Leading to a conclusion, we should consider how time makes things look differently over the years.
What impact did this feature have when first released?
There was no impact at all. In fact, It was only many years after the release of the moving picture that Vertigo started to became popular and considered one of the Hitchcock’s masterpieces. As Restoration Producer James C. Katz says: “Time does things to movies and the way we see them”.
(Restoration Producer James C. Katz:“Obsessed with Vertigo”)
Therefore, what are the reasons that make this film so popular nowadays?
Undoubtedly, one is the conception of love this picture develops. As a matter of a fact, the history of cinema files thousands of love films, but with this movie Hitchcock took a step forward: a deep, unattainable, obsessive love, that makes the viewer truly feel what John “Scottie” Ferguson felt. In fact, the more we know the ex-detective Ferguson, the more we get close to him and his feelings; so that we violently disappear into Ferguson’s character. Samuel A. Taylor, the Vertigo’s Screen writer – who won a Golden Globe for the writing of Sabrina Fair (then directed by Billy Wilder) and whose career film, for a twist of fate, faded after the initial box office failure of Vertigo, says: “In those first talks with Hitchcock, we decided that the more emotion there was in the man, the stronger the picture would be. And he found without even thinking about it that he was making a picture that went much deeper than most of his pictures. Just because the basic story –not the plot– but the basic story had a true human emotion; this obsession of a man who, for the first time in his life, had fallen deeply in love”.
(Samuel A. Taylor, “Obsessed with Vertigo” by Harrison Engle)
Second of all, the “psychological complexity”, as Martin Scorsese suggests. “Vertigo somehow stands out, and I think it stands out because it was unabashedly personal. I think that’s where the truth lies in the picture. That’s why I think it sustains over the years. You don’t know exactely –”Well, the person who made this feels this way”. You can’t put it into words, but there is something that is genuine about it, and that is not just dealing with schematics on plot or whatever. That has a very strong heart behind it and a very, very troubling look at humanity, in a way. But it’s something that is honest and true and has a psychological complexity and that is lasted over the years”. The first title Hitchcock gave to the film ”Cold sweat: From Among the Dead” (the French novel “Sueurs froides: D’entre les morts”) better emphasizes this aspect. In fact, the whole film runs in two separate rails. One is Scottie Ferguson’s approach to the events he faces against -which does not represent the truth itself but just the deceptive one-. This fake trail makes both Ferguson and the viewers (they are nothing but the same person, because of the subjective way the film is narrated) suffer and feeling guilty for Madeleine’s death. On the other hand, there is the second rail, which, indeed, represents the “real” reality; a sour, desolate, nightmare-like reality, in which double identity, falsehood and grief are the key words. Therefore, the two rails run in different ways for most of the film length and they just bump into each others on the very end of the film, in a that climatic obsessive race toward Medeleine’s second death.
(Martin Scorsese, “Obsessed with Vertigo” by Harrison Engle)
(Available from:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryUL2csu_ns)
I would conclude reporting Martin Scorsese’s speech, which perfectly summarise and explain why this film is considered one of the top ten films in the history of cinema.
“Vertigo somehow stands out, and I think it stands out because it was unabashedly personal. I think that’s where the truth lies in the picture. That’s why I think it sustains over the years. You don’t Know exactely –”Well, the person who made this feels this way”. You can’t put it into words, but there is something that is genuine about it, and that is not just dealing with schematics on plot or whatever. That has a very strong heart behind it and a very, very troubling look at humanity, in a way. But it’s something that is honest and true and has a psychological complexity and that is lasted over the years.”
(Martin Scorsese, “Obsessed with Vertigo” [1997])
Findings
After the end of my research, I found out a great number of things I did not know and I have always been interested in.
First of all, I learned many interesting elements about Vertigo and its technical aspects:
- How the vertigo effect was made. Furthermore, I discovered this was the first time the dolly zoom was utilised in a feature, thanks to second unit cameraman Irmin Roberts.
- I learnt what a VistaVision format was and its background context in the Hollywood system, since it was developed to compete with Firefox’s CinemaScope format.
- Furthermore, I got closer to the Studio System and its link with Hitchcock’s production of films and Vertigo in particular (since this would have not created without such expensive technologies and a huge capital)
- I developed the essential role of music in films thus leading to a legendary name (which, quite interestingly, I did not know): Bernard Herrmann. I’ve been fascinated by his powerful figure and its great dynamism -he was able to produce such a remarkable soundtrack in an incredibly brief period-.
Second of all, I developed my area of research toward a more particular aspect: the possible connection between Hitchcock’s personal experiences and his creative works.
- In fact, while watching his films, I have been always caught by this continuous feeling: were they personal developments of his own unconscious?
At the end of the research, I found out some interesting information. Anyway, I am still not a hundred percent sure of the affirmative answer of that question. Of course, I discovered Hitchcock’s shocking experiences in his early life such as the one in the German Hotel or his more than particular relationship with his parents; hence, I could suppose that link was existing. However, sometimes the answers I would have liked to find in the sources were not as accurate and deep as I wished. Probably, because of the extremely personal content this kind of research have, thus being the reliable material not (at all) easy to access. In fact, I have tried to seek for academic references in this field, but it was definitely hard, so that I had to try to follow the sources of websites, which are not that reliable and most of the time denying each other.
Moreover, what really impressed me in analysing Vertigo was the way love has been developed. In fact, Vertigo develops such a deep concept of love and furthermore, mixes this word with other worrying elements such as doubt, guiltiness and death. That is why it can be compared with sources like Sheakespeare’s Ophelia or the ancient myth of Tristan and Isolde.
To conclude, I would say that this has been a gratifying possibility to explore what I always wanted to (Hitchcock is indeed one of my favourite directors) and, most importantly, in a new and effective way.
