Vertigo

When I was in high school, and just discovering that films worth seeing were made before Star Wars, I decided to watch Hitchcock's Vertigo. I don't remember the exact circumstances, but I distinctly remember being underwhelmed. "This is Hitchcock's masterpiece?" I thought to myself, a thought followed by one wondering if I should bother with his other films.

But then I watched North by Northwest and was mesmerized. I watched Psycho and was chilled. I watched Rebecca and was entranced. So I assumed that Vertigo was a fluke, and I simply didn't agree that it was the director's masterpiece.

Last night I discovered that I hadn't seen Vertigo at all those many years ago. When I saw all the other Hitchcock films I loved, I saw restored and remastered versions. But Vertigo wasn't restored until 1996, a few years after I watched the film. What I had seen was a squashed, desaturated film that lost Hitchcock's framing and color scheme, two elements he felt were essential to a film's emotional impact.

He was right. Watching Vertigo last night was a revelation. The reds and greens that dominate the film add the the spiral of obsession into which we are pulled. Putting Kim Novak, remade for the film into an icy Hitchcock blond, into a grey suit is off-putting because it does not look right on her. That color choice makes you feel that something is off before you know for certain. And when Judy is remade as Madeline at the movie's climax, the green fog she emerges out of and the swirling camera work bring everything together technically in an emotionally satisfying way.

Vertigo is still not my favorite Hitchcock film (that honor would either go to North by Northwest or Rebecca) but last night's viewing did make me reevaluate the film, see it for the amazing achievement it is, and want to watch it again to catch a few more of the layers upon which Hitchcock built.