Vertigo

Vertigo (1958)

Timing: 2:8 (128 min)

8.147/10
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7.892/10
56558

8.2/10
456000

All about film

Video 21

Photo 232

Actors and characters

Release date

1958-05-09

Country

United States

Production

Paramount, Alfred J. Hitchcock Productions

Genre

Mystery, Romance, Thriller

Budget

$2 479 000

Revenue

$7 808 900

Website

Director

Alfred Hitchcock

Actors

James Stewart, Kim Novak, Barbara Bel Geddes, Tom Helmore, Henry Jones, Raymond Bailey, Ellen Corby, Konstantin Shayne, Lee Patrick, Bess Flowers
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Producer

Alfred Hitchcock

Operator

Robert Burks

Composer

Bernard Herrmann

Artist

Audition

Editing

George Tomasini
All team (24)

• The film is based on the novel "Les Yeux Sans Visage" (From Among the Dead, 1954), co-written by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac.
• The rights to the film were bought back by the director himself and constituted his daughter's inheritance, so new generations of viewers only saw this film in 1985.
• Filming took place from September 30, 1957, to December 19, 1957.
• For the role of Madeleine, Hitchcock planned to cast Vera Miles, but she was forced to decline due to pregnancy.
• Vertigo is the fourth and last collaboration between Alfred Hitchcock and James Stewart.
• The film was met with a cold reception from both critics and audiences. A devastated Hitchcock blamed the failure on the lead actor, James Stewart, saying that he had exhausted himself and his best years were behind him. Hitchcock never filmed Stewart in his films again, although he had previously considered him a favorite.
• During filming, Hitchcock and Kim Novak had a very strained relationship. Firstly, Hitchcock considered Vera Miles the ideal Madeleine, and Novak was imposed on him by the studio bosses. Secondly, Kim periodically gave Hitchcock advice, which the director disliked.
• Hitchcock's cameo – he walks down the street in a grey suit at the beginning of the film.
• The screenplay for the film, initially titled Darkling I Listen, was commissioned from the renowned playwright Maxwell Anderson. Hitchcock was dissatisfied with the result and turned to professional screenwriter Alec Coppel for help. The version of the script he proposed also ended up in the trash. Samuel Taylor prepared the third draft, who was recommended to Hitchcock as an expert on the topography of San Francisco. Despite Taylor's objections, Coppel managed to prove that his work was retained in the final script. Both are credited as screenwriters in the credits.
• To emphasize Judy's down-to-earth vulgarity, Kim Novak did not wear a bra during filming.
• Hitchcock found the Mission San Juan Bautista tower insufficiently impressive, so a replica of the desired height was built on the studio lot. The scenes on the staircase were also filmed in a studio pavilion.
• Madeline's light grey suit was chosen with psychological discomfort in mind (blondes almost never wear this color).
• From the point of view of cinematography, the most difficult thing was to capture the famous "dizzying" shot when Scottie looks down the stairs. Vertical shooting required the use of a lift, which cost an incredible amount of money. "Why not make a model of the stairs, lay it on its side, and shoot by moving away from it? We can do without any lift," Hitchcock reasoned. The combination of optical zoom with camera tracking, first used in this scene, became known in cinematography as the Vertigo effect. Space simultaneously approaches and recedes, as if obeying the logic of a nightmare.
• This is the first Hitchcock film to be included in the National Film Registry (and in its very first year of existence).
• In 1983, after cleaning and restoration, the film was re-released for the first time in 35mm with stereo sound. In 1996, "Vertigo" was re-released after a lengthy restoration that sparked much controversy. Under the direction of Robert Harris and James Katz, the color palette was adjusted and virtually the entire soundtrack was re-recorded in DTS. The key emerald-green hue, crucial to understanding the film, was recreated based on a sample of enamel from Madeleine's car, obtained from the Ford Motor Company archives. Despite the thoroughness of the restoration, it had its opponents, who accused Katz and Harris of distorting the director's vision.
• A postscript to the film was also shot, banned by European censorship, but not included in the original American version. In it, we see John, more or less recovered, listening with Midge to a report about the capture of Gavin Elster in Europe.
• Hitchcock's idea to reveal the circumstances of Madeleine's death in an unsent letter (practically in the middle of the film) sparked lengthy disputes among the film's creators. This was a significant departure from the book and screenplay. "The Master of Suspense" was convinced that genuine tension only arises when the audience knows a little more than the protagonist. At Hitchcock's insistence, both versions of the film were presented to the studio executives, and the version with the unsent letter received the "green light" at the very last moment.
• The film is based on the novel “From the Dead” (D'entre les morts, 1954), co-written by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac.
• From the point of view of cinematography, the most difficult thing was to obtain the famous “dizzying” shot when Scotty looks down the stairs. Vertical shooting required the use of a lift, which cost an incredible amount of money. “Why not make a model of the stairs, lay it on its side, and shoot by moving away from it? You can do without any lift,” Hitchcock reasoned. The combination of optical zoom with camera tracking, first used in this scene, received the name the Vertigo effect in cinematography. The space at the same time simultaneously approaches and moves away, as if obeying the logic of a nightmare.
• In 1983, after cleaning and restoration, the film was re-released for the first time in theaters on 35mm film with stereo sound. In 1996, “Vertigo” was re-released after a lengthy restoration that sparked much controversy. Under the direction of Robert Harris and James Katz, the color palette was adjusted and virtually the entire soundtrack was re-recorded in DTS. The key emerald-green hue for understanding the film was recreated based on an enamel sample from Madeleine’s car, obtained from the Ford Motor Company archives. Despite the meticulousness of the restoration, it had its detractors, who accused Katz and Harris of distorting the director’s vision.
• The idea of Hitchcock revealing the circumstances of Madeleine’s death in an unsent letter (almost in the middle of the film) sparked long debates among the film’s creators. This was a significant departure from the book and script. The “Master of Suspense” was convinced that genuine tension arises only when the audience knows slightly more than the protagonist. At Hitchcock’s insistence, both versions of the film were presented to studio management for consideration, with the version containing the unsent letter receiving the “green light” at the very last moment.