Member review

The title of the film, Vertigo, is a reference to the lead's fear of heights which is important throughout the film. The film opens with a scene showing how Scottie had developed this fear with the first dolly zoom, an important effect that is shown multiple times in the film. Hitchcock's use of the dolly zoom in Vertigo made the effect famous. Spirals are also a repeated motif in the film with Madeleine's hair and the painting of the women suspected to me possessing Madeleine. I did enjoy the mystery because it wasn't just the common murder mystery however there were some parts that I thought went on for too long. The scenes of Scottie following Madeleine were full of suspense despite them being mostly silent. I liked how Hitchcock used the famous Hitchcock blonde to show how Scottie was obsessed with Madeleine's persona but not the real woman. The ending was very surprising but still referred back to the start with Scottie's vertigo. Overall I enjoyed the film and I understand why it's such a classic.