots of details, trying to piece things together. Thanks a lot!
Hitchcock"s shocking and ironic ending where Judy falls and unintentionally recreates the fake death she participated in, was how Hitch wanted to end the film. The production code of the time forbade a criminal escaping punishment for his or her crime so Hitchcock was forced to shoot a new ending where a shaken Scotty shows up at Midge's apartment just as its announced on the radio that Gavin Etster has been arrested for murdering his wife. Midge hands Scotty a drink and he stares out the window. Hitch hated it and managed to get the film released with his original ending. This is the second James Stewart movie where the criminal gets away with it, the other being Mr. Potter in It's a Wonderful Life.
So glad I'm not the only one that questioned this movie. Watched it years ago rewatched several times and still question what the heck? Great hearing both your inputs.
The key to understanding the ambiguous ending is in the title. What is "vertigo"? It's a false perception of the world caused by fear; the world isn't spinning, but Jimmy Stewart perceives that it is. There are clues in the movie, especially in Act 3, that the movie takes places from Jimmy Stewart's point of view, and you're not seeing events as they are, but as he perceives them.
Having watched this film several times in my life, the first time as a child, I gave up trying to understand it long ago, but it is beautiful. It's lush and transportive, suspenseful, and you keep watching to uncover the mysteries, but then that doesn't happen and suddenly it's over. So yeah, watch it over and over....good luck with that, and enjoy.
The key to understanding the ambiguous ending is in the title. What is "vertigo"? It's a false perception of the world caused by fear; the world isn't spinning, but Jimmy Stewart perceives that it is. There are clues in the movie, especially in Act 3, that the movie takes places from Jimmy Stewart's point of view, and you're not seeing events as they are, but as he perceives them.
If you gave up to understand this movie after so many viewings, I pity you. To fully understand the marvel this movie is , I just recommend you to analyse the encounter with Elster scene. Watch it several times.... And perhaps you will discover the treasure..... Just this scene to begin with.
The weird zoom effect that changes perspective used to represent vertigo has since been refered to as an Hitchcock zoom. It accomplished by zooming in while moving the camera back or vice versa. Spielberg used it in Jaws to great effect on the shark’s beach attack.
Sam mentions how different Novak seems just with brown hair, but Judy's makeup is also different and she speaks with a more common accent than Madeline. Subtle changes but very effective to make the audience question whether they are the same woman or not.
“That’s in San Francisco?” Yeah, the domed structure is the Palace of Fine Arts. It’s about four miles away from the Legion of Honor art museum that is prominently featured in this movie. Fort Point under the Golden Gate Bridge is close to halfway between them. A lot of this movie takes place in a fairly small area of San Francisco, but the mission with the fatal bell tower is a bit of a drive south, near Monterey Bay.
This and Rear Window are my favorite Hitchcock films. I think it’s his most beautiful film visually, and the story is one of his most experimental. In a way I think it paved the way for other masterpieces like Persona and Mulholland Drive
I taught this film several times back in grad school, so watching you guys see it and react to it was. So. Much. Fun! Regarding the music, it's worth noting that Bernard Hermann's score owes a major debt to one of the most powerful and most important works of classical music of all time, Richard Wagner's Tristan und Isolde. That isn't a coincidence, given that there's no other opera more focused on the tragic way in which love and death bleed into each other and given that Vertigo is ultimately a tragedy about love and death.
Great reaction! Samantha really gets this movie--definitely one of my favorites, if not my favorite film of all time. So many layers to unpack when you re-watch again and again.
Uggggghh, thinking about this movie still gives me goosebumps! This masterpiece is one of maybe three movies I've seen for the first time in the last 10 years or so that left me with a smile on my face after it was over. The genius behind this film gives the audience vertigo as they try to figure out what happens next. LOVE that it isn't predictable. Love it!
Midge is played by Barbara Bel Geddes, who starred in the first episode of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Lamb to the Slaughter," and later played J.R.'s mother in "Dallas."
When I was a young, burgeoning cinephile, and working my way through Hitchcock, I didn’t know quite what to think when I got to Vertigo. I found it slow and melodramatic, and it didn’t grab me the way Hitch’s other films had. But it lodged in my mind. I returned to it, and liked it a little more. I returned to it again and again. Each time I found myself more drawn into the movie’s atmosphere of obsession. And as I learned more about the director, I found it more and more compelling. More than any of his other films, Vertigo is a window into Hitchcock’s subconscious. It’s the ultimate grower of a movie.
Yes, that's in San Francisco. That was the Palace of Fine Arts. It's quite pretty there and it's actually pretty close to the Golden Gate Bridge (which, for those that haven't seen, is not golden, nor is it as red as Technicolor makes it look). If you want to see a "golden" bridge you'll need to go to the I Street bridge in Sacramento, CA... but it's a bit green; however, that's a whole local drama of its own.
Vertigo is, without a doubt, the most sadistic and sexual of all of Hitchcock’s films. The way he explores the power play between men and women is next level. Reoccurring themes are descending and ascending and the colors red and green. Both of these are opposites- both directions and opposites on the color wheel which represent the polar opposites in the sexes. Even the dynamic between the dead and the living becomes a metaphor for opposites in the film is at its best when you can feel opposites pulling/playing tug of war with each other. The way Hitchcock represents the relationship between men and women is one where there is an eternal struggle for power and no compromise.
In 2012 Vertigo was voted the greatest film of all time by the BFIs sight and sound magazine yearly vote. It held that spot for 10 years. Every year a new vote is cast with over 1600 people taking part in the vote.
Loved your reaction to this. It really is like a Hitchcock David Lynch movie (or David Lynch movies are like Vertigo?). I always see something different and new every time I watch this. This time it really popped how everyone desperately wants to be someone else so they'll feel okay. The movie was shot in VistaVision which used a bigger portion of the 35mm film for much higher resolution.
I just remembered, "Bell Book and Candle" (1958), another film with James Stewart and Kim Novak, also has Jack Lemon... a romance-comedy involving magic :D
I'm so glad you enjoyed this film Sam! My top 4 recommends for Hitchcock next would be 1. Shadow of a Doubt 2. Notorious 3. Dial M for Murder 4. To Catch a Thief
Hitchcock once referred to this film as his "most personal." It's basically a meta commentary on his obsession with icy blonde actresses like Grace Kelly and, later Tippi Hedren, and how he tried to mold Vera Miles into the same. This film screws with your mind in so many ways, through the story, the acting, the cinematography, the music, everything. But it's completely rewarding to rewatch multiple times. It's definitely one of the top 5 films of all time.
I took my adult daughter to see this in a theater here in Hiroshima about 6 years ago. It was a great experience to see this movie on a big screen with her.
Oh, it's cool that Japan has places where you can watch older movies at. That sounds like a great activity to do with parents. I'm trying to think of things to do with my adult parents and that's a solid idea.
Judy's death was accidental. Because of her feeling of guilt, she backed up when she saw the shadow of the nun in the tower, thinking it was the ghost of Madeline. There was no railing or step up to reach the ledge that she fell from, so when she backed up in horror and guilt, thinking that the ghost of Madeline had come to get her, she fell to her death.
As for another Hitchcock film, I would recommend the 1956 "The Man Who Knew Too Much". There is a previous version of the film, also directed by Hitchcock, but as he described the difference of the two, that the first (from 1934) was "the work of a talented amateur, and the second was made by a professional." This 1956 one stars James Stewart and Doris Day and features the song "Que Sera Sera", which won an Oscar for Best Music, Original Song.
The score by Bernard Herrmann is like a character itself.. absolutely phenomenal work ❤
It’s amazing.
Seriously, maybe the most haunting score ever.
Bernard Hermann was the John Williams of his day.
Yes, i was blown away by the soundtrack. Just Masterpiece, like Psycho's soundtrack. I totally have to watch more Hitchcock now.
Absolutely - it's a character in the movie itself. As wonderful as this movie is, Herrmann's score is doing some heavy lifting.
The transition of Madeleine to Judy is done so well. Not many realizes at first that it is the same actress. Excellent job of hair and make-up transformation and Kim Novak did a great job of playing two different characters. And Hitchcock's playing with colours is also masterfully done.
Yeah some people guessed it was the same actress but I had no idea and was caught off guard until the reveal
She should have got an oscar. Why not? She did not fit in with Hollywood. Too real a person maybe.
Sure ! She did rght to go to Oregon with her Vet' husband Bob Malloy whom she married in 1976 until his passing away 3 years ago@@yourmother2739
@@yourmother2739 also, the Academy disliked Hitchcock. Rebecca was the only one of his to win Best Picture, and that was just because Selznick produced it. Then they gave Joan Fontaine Best Actress the year after for Suspicion, but really it was for her performance in Rebecca. Historical movies, biopics and melodramas. The way of the pre-60s academy
@@yourmother2739 So tue and she was much better in Oregon with her veterinarian husband !
Finally! You guys are watching my favorite movie of all time. Hitchcock at the peak of his powers to manipulate and twist your mind into knots! Kim Novak is my favorite actress of the 1950s. Flawless beauty.
I think the film is based on a French book as well.
It's ridiculously slow for a thriller.
@@davidz3879 agreed and when I saw this in Theater after it was restored in 1985 my date and i almost fell asleep during that I think almost 10 min with no dialogue. Still one of Hitch top 8 because I love R Window, North by nwest, Shadow of a doubt ,Notorious, Lifeboat and even SABoteur with Robert Cummings
North by Northwest
Nothing like it!
@@michaelceraso1977 'Life boat' rarely gets a mention, Underrated. Rear Window is my favourite. I think 'Rebecca' should be next, just to lead to Du Maurier... 'Don't look now', anyone?
Kim Novak was a goddess in this film! Way underrated and understated actress Great reaction!
The next Hitchcock movie you two should do is Rebecca (1940). It’s his only movie to win Best Picture and is a masterpiece beginning to end. Other great ones are Rope (1948), Notorious (1946), and Shadow of a Doubt (1943).
You guys have the best reaction channel on TH-cam, so it’d be wonderful to make sure the classics are well represented!
And "Strangers On A Train" and "Frenzy."
@@auerstadt06 "Foreign Correspondent" is a good one too.
I need to see Rebecca
@@thetandfpodcast I've seen 26 Hitchcock movies (slowly making my way through all of them) and Rebecca is most definitely my favorite.
I'd take Shadow of a Doubt (what Hitchcock thought his favourite) than what a group of Oscar voters think.
I feel like people have this typecasting in their heads of James Stewart as a kind of “Oh-Golly” everyman. This film is definitely him playing against type as a much darker type of character. The man truly was a brilliant actor.
Some other amazing Hitchcock movies to watch next: Dial M for Murder, The Birds, Strangers on a Train, and Rope. Loved your reaction!!
Soon after you watch 'Strangers on a Train' you should watch 'Throw Momma From the Train' which is NOT a Hitchcock movie.
@@libertyresearch-iu4fy omg I was literally thinking of randomly watching that the other day after someone recommended it to me lol
Topaz.
You've left off your list the best Hitch film they have not seen, and arguably the best film by Hitch, period. *Notorious.*
@@Cosmo-Kramer It's Shadow of a Doubt for me. Ha
Watching this again, when you know what's going on is a different but totally equally amazing experience as seeing it for the first time.
Yes! In fact, it gets better every time I see it. Incredible movie.
Vertigo stands out in Hitchcock’s filmography. It isn’t really a thriller or a suspense film. It’s a very beautiful and tragic drama about obsession, memories and human weaknesses. It isn’t a fun movie, but it is truly a masterpiece. Thanks for your channel. I always enjoy watching you two watch stuff.
I wouldn't really describe it as a drama. It's more of a psychological thriller, about a man who is manipulated due to his phobia.
@@Rocket1377 It's usually described as a thriller, but it's far too slow to be.
@@davidz3879 I'm not sure what you mean, or why a movie that's "slow" keeps it from being a thriller in your mind lol.
The only other film in Hitchcock's filmography that's similar in style and strangeness is Marnie.
It is a story of heartbreak, dramatic, the romantic Hitchcock and obsessions, it is the most atypical and at the same time personal film of the director.
One of the best, if not, thr greatest psychological thrillers ever made.
About the sudden ending and Midge's early exit from the movie. There was an additional scene shot to appease the censors where Scotty goes back to Midge's apartment. She fixes him a drink while we hear over the radio that the police are searching for Elster. The Hayes Code at the time had a clear rule that murderers couldn't get away without being punished. The fastest (and the one that packed the most emotional gut punch) way to expedite that for the censors was to the have Judy die "by accident". Hitchcock fought like heck to remove that scene in Midge's apartment because he hated having any extraneous bits after the emotional climax. He won the fight for the US release, but some overseas distributors did keep it in.
France of all places was uptight about it.
The Production Code specifically allows criminals to not be punished provided it was made clear to the audience that it was wrong. It was the public who objected to it.
@@thorstrebla980 Which is funny because it's a adaptation of a French book, where the husband DOES get away and the protagonist straight up, unequivocally, murders the girl at the end.
I love the use of color in this movie. it adds so much to the story tells. Having our main character be red and his love interest be green was such a master stroke in storytelling. Even their clothes and cars follow the theme.
I was laughing at the inquest scene when the two of you were saying that Gavin (the husband) was "such a great guy" for being so nice to Scotty and not blaming him at all.
Yes I hooted at that point 😄
@@House0fHoot "Hooted" - and your display pic is an owl!
@@jhornacek 😄🦉
You didn't get full attention to this extraordinary scene. Hitchcock gives full of subconscious hints. In this scene you see the genius of Hitch in action. Like the amazing restaurant scene.
@@antoinemozart243At this point of the film you think that Gavin is a good guy and his wife is dead and Stewart is partially responsible.
Yes, there may be subtle hints earlier in the film that hint at the truth of the plot, but nothing overt. No one is watching that scene and thinking that Gavin is the villain and that he killed his wife.
The cinematography in this is absolute sumptuous, almost every frame is like a still photo.
My favorite part of this reaction was at the reveal of who Judy actually was:
"This is a huge development!" 🤣
"Shadow of a Doubt" was Hitchcock's personal favorite. Plz consider reviewing it in future. Love your reviews.
Congrats on the much-deserved new chair. I love the use of black - background, chair, clothes...like a real cinematic experience!
Agreed! Some channels who use bright white backgrounds can learn a thing or two here.
FUN FACT: This was the first movie to use the “dolly zoom” camera technique, where you pull the camera back while zooming the lens in. That’s what gives the feeling of vertigo. Hitchcock conceived of the idea 18 years earlier on the film “Rebecca” but it wasn’t technically possible until Vertigo. It’s a technique that has been frequently used since then to enhance suspenseful moments
What is interesting about James Stewart character transforming Judy into Madeline is it mirrors Hitchcock himself and his obsession in creating his "Perfect Blonde" He had found her in Grace Kelly and would spend the rest of his career trying to find her again after she left the industry as she was his original choice for this film.
Hitchcock was indeed obsessed with Grace Kelly, but Kelly retired in 1956, two years before Vertigo. Hitchcock had constructed Vertigo to star up-and-comer Vera Miles but she had to bow out due to pregnancy. Only then did Kim Novak get the role.
@@glennwisniewski9536 True, but I had heard he wanted to call back Grace out of retirement and she was interested, but her now role as Princess would no longer allow her to take part in motion pictures.
@@gutz1981 That's a true story, but it was for the movie Marnie. Hitchcock ended up going with Tippi Hedren (The Birds) who was pretty good in the role.
@@glennwisniewski9536 Grace Kelly might have been extraordinary in "Marnie." Apparently she was keen to do it but the family said no. ☹
@@karlmortoniv2951 Monaco wasn't thrilled to have their Princess playing a kleptomaniac.
Any film with a score by Bernard Herrmann is immediately in a special category. (The Ghost and Mrs. Muir is one of his most beautiful scores.) His music tells something that dialogue and setting cannot. This film’s soundtrack creates a bittersweet romance.
The lady that portrays Midge Wood is Barbara Bel Geddes. Famously known as Ellie Ewing from the "Dallas" television series. Fantastic reactions for a movie that always makes me queasy. I also suffer from acrophobia. So of course, it stands to reason that the first thing I do after graduating high school is join the Air Force.
Another actor in this who later went on to great success on TV towards the latter end of their career is Ellen Corby, the manager of the hotel, who played Esther "Grandma" Walton on The Waltons.
And daughter of the influential industrial designer...Norman Bel Geddes.
I Remember Mama.
@@catherinelw9365For which she became a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nominee.
You two are the smartest of the reactors on TH-cam, and I said so on my own video of the best TH-cam channels. TBRS was the only reaction channel I selected for the video. Vertigo is a difficult film and you guys did amazing for a first view. I was so clueless the first time I saw it.
I used to have vertigo. When I was a teen our cat climbed too high up a tree, it took me days to figure out where she was. One day I just could hear her and spotted her way up in a tree not far from our house. I brought a ladder and placed it very close to the tree to get most possible altitude out of, but it wasnt't enough. I held on to the tree and climbed all the way up to the last step on the ladder (10-15 ft?) and as I was standing on my toes trying to encourage the cat to come down to me the ladder tilted away from the tree, and I shit you not, for a brief moment I was just standing on top of it wiggling back and forth, my arms waving all over the place. I remember thinking with an eerie sense of calm "ok, this is happening. will I die och just break my legs and back?". Something got me tipped back against the tree though and I grabbed it for dear life. The cat came down closer to me, I could grab her, and we got down safe. After that I could barely get up on a chair to change a light bulb in the ceiling. It's gotten better with age though. However, I'm never spending any time on my balcony.....
This is a great movie, very psychological thriller with awesome plot twists, just the way I like ' em! I'm glad you liked it too!
Thanks for uploading! Greetings from Sweden
Seeing you guys finally watch this.. I feel like a proud parent lol.
Such a great movie. You'd enjoy the Mel Brooks version of Hitchcock's style in his "High Anxiety."
OMG YES!! I was a kid living in San Francisco when this was being filmed. He was on the local news.
It took about half a century to become popular with critics & the general public.
High Anxiety is brilliant - but only after you have a few Hitchcock films under your belt.
Don't you mean High Ang...Ziety??
Yay! Thanks for doing these classics. Kim Novak & James Stewart also did a fun romantic comedy together called Bell, Book & Candle, which I love.
Love that film - and we named our cat Pyewachet (although he is black and not a Siamese).
@@donna25871 that is so cool! I have a black cat named Bat, but I almost called him Pyewachet.
That movie came out the same year as Vertigo so the two leads in two very different movies check out Bell, Book and Candle for a change of pace.
Interesting "trivia" I didn't see mentioned yet... Bell, Book and Candle was also the inspiration for the series Bewitched. It's why in the opening animation, there is a cat (who turns into Samantha) when the family doesn't actually have a cat.
PLEASE react to BB&C if at all possible! ☺️
PYEWACKET@@hannahl8
This movie is stunning, script and visuals, the colours, so much hidden meaning. And San Francisco in those days, the old and the new side by side, the drives through the streets up and down like riding waves, between the forests, deserts and the sea. It all looks so magical. I can not imagine this film happening anywhere else.
Hitchcock had a team of great behind the scene talents that if you check his movies from the 50's to the mid 60's their names come up again and again. Composer Bernard Herrmann, cinematographer Robert Burks, editor George Tomasini and Saul Bass doing the credits just to name a few. Not to be left out his wife Alma Reville who always had a hand in the scripts.
And his wife. Who had to tolerate Alfred's fixation on beautiful blondes.
Some good films before then that get ignored.
@@joebloggs396 Yes- 39 Steps, The Lady Vanishes, Rebecca, Spellbound, Shadow of a Doubt and more all need to be seen by a lot more people.
Don't forget screenwriter Ben Hecht.
@@keithbrown8490and Strangers on a Train. And The Man who Knew too Much black and white version. And Lifeboat.
So fun to see you react to this movie! The rich colors and San Francisco setting are so beautiful.
Love that you jump around genres, eras, tv shows & films. Highly recommend Strangers on a Train for your next Hitchcock!
From the early 1940s until the early 1960s, Hitchcock produced masterpiece after masterpiece, a record of accomplishment unequaled by any other filmmaker, and itis a delight to see these two discover his greatness.
William Friedkin did a commentary of Vertigo, and it's one of the best things I've ever listened to.
I usually don't like when some reactors try to make "funny" or "clever" comments but, I have to say you guys were clever and funny. I really like your channel and your commentary and wit are just right. I hope you keep making great movie selections. You know can never go wrong with the classics.👍🏼
The true definition of a timeless masterpiece!
More Hitchcock reactions would be amazing!
You guys have got to watch The Birds!
It was a different direction for Hitchcock to go as far as genre, and although some of the special effects didn't age the best, it doesn't matter because the idea is presented regardless and there are still quite a few very effective shots and is one of my favorite Hitchcock films.
Also, Dial M for Murder is great as well!
Loved your reaction to my favorite Hitchcock film Vertigo. It really is a dazzling dizzying spiral of events and gets better with each viewing.
I really feel the movie wouldn't be as affective with today's Affects. They used plenty of real birds, and the affects were creepy.
@@susanalexander6721 I totally agree! All the shots with real birds are absolutely creepy! CGI most definitely wouldn't work as well.
I've seen this movie a bunch of times. It's been my impression that Judy thought the nun, who could not be seen clearly at first, was the ghost of Madeline. Judy tried to flee but fell out the window.
The key to understanding the ambiguous ending is in the title. What is "vertigo"? It's a false perception of the world caused by fear; the world isn't spinning, but Jimmy Stewart perceives that it is. There are clues in the movie, especially in Act 3, that the movie takes places from Jimmy Stewart's point of view, and you're not seeing events as they are, but as he perceives them.
Exactly. The nun is in the shadows so all she knows is that this woman is coming out of the shadows towards her. She's already thinking about Madelyne, and the last time she was in this tower, so she thinks this is Madelyne come for revenge and runs out the window.
I have watched tons and tons of classic movies and I must say that I have never seen Jimmy Stewart in anything that was bad. Every movie the man was in was a total success. I love the guy. He was a gentleman and a superb actor. Also, btw, in WWII he flew combat missions and was eventually promoted to the rank of General in the United States Air Force. Thank you guys for another very spot on and killer cool reaction, as usual. Shoutout from your old hippy dude in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. See y'all on the next. Later.
He is one of the greatest of all time absolutely, and i sure have to watch more movies with him.
I really love this movie. The writing, acting, Hitchcock's direction. The cinematography. My favorite shot of the movie is when they are in the hotel room and Judy' is talking in a side profile with her silhouette against the green glow of the sign outside the window.
One of the greatest shots in film history. "Because I remind you of her?"
The camera tracking in, Stewart's facial acting, and the musical swell as he semi realizes how similar she looks in side profile.
Cinematic perfection.
@@ChrisWake agreed! 100%
Yes, Judy really could fill out a sweater.
65 years later of this film, cool reaction as always Schmitt & Samantha, you both have a good night
You guys should react to Shadow Of A Doubt! It was Hitchcock's favorite film of all the ones he directed!
Not just one of Hitch's greatest films (if not his greatest), but greatest of all time. A bit of ironic background information for you, Hitch himself was obsessed with Grace Kelly (who starred in Dial M for Murder and Rear Window), she was the ultimate girl for him, but she retired from acting when she married the Prince of Monaco in 1956. In every subsequent film, Hitch tried to recreate the 'ice princess' - everything from how the new lead lady dressed, to how she spoke and the color of her hair. They all rebuffed his advances. In the final bit of irony--it was Hitchcock's wife who chose "The Living and the Dead," (the book that Vertigo was based on) for Hitchcock to film.
Non the French title of Boileau and Narcejac coauthors is "From among the dead" (d'entre les morts in French) !
So, what i've learned from this video is that if you want to kill TBR Schmitt you put him up really high and surround him with hundreds of spiders.
Just thought i'd throw this out there as a suggestions for watching... "THEM!" It's a classic 1950s atomic-age suspense-horror film. It's really welld one for its time.
Oh yeah, they're just giant, radioactive ants. He'd be totally cool with it.
There is, however, a movie called The Incredible Shrinking Man that would scare the bejezus out of Mr TBR especially for the life and death fight with the spider. Enjoy.
Loved this reaction. So much fun watching a younger generation diving into the works of the Master of Suspense. As for the dream sequence, there's another amazing one in the movie "Spellbound", designed by none other than Salvador Dali. Have a great week. ❤ 🎬
Absolutely great dream sequence. Gregory Peck does a wonderful performance in this film.
Even though it’s not a absolute favourite of Hitchcocks movies, it’s still an amazing watch and a film I like to go back to every few years. In particular, I love those wordless scenes as they travel through San Francisco…..pure cinema!
One fond memory I have of Vertigo is going to an outdoor showing of it in the cemetery at Glendale in LA.
The repetition in this movie alone is worth an hours-long in-depth discussion. Even just the double repeated dialogue from Jimmy Stewart as they climb the stairs in the end, which of course they did earlier already.
I am always under the assumption, the subconscious detective side of his brain always knew Judy was Madeline. I don't think he was asking her to "change" to feed into some fetish need, but to solve the puzzle he was not fully aware he was piecing back together.
My interpretation of the movie and Scotty's motivation is exactly the same as yours. I think a lot of people forget that Scotty was a detective before he was forced to retire due to his vertigo.
What I'm about to say doesn't invalidate your interpretation, because the film is the film, but the story's background has always influenced my reading of it and I see it as a film about obsession, and Scotty's behaviour is obsessive first and foremost. So, the film is based on a book, and the book is based on the story of Tristan & Isolde... and the key part of T&I is that when Tristan is parted from Isolde (another man's wife), in his desperation and heartbreak he marries another woman, also called Isolde. She's known as Isolde of the White Hands, and she obviously reminds Tristan of his 'real' Isolde... but not enough, and the marriage is never happy. In some versions of the story Isolde of the White Hands is simply jealous and second-rate, but in the more sensitive readings of the character she's somebody who tragically loves a husband who will never love her for her, and who only married her because of a similarity to anoither woman. I think the similarities to Judy's dilemma - her realisation that the only way she can truly get Scotty's love is to stop being herself and gives herself over to the illusory Madeleine that obsesses him. Bernard Herrmann at least was conscious of the debt to Tristan & Isolde, because his love theme in the scene where Judy emerges transformed blatantly draws on the Liebestod from Wagner's opera 'Tristan & Isolde'. It's also worth bearing in mind that the novel on which the film was based is even darker, with its protagonist seemingly obsessed by the idea that he can literally bring his lost love back from the dead... Of course, none of this means that Hitchock wasn't telling his own, different story, so as I say it doesn't invalidate your reading of the film... but I think it's relevant all the same.
100% agreed. He was traumatized twice and being a detective to resolve his suspicions was going to answer his questions. I don't think this "obsession" would last once she confessed. But reenacting the crime unexpectedly sealed her fate.
@@petersvillage7447you are the only one besides myself to educate people on the Tristan and Isolde story. It seems you have listened to the Wagner opera as you commented on the transfiguration scene as she shimmers in the green light after fixing her hair. The music is so rich and thick with death and transfiguration motivs.
@@jeffreyjeziorski1480 For me it's the result of intersecting teen enthusiasms - Arthurian myth, Film Soundtracks and Classical Music particularly. Obviously all three of those roads lead to Wagner, of course... and I have an additional, personal fascination resulting from seeing the film Twelve Monkeys (with its key use of Vertigo and Herrmann's Scene D'Amour) in the company of a young woman when I'd not yet seen Vertigo and didnt understand its relevance - and then I saw it a second time in the company of another woman who reminded me of the first, and with whom I'd finally watched Vertigo. So when, in Twelve Monkeys, Bruce Willis watches Vertigo and muses on how a film seems different every time you watch it not because it has changed but because YOU have changed... now I understood why the Vertigo scenes with all their layers were in the film, and understood the music... and now I associated it with my personal Judy rather than my Madeleine... the film was indeed very different because I had changed, my mind was somewhat blown. The final layer? Well - I'll let you guess what my first name is...
"Dial M for Murder" is another amazing Hitchcock movie. It spark a new type of detective/mystery genre in movies/TV where the focus isn't on whodunit, but howcatchum.
I love it when you two do classics! You really bring me back to when I first watched them. You are spot on regarding old movies - the good ones were so well crafted and innovative. They had to be; they couldn't fill anything in with digital manipulation.
I have a particular history with Vertigo. The first time I saw it was when it had its television premiere sometime in the mid-60s. Even though I was only 10 or 11, my mom let me stay up to watch it since she knew how much I loved movies. To be honest, the opening rooftop chase scene hit me harder than anything else, especially when the cop fell to his death. It was years before I had the opportunity to see Vertigo again, but that sequence is what I really remembered. I was definitely too young to understand the rest of the movie, but with subsequent viewings, I now put it in my top 10.
Thanks.
It was shown on NBC's "Saturday Night At The Movies". I remember it well!
Not all old movies were great. There were always a lot of terrible movies. Probably the worst ones of the past were worse than the worst ones now. But when they are great, there's nothing today that can even come close.
People often don't understand the multilayered complexity and amazing substance of this masterpiece. Vertigo is not about a man suffering from vertigo and manipulated. This movie is so deep that Hitch never achieved a movie of this calibre again. I think Vertigo overwhelmed his conscious capacity.
A gem about this movie was that Hitchcock avtually invented a bunch of different camera shots for this film that had never been used before.. and are now standard practice in the industry.
One of the best movies of all time as voted by film critics and in my top three. A film that rewards multiple, multiple views. Once you already know the plot, there is so much symbolism and deep themes to explore (red and green colors are certainly meant as key symbols to some of the themes). Loved the reaction, guys!
Love the Hitchcock films. Lifeboat is my personal favorite. About survors of a ship sunk by a German sub in WW2.
Part of the magic of Vertigo is exactly as you touched on here. You spend the first half of the movie thinking you're watching a supernatural thriller. You then see the trauma of a man who is ACTUALLY haunted by someone he lost and couldn't save. Judy is also haunted by her experience-how she was manipulated, and that she was put in such a position to traumatize someone. And in the final moments, the tragedy of it all comes together. The residual feelings of supernatural thriller come BACK to you and for a moment, you see a terrifying silhouette that scares Judy and causes her death. The movie says our traumas shape us, they are a prison, they ARE the supernatural thing haunting all of us. It's brilliant.
Great analysis that I've never really considered. You could put forward about twenty different analyses of this film and they'd all be valid. True multi-layered filmmaking brilliance
Hitchcock invented the "Vertigo shot" for this film. It's achieved by zooming in while simultaneously pulling back the camera, or viceversa.
It's also used in the movie 'Jaws' by director Steven Spielberg.
aka the "dolly zoom"
According to some sources, it was actually Hitchcock's second unit camera man and visual effects specialist Irmin Roberts who invented the technique, after Hitchcock described what he was trying to achieve. Hitchcock said the idea came to him after getting extremely drunk at a party and feeling like the room was moving away from him.
Peter Jackson used the dolly zoom in Lord of the Rings. He also used Hitchcock's famous zoom from Notorious in LOTR.
@@catherinelw9365 yeah, it's been used Ina lot of movies over the years. Even in Scarface, the first time Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer do coke together, in his convertible.many comedies have used it too.
One of my favourite movies, the soundtrack is amazing
“Technicolor” was a unique feature- it combined special film stock, its own cameras, mandatory consultants from the company on every set, specially trained camera operators and has the ability to create superior saturated color. If you love Technicolor, 3 films by Michael Powell/Emeric Pressburger are among the most beautiful ever made: The Red Shoes, A Matter of Life & Death, Black Narcissus. ❤️
If you guys want to be on the edge of your seats for a Hitchcock film, I highly recommend “Rope”. It’s incredibly impressive, especially considering the time that it was filmed.
If you ever seen '12 Monkeys' they are watching Vertigo in the movie theatre scene, when she is counting the rings of the redwood, tracing her past life, which resonates with the themes in 12 Monkeys.
Off the top of my head, a couple recent films with great color use are the great musical La La Land and the stunning romance In the Mood for Love.
Next Hitchcock should be Notorious with Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman or The Birds.
Thanks for the great reaction!
“This is a huge development”- haha love it
Rope (also with James Stewart) is my favorite Hitchcock movie. Vertigo and Psycho are amazing and other suggestions beside Rope would be The Birds, Dial M for Murder, Rebecca, Spellbound, Marnie and Strangers on a Train.
It's always fun to watch someone else watch one of my favorite movies for the first time. But your questions and comments made it much more fun. Love how engaged you two were, noticing lots of details, trying to piece things together. Thanks a lot!
Hitchcock"s shocking and ironic ending where Judy falls and unintentionally recreates the fake death she participated in, was how Hitch wanted to end the film. The production code of the time forbade a criminal escaping punishment for his or her crime so Hitchcock was forced to shoot a new ending where a shaken Scotty shows up at Midge's apartment just as its announced on the radio that Gavin Etster has been arrested for murdering his wife. Midge hands Scotty a drink and he stares out the window. Hitch hated it and managed to get the film released with his original ending.
This is the second James Stewart movie where the criminal gets away with it, the other being Mr. Potter in It's a Wonderful Life.
Spellbound is a must watch if you liked the dream sequence in Vertigo. Salvador Dali designed dream sequences for Spellbound. Great review!
So glad I'm not the only one that questioned this movie. Watched it years ago rewatched several times and still question what the heck? Great hearing both your inputs.
The key to understanding the ambiguous ending is in the title. What is "vertigo"? It's a false perception of the world caused by fear; the world isn't spinning, but Jimmy Stewart perceives that it is. There are clues in the movie, especially in Act 3, that the movie takes places from Jimmy Stewart's point of view, and you're not seeing events as they are, but as he perceives them.
What a great film! I'm so glad you and Samantha are watching this. Cool thing to add this film popularize the dolly zoom cam.
Having watched this film several times in my life, the first time as a child, I gave up trying to understand it long ago, but it is beautiful. It's lush and transportive, suspenseful, and you keep watching to uncover the mysteries, but then that doesn't happen and suddenly it's over. So yeah, watch it over and over....good luck with that, and enjoy.
The key to understanding the ambiguous ending is in the title. What is "vertigo"? It's a false perception of the world caused by fear; the world isn't spinning, but Jimmy Stewart perceives that it is. There are clues in the movie, especially in Act 3, that the movie takes places from Jimmy Stewart's point of view, and you're not seeing events as they are, but as he perceives them.
If you gave up to understand this movie after so many viewings, I pity you. To fully understand the marvel this movie is , I just recommend you to analyse the encounter with Elster scene. Watch it several times.... And perhaps you will discover the treasure..... Just this scene to begin with.
"The man who knew too much" is another great Hitchcock film
Not sure if anyone mentioned, but the dolly-zoom camera work to mimic the feeling of vertigo is a key character too. Great film!
"This is in San Francisco?!"
It still is, except civilization has vanished from it.
The weird zoom effect that changes perspective used to represent vertigo has since been refered to as an Hitchcock zoom. It accomplished by zooming in while moving the camera back or vice versa. Spielberg used it in Jaws to great effect on the shark’s beach attack.
Sam mentions how different Novak seems just with brown hair, but Judy's makeup is also different and she speaks with a more common accent than Madeline. Subtle changes but very effective to make the audience question whether they are the same woman or not.
“That’s in San Francisco?”
Yeah, the domed structure is the Palace of Fine Arts. It’s about four miles away from the Legion of Honor art museum that is prominently featured in this movie. Fort Point under the Golden Gate Bridge is close to halfway between them.
A lot of this movie takes place in a fairly small area of San Francisco, but the mission with the fatal bell tower is a bit of a drive south, near Monterey Bay.
This and Rear Window are my favorite Hitchcock films. I think it’s his most beautiful film visually, and the story is one of his most experimental. In a way I think it paved the way for other masterpieces like Persona and Mulholland Drive
Every one of Hitche’s movies (and I’ve seen almost every one of them) is worth watching. That’s why he’s a legend.
Watch all of Hitchcock's movies over time. They are basically all worth the watch.
I taught this film several times back in grad school, so watching you guys see it and react to it was. So. Much. Fun! Regarding the music, it's worth noting that Bernard Hermann's score owes a major debt to one of the most powerful and most important works of classical music of all time, Richard Wagner's Tristan und Isolde. That isn't a coincidence, given that there's no other opera more focused on the tragic way in which love and death bleed into each other and given that Vertigo is ultimately a tragedy about love and death.
Great reaction! Samantha really gets this movie--definitely one of my favorites, if not my favorite film of all time. So many layers to unpack when you re-watch again and again.
Uggggghh, thinking about this movie still gives me goosebumps! This masterpiece is one of maybe three movies I've seen for the first time in the last 10 years or so that left me with a smile on my face after it was over. The genius behind this film gives the audience vertigo as they try to figure out what happens next. LOVE that it isn't predictable. Love it!
Another must-see Hitchcock film is 'Rebecca'. Both 'Vertigo' and 'Rebecca' were based on novels by the same author, Daphne du Maurier.
Du Maurier did not write Vertigo. The story was based on the 1954 novel D'entre les morts (From Among the Dead) by Boileau-Narcejac.
@@catherinelw9365 Yes, you are correct, it seems. Apologies for the error.
Maybe you were thinking of "The Birds" and "Rebecca"? Both were written by Daphne du Maurier.
Midge is played by Barbara Bel Geddes, who starred in the first episode of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Lamb to the Slaughter," and later played J.R.'s mother in "Dallas."
One of the greatest movie of all time. Kim Novak is still alive and Madeleine define the term icy blonde from the Hitchcock movies
Just imagine the grilling he’s going to go through at the coroner’s inquest THIS time. 😱
When I was a young, burgeoning cinephile, and working my way through Hitchcock, I didn’t know quite what to think when I got to Vertigo. I found it slow and melodramatic, and it didn’t grab me the way Hitch’s other films had. But it lodged in my mind. I returned to it, and liked it a little more. I returned to it again and again. Each time I found myself more drawn into the movie’s atmosphere of obsession. And as I learned more about the director, I found it more and more compelling. More than any of his other films, Vertigo is a window into Hitchcock’s subconscious. It’s the ultimate grower of a movie.
This and Mulholland Drive are my two favourite movies of all time. They make an excellent double feature.
Yes, that's in San Francisco. That was the Palace of Fine Arts. It's quite pretty there and it's actually pretty close to the Golden Gate Bridge (which, for those that haven't seen, is not golden, nor is it as red as Technicolor makes it look). If you want to see a "golden" bridge you'll need to go to the I Street bridge in Sacramento, CA... but it's a bit green; however, that's a whole local drama of its own.
Vertigo is, without a doubt, the most sadistic and sexual of all of Hitchcock’s films. The way he explores the power play between men and women is next level. Reoccurring themes are descending and ascending and the colors red and green. Both of these are opposites- both directions and opposites on the color wheel which represent the polar opposites in the sexes. Even the dynamic between the dead and the living becomes a metaphor for opposites in the film is at its best when you can feel opposites pulling/playing tug of war with each other. The way Hitchcock represents the relationship between men and women is one where there is an eternal struggle for power and no compromise.
It is pretty odd to see a LOT of current era ideas in a 65 year old film.
@@RobertMorgan Maybe because those ideas aren't that new...
@@RobertMorgan Well, those ideas aren't new at all! You should try reading some books to expand your world a little. :)
In 2012 Vertigo was voted the greatest film of all time by the BFIs sight and sound magazine yearly vote. It held that spot for 10 years. Every year a new vote is cast with over 1600 people taking part in the vote.
As far as recommendations....Shadow of a Doubt....criminally underseen. Hitch's own personal favorite.
Loved your reaction to this. It really is like a Hitchcock David Lynch movie (or David Lynch movies are like Vertigo?). I always see something different and new every time I watch this. This time it really popped how everyone desperately wants to be someone else so they'll feel okay. The movie was shot in VistaVision which used a bigger portion of the 35mm film for much higher resolution.
Love when you watch Hitchcock movies. There's always lots to talk about.
This is my favorite Alfred Hitchcock movie of all time. I am so glad you guys reacted to this.
Hope eventually you both do all the Hitchcock classics. Samantha continues to break it down well. Hugs to you both
I just remembered, "Bell Book and Candle" (1958), another film with James Stewart and Kim Novak, also has Jack Lemon... a romance-comedy involving magic :D
And Ernie Kovacs.
I'm so glad you enjoyed this film Sam!
My top 4 recommends for Hitchcock next would be
1. Shadow of a Doubt
2. Notorious
3. Dial M for Murder
4. To Catch a Thief
That was great . Love the Technicolor look . James Stewart was great again and these films always have such great female leads and characters .
HEY GUYS IS BEEN A WHILE I MISS YA❤❤ GREAT REACTION👏