Rating: PG
Genre:
Mystery
Theatrical Release: 05/28/1958(USA)
Release Date: 10/07/2008
SubTitles: English/Espanol/French
Dubbed: English
Sound: DD5.1/DDM2.0
Run Time: 130 Minutes
Flags: Violence, Adult Situations, Not For Children
Distributor/Studio: Universal Studios
Dismissed when first released, later heralded as one of director
Alfred Hitchcock's finest films (and, according to Hitchcock, his most personal one), this adaptation of the French novel
D'entre les morts weaves an intricate web of obsession and deceit. It opens as Scottie Ferguson (
James Stewart) realizes he has vertigo, a condition resulting in a fear of heights, when a police officer is killed trying to rescue him from falling off a building. Scottie then retires from his position as a private investigator, only to be lured into another case by his old college friend, Gavin Elster (
Tom Helmore). Elster's wife, Madeleine (
Kim Novak), has been possessed by a spirit, and Elster wants Scottie to follow her. He hesitantly agrees, and thus begins the film's wordless montage as Scottie follows the beautiful yet enigmatic Madeleine through 1950s San Francisco (accompanied by
Bernard Herrmann's hypnotic score). After saving her from suicide, Scottie begins to fall in love with her, and she appears to feel the same way. Here tragedy strikes, and each twist in the movie's second half changes our preconceptions about the characters and events. In 1996 a new print of
Vertigo was released, restoring the original grandeur of the colors and the San Francisco backdrop, as well as digitally enhancing the soundtrack.
~ Dylan Wilcox, All Movie Guide
Average Review:
Number of reviews: 1
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A reviewer
from Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Hitchcock's Most Personal Favorite.
James Stewart's final collaboration with Alfred Hitchcock is considered to be one of Hitch's most discussed movies ever. This haunting, dreamlike thriller was adapted by Alec Coppel and Samuel Taylor from the novel, D'entre les morts by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac. Stewart plays a retired San Francisco police detective trying to overcome his acrophobia (fear of heights) while trying to keep an eye on the beautiful wife of an old school chum, and he eventually, falls in love with his beautiful quarry...and that's only the beginning. Bernard Herrmann's haunting musical score is very riveting just by listening to it alone. Also starring Kim Novak, Barbara Bel Geddes, Tom Helmore, Henry Jones, Ellen Corby, Raymond Bailey, and Lee Patrick.
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