Stars: James Stewart, Kim Novak, Barbara Bel Geddes, Henry Jones, Ellen Corby, Lee Patrick, Raymond Bailey, Tom Helmore, Paul Bryar, Roland Got, Jack Richardson, Konstantin Shayne

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Summary: Psychological drama about a detective who is led through a complicated series of frauds. He falls in love with the woman he is assigned to follow, only to see her commit suicide...or so he thinks...

VERTIGO is Alfred Hitchcock's haunting tale of deception, madness, and death, a masterful exploration of fantasy and anxiety. The film ranks with REAR WINDOW as one of the director's most closely studied films for its psychological complexity, while the obsession of its protagonist--John "Scottie" Ferguson (James Stewart)--can also be seen to parallel that of Hitchcock's own fascination with the icy-blonde leading lady he recreated at the center of so many of his films. Scottie Ferguson is a retired detective, his career ended by the onset of a paralyzing fear of heights. An old friend, the wealthy Gavin Elster (Tom Helmore), hires Ferguson to follow his wife (Kim Novak), whom, he explains, has grown obsessed with an ancestor of hers. The assignment draws Ferguson out of his comfortable role as observer and into a complex web of intrigue, mingled with the detective's own fantasies and fears. Stewart gives an exceptional performance as the disintegrating detective, while Novak, who was left largely undirected by Hitchcock, conveys a subtle and powerful psychological journey. Another star of the film is its San Francisco setting. VERTIGO is considered one of Hitchcock's finest and most complex films.

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Although it wasn't a box-office success when originally released in 1958, Vertigo has since taken its deserved place as Alfred Hitchcock's greatest, most spellbinding, most deeply personal achievement. In fact, it consistently ranks among the top 10 movies ever made in the once-a-decade Sight & Sound international critics poll, placing at number 4 in the most recent survey. (Universal Pictures' spectacularly gorgeous 1996 restoration and rerelease of this 1958 Paramount production was a tremendous success with the public, too.) James Stewart plays a retired police detective who is hired by an old friend to follow his wife (a superb Kim Novak, in what becomes a double role), whom he suspects of being possessed by the spirit of a dead madwoman. The detective and the disturbed woman fall ("fall" is indeed the operative word) in love and...well, to give away any more of the story would be criminal. Shot around San Francisco (the Golden Gate Bridge and the Palace of the Legion of Honor are significant locations) and elsewhere in Northern California (the redwoods, Mission San Juan Batista) in rapturous Technicolor, Vertigo is as lovely as it is haunting. --Jim Emerson

Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Interactive menu
Year:	1958
Release Date:	June 4, 2007
Runtime:	124 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	8249066
Keywords:	English, General, Vertigo, Thriller
Genre:	Thriller