The film, Vertigo (1958) directed by Alfred Hitchcock, is classified as a genre combination of mystery, romance, suspense and thriller about psychological obsession and murder. Filmed on location in San Francisco and on the Paramount lot in Hollywood, California in 1957, the cultural features of the late 1950’s America were depicted in the films mise en scène by costume and set designs current for that time period. The film was produced at the end of the golden age of Hollywood when the studio system was still in place. At the time Vertigo was produced, Hollywood studios were still very much in control of film production and of actor’s contracts. Hitchcock’s groundbreaking cinematic language and camera techniques has had great impact on film and American popular culture and created a cult following of his films to this day. As stated in an article by Magellan (1994), the multiple genres of Vertigo can be defined as follows: Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo is a film which functions on multiple levels simultaneously. On a literal level it is a mystery-suspense story of a man hoodwinked into acting as an accomplice in a murder, his discovery of the hoax, and the unraveling of the threads of the murder plot. On a psychological level the film traces the twisted, circuitous routes of a psyche burdened down with guilt, desperately searching for an object on which to concentrate its repressed energy. Finally, on an allegorical or figurative level, it is a retelling of the immemorial tale of a man who has lost his love to death and in hope of redeeming her descends into the underworld. The narrative of Vertigo tells a plot twisted story of mystery and suspense as the main character “Scottie” (James Stuart), a retired detective suffer... ... middle of paper ... ...m, Hitchcock makes his cameo appearance wearing a grey suit and carrying a bugle case and strolls across the screen from left to right just before Scottie arrives at Elster’s shipyard. In conclusion, Vertigo, fifty six years later, is now considered an iconic classic and one of the best films ever made. References (2007-2014). Film reference. Retrieved from: http://www.filmreference.com/encyclopedia/Independent-Film-Road-Movies/Mise-en-sc-ne-HITCHCOCK.html (2011). Alfred Hitchcock film techniques. Retrieved from: http://www.essortment.com/alfred-hitchcock-film-techniques-65491.html. Magellan. (1994, January 1). Alfred Hitchcock, the master of suspense. Retrieved from: http://hitchcock.tv/essays/vertigoessay.html Miller, J. (2014). Behind the camera on Vertigo. Retrieved from: http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/94742/Vertigo/articles.html
Hitchcock’s use of doubles is apparent throughout most of his films. In Vertigo, the image of Madeline and Scotty’s passionate embrace is repeated several times during the film. In Scotty’s life, Hitchcock also places many instances of doubles, such as the two women he loves, Madeline’s dual roles as two different women throughout the plot, and the two identical deaths of the women he witnesses. Doubling is also apparent between Madeline and the fictional Carlotta, especially in the scene in the art museum, where the flowers, the hairstyle, and the position of Madelin...
Though complex and brilliantly written for its time, the plot of Alfred Hitchcock’s film, Vertigo, is only half of the genius behind it. Alfred Hitchcock’s unique presence as an auteur is truly what sets his films apart. There is symmetry to his shots that give the film an artistic feel, as if each frame were a painting. Many times, within this symmetry, Hitchcock places the characters in the center of the frame; or if not centered, then balanced by whatever else is adding density to the shot. For example, as Madeline sits and looks at the painting in the museum, there is a balance within the frame. To counter-act her position to the right of the painting, Hitchcock puts a chair and another painting on the left side, which is visually pleasing to the eye of the audience. The use of red and green not only adds a visual effect as well, but later serves as a clue that Madeline is not actually dead, when the women who looks like her is wearing a green dress.
In order to suit his needs Hitchcock transports the locale of Vertigo (1958) to the most vertical San Francisco city where the vertiginous geometry of the place entirely threatens verticality itself. The city with its steep hills, sudden rises and falls, of high climbs, dizzying drops is most appropriate for the vertiginous circularity of the film. The city is poised between a romantic Victorian past and the rush of present day life. We were able to see the wild chase of Scottie Ferguson (James Stewart) in search for the elusive Madeleine Elster (Kim Novak) and the ghost who haunts her, Carlotta Valdes in such spots as the Palace of the Legion of Honor, the underside of the Golden Gate Bridge at Fort Point, the Mission Dolores, Ernie’s restaurant,
Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho"-the movie the world recognised-was first premiered in the home town of New York on the 16th June 1960.The film follows the life and strife of a young beautiful woman Marion Crane, played by the Janet Leigh, who is on the run from the police after stealing $40.000, she manages to find refuge at the Bates motel where she makes her worst mistake possible. During and after the film production of "Psycho" Alfred Hitchcock had his aids buy as many copies as possible of the novel "Psycho"-written by Robert Bloch. Why? To conceal the ending form the public's eye so when the film was shown in cinemas the audience would'nt know the ending. When people found out the title of the movie Hitchcock said it was based on a greek love story "Psyche".
Hitchcock’s techniques in North by Northwest to create suspense is unquestionable, because we have seen some of the elements of the mise en scene and camera shots he used to keep the audience guessing throughout the film. The film is “the wittiest, most sophisticated thriller ever made” (Ehrenstein par1). The film have “extraordinary technical skill or martini-dry sense of fun” (Ehrenstein par2), therefore, it is clear that North by Northwest is one of the most suspenseful movies of all
Alfred Hitchcock developed his signature style from his earlier works The Lodger and Blackmail. These films were the framework for his signature films later on. His themes of “an innocent man who is accused of a crime” and “the guilty woman” were first seen in these two films and are repeated throughout Hitchcock’s cinematic history
Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo is a thrilling film filled with mystery and suspense. However, Hitchcock left many unsolved issues at the end of this film. In contrast, when comparing Vertigo to more recent films of similar genre’, mysteries are usually always solved and thoroughly explained by the end of the film. Ironically, Hitchcock’s failure to explain everything to the audience in Vertigo is one of the film’s best attributes. This lack of knowledge allows the viewer to use their own imagination and speculate as to what might or might not have become of certain characters.
Rowe, Lawrence. "Through the Looking Glass: Reflexivity, Reciprocality, and Defenestration in Hitchcock's"Rear Window"." College Literature 35.1 (2008): 16-37.
The medium of film, while relatively new and unexplored compared to other visual arts, has proven itself time and time again to be extremely versatile and fascinating with regard to aesthetic properties. At times, film can be used to enhance or respond to another piece of art—for instance, the adaptation of novels or other works that inspire or serve as the basis for a film. An adapter by nature, Alfred Hitchcock often used other works as inspirations for his films. Hitchcock’s filmography contains predominantly adapted works, though these adaptations are usually loose and edited to fit Hitchcock’s aesthetic and common themes. For his acclaimed film Vertigo, Hitchcock drew from Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac’s novel D’entre les morts (or
Hitchcock 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.
The film was produced to reflect the 1963 novel by Charles Webb. The film revolves around the character called Benjamin who graduates from college when he is stressed up in life about his future. He is seduced by an old woman, Mrs. Robinson ("CHAPTER 4. Fiction and Film: Proust’s Vertigo and Hitchcock’s Vertigo" 33). At first, he rejects the proposal to make love with her when he heard the husband coming. He later calls the woman for a date in a hotel. To recover from his lost dream, Benjamin ends up marrying Elaine, Mrs. Robinson’s
There are four crucial scenes of this film in which Hitchcock shows a change in perspective and identity through the mise-en-scène. Hitchcock’s signature motifs, style, and themes are conveyed through the mise-en-scène.
Alfred Hitchcock’s favorite subject was the superficial placidity of American life, whose clean, bright surfaces disguised the most shockingly moral, political, psychological and sexual aberrations. For Hitchcock, the most striking, funny, and terrifying quality of American life was its confidence in its sheer ordinariness. Beneath the surface, ordinary people and normal life were always ‘bent’ for Hitchcock.
A thriller is a type of film that usually instills excitement and suspense into the audience. A thriller is commonly described as a tense edge of the seat environment. The movie, Vertigo, is one of the most famous thrillers ever made. However, Vertigo does not fit into the stereotypical genre of thriller. Vertigo, often viewed as an experimental film because it was one of the first major thrillers of that time that used many different and innovative camera techniques. These techniques used in this film are different types of lighting, montage, intense music, etc. Vertigo is known to be one of Hitchcock’s best movies because of his unique sense of style and his famous “Hitchcock signature” The movie Vertigo is about a detective who is hired to follow his friend’s wife Madeline. In actuality, however, he is being tricked to participate in a murder. Throughout the movie the detective, Scottie, ends up falling for Madeline while she is stringing him along her hidden agenda. Even though at the forefront of the movie Madeline...
As a cinematographer, I see Alfred Hitchcock as one of the most influential people in the history of the silver screen. My synopsis of his films, however, will be through the eyes of a young man that has witnessed tragedy. I could sit and rant and rave about how Hitchcock was a great director, his films were awesome, etc., but I’ll spare you of that.