I am absolutely stunned at this comment. This is an incredibly complex, layered film dealing with fear, dreams and reality, love, murder, and this film is also a showcase of symbolism:
-The green/red reality vs Ethereal.
-Scottie always spiraling down somehow, be it with his vertigo, driving (always downhill), or falling, this depicts his mental breakdown throughout the film.
-Vertigo also showcases co-dependancy at it's worst, as Madeleine and her husband use scottie as part of thier scheme, Scottie also becomes absolutely dependant on Madeleine for his delusional fantasy. In the second act, after the apparent death of Madeleine, Scottie uses Judy (who is actually Madie) as his fantastical artists pallate, as he tries to remake Judy into the image of his lost obsession (while in reality it is really her!!). This mechanic is ingenius, showing us Hitchcock at his peak.
The opening scene bears mention as well, as it sets up the mental state of our character perfectly. This is a man barely clutching his sanity. He has lost his dream to become chief of police, directly due to his being diagnosed with vertigo. The fact that he is left hanging on the ledge at the beginning of the film also subtly states that he has a long way down to go yet, and we will be along for the ride.
Hitchcock's use of filters in this film was also spectacular, in my mind. The fog filters used in the graveyard scene and the hotel scene is used perfectly to give the impression of a dreamlike state. The use of green lighting (see screenshot posted in cinematography thread) also adds to the ethereal feel of some scenes. Contrasting this is the use of red in the film, for instance after Mady plunges into the ocean, and is rescued by Scottie, Hitchcock shoots the scene where Scottie undresses Mady in a very deliberate way, symbolising a stripping down of the dreamlike apparition he has been tailing. When she emerges from the bedroom after waking up, she is clothed in a red (reality) robe, and seems a much more normal, down to earth person, for the first time in the film.
Eventually Scottie becomes obsessed with Madie, and at the end of the first act, watches as the only meaning he had left in his life comes crashing down on a rooftop. But alas, it's all an illusion. We come to find Scottie has been manipulated. After reading about "That thing in the paper", Scotties "old friend" had concocted a murder scheme to kill his wife, and wanted to fake the death of his wife (she was unaware of this until the first girl drops), so that when he actually killed her, it would go unnoticed. Quite an intricate plan, and Scottie was the perfect fall guy.
But wait!! The film is only HALF over. Here lies the biggest complaint I have heard about Vertigo, the murder is solved half way through! Clearly, Hitchcock's film is about something else, not just a mundane whodunnit!
I could go on for paragraphs about this, one of my favorite films of all time. But I would rather people watch it again (almost required) before passing judgement. This film is about the characters mostly, but also dreams, reality, perception, death, fear, obsession and so much more that transcends an average murder flick.
A beautiful and intricate work of art, as far as I am concerned.
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