Analysis Of Vertigo By Alfred Hitchcock

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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 …show more content…

Madeleine stands out because of her beauty, of course, but more notably because of her contrasting green wrap, which beautifully drapes onto the floor from her seat. In the novel, this first encounter is set in a theater instead, with Flaviéres, like Scottie, having “only to turn his head a little to see.” In both scenarios, the leading man “couldn’t see her features clearly, but [they had] the impression she was pretty, with something a bit fragile about her.” Both works also feature a “close-up view of her” as Madeleine and Gévigne/Gavin leave the scene. While the novel leaves us to imagine this close-up, the film is able to frame Madeleine in a tight profile. This key aspect of filmic form—the new visual capabilities offered through careful framing and composition of shots and montages—focuses the viewer on a particular aspect of a scene, often distinguishing a main character or showing detail/emotion that might be lost in a wider angle. Novak’s Madeleine appears less fragile than her novelistic counterpart here, her profile image projecting strength. (Appendix A) The lights seem to brighten as she steps into position as well, lightening her already ghost-white hair. This shot is reminiscent of a portrait, echoing Flaviéres’ (and by extension, Boileau and Narcejac’s) constant allusions to other works of art that Madeleine seems to resemble in her various

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