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Chasing rainbows…

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With a lift of his chin, and a bit of a grin, without any doubting or quiddit, he started to sing and he tackled the thing, that couldn't be done, and he did it

Vertigo

Since the previous pairing of Alfred Hitchcock and James Stewart had not gone well in Rear Window, I was not certain how successful seeing another collaboration between them would be. Vertigo is deemed as Hitchcock’s masterpiece, but then again much praise is reaped upon Rear Window, and we know how that went…

Vertigo stars the aforementioned James Stewart as a police officer who suffers an accident while chasing a criminal, and then suffers from a fear of heights there after. As such he retires from the force, and is idling passing the time until he is contacted by an old school friend who is worried by his wife’s unusual behaviour. He is asked to follow the wife to ensure she doesn’t get herself involved in any danger or hurts herself in any way.

I was intrigued by the plot. The wife’s unusual behaviour was a mystery, and watching it be solved had me captivated. A lot of credit must go to Alfred Hitchcock who’s ability to set up a scene, to direct his actors, and even to spend an entire week lighting one short scene, is unsurpassed in this movie. Vertigo is also excellently scripted, and as mentioned the plot and storyline was superb, and far better than I had ever expected.

It would seem that, although I didn’t like Rear Window, I am a fan of James Steward. I enjoy each one of his performances, I believe the total is just three, and seem to like his style and his unique sound. I know any other film I find with his name on the cast list, I’ll watch.

Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo is a superb film, certainly one of the more enjoyable that I have seen. It’s a classic, go buy it now :)

Rating: 10/10
Summary: Alfred Hitchcock and James Stewart hit new heights with Vertigo
Memorable moment: [1:13:55] - Vertigo, heights and a twist
Top 100 position: 33
IMDB: Vertigo
Buy it from: Amazon
Films remaining: 82

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