EMC / JOUR 3000 Introduction to Motion Pictures Edward Bowen Study Guide: “Vertigo” (1958)

Paramount Pictures. Produced and Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Screenplay by Alec Coppel and Samuel A. Taylor. From a story by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejax Cinematography by Robert Burks. Edited by George Tomasini. Music by Bernard Herrmann. Title Sequence and Poster Design by Saul Bass Starring James Stewart, Kim Novak, Barbara Bel Gedded

BACKGROUND

– In 1955, four years before the beginning of the French New Wave,American audiences were startled and scandalized by the violence and the psychological/sexual complexity of a French import. The movie was “Diabolique,”directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot from a novel by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac. Alfred Hitchcock was impressed both by the film’s audacious content and its box office success, and it probably influenced both “Vertigo” and “Psycho.”

Legend has it that Clouzot snatched the rights to the novel away from Hitchcock, and that the authors penned the novel"D'Entre Les Morts” specifically for Hitchcock. This is probably apocryphal, but Hitchcock did purchase the rights to "D'Entre Les Morts,” and it became the basis for “Vertigo. ”The film makes extensive use of San Francisco as a locale. Hitchcock had wanted to seta film in the city for many years, and “Vertigo” seemed perfectly suited to the hilly city.

STYLE AND TECHNIQUE: •

The Dolly-Zoom – The Zoomar, or zoom, lens was invented for 35mm film production in 1932. The introduction of television production in the late 1940slead to an expanded use of the device, although filmmakers avoided the use of zooms in feature films until the fall of the rise of independent production in the late 1960s. Hitchcock had first thought of the effect for his film adaptation of “Rebecca” in 1940, but the technology was insufficient to the task. He saw the disorienting possibility of dollying and zooming counter moves to make distances seem to stretch away or backgrounds to crush inward. In “Vertigo,” Hitchcock was able to accomplish the effect, but only on miniatures placed horizontally on their sides. What is the effect of this technique? What makes it appropriate to the content of “Vertigo?” •

Soft Focus – Hitchcock makes use of traditional glamour effects, but places the min discomforting contexts. Look for the use of soft focus on actress Kim Novak. Does the effect have a different impact in the second half of the film than the first? •

Circular Dolly – Hitchcock also employs a circular dolly to romantic effect, but again with a twist. What is the impact of the circular dolly and the way in whichit reveals the surroundings? •

Point-of-View Shots – To place us in the mind of the main character, Hitchcock uses a technique that was a hallmark of his style – the point-of-view shot. Simply put, we see someone look at something, then see how it looks to them, or through their eyes. How does this technique create sympathy, empathy, and identification?

Dream Sequence – What techniques does Hitchcock use to recreate Scotty’s nightmare? How are these appropriate to the story? •

Hitchcock uses bright and vibrant colors to emotional and narrative effect. Can you identify when certain colors are used, and what characters or situation they may be associated with? "Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy meets girl again, boy loses girl again" Alfred Hitchcock (describing the plot of “Vertigo”) DRAMA: •

Narrative Privilege – Narrative privilege refers to the privilege of knowledge. What do we as the viewer know? What do the characters know? Do we know more that the characters? Do the characters know more than us? “Vertigo” has an almost unique structure, divided in half by the death of Madeline. Narrative privilege, or point of view, shifts from the first to the second half. How does this happen? Why? To what effect? •

Aristotle tells us that prime elements of a complex drama are recognition and reversal. The tragic hero may receive some revelation or recognition(anagnorisis) about the events surrounding him and the impact of fate, destiny and the will of the gods on the hero. A reversal (peripeteia) occurs when the events turn in a different direction then expected, what we might now call a twist. Apply these concepts to “Vertigo.” •

How does Scotty’s manipulation of Judy’s “image” mirror that of the relationshipof a director to his star? •

In the novel, the reader does not find out about Judy’s part in Madeline’s death until Scotty figures it out. The studio and the writer wanted to keep it this way. It was Hitchcock who insisted that this be revealed to the audience early in the second half. Why would he insist on this? What effect does it have on the viewer’s experience of the story thereafter? •

``Did he train you? Did he rehearse you? Did he tell you what to do and what to say?'' Scotty AUTEUR: Alfred Hitchcock had directed over fifty films when he came to make “Vertigo,” among them “The 39 Steps,” “The Lady Vanishes,” “Rebecca,” “Shadow of a Doubt,” “Notorious,” “Strangers on a Train” and “Rear Window.” Yet to come were “North by Northwest,” “Psycho” and “The Birds.” “Vertigo” would be Hitchcock’s personal favorite. Among the common characteristics and recurring motifs in Hitchcock’s films that appear in “Vertigo” are •

The Hitchcock Blonde, cool and poised on the outside, passionate within •

Imaginative, complex and innovative camerawork •

The use of familiar settings •

Voyeurism •

Disguise and mistaken identity

GENRE: In some ways, “Vertigo” fits into a genre of overblown, exaggerated, even stylized romantic dramas of the 1950s, and can be seen, in its operatic approach to romance, exaggerated colors, and melodramatic emotions and acting, as a reaction to them. These films are epitomized by the work of Director Douglas Sirk and such films as ALL THAT HEAVEN ALLOWS (1955) (http://www.criterion.com/films/635-all-that-heaven-allows), MAGNIFICENT OBSESSION (1954)(http://www.criterion.com/films/973-magnificent-obsession), WRITTEN ON THEWIND (1956) (http://www.criterion.com/films/636-written-on-the-wind),andINTERLUDE (1957) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrEoh7mcpbM).The operatictendencies of “Vertigo” are reflected in its score, which Bernard Herrmann based on Richard Wagner’s “Tristan and Isolde.” For a summary of operatic style, see this Warner Brothers cartoon - WHAT’S OPERA DOC (http://fan.tcm.com/_34What39s-Opera-Doc34-1957/video/1640123/66470.html)and WHAT’S OPERA DOC VERTIGOED(http://vimeo.com/35357553). Additional Resources: Interview: Alfred Hitchcock and Francois Truffaut (Aug/1962) – Part 21 “Vertigo”http://www.hitchcockwiki.com/wiki/Interview:_Alfred_Hitchcock_and_Francois_Tuffaut_(Aug/ 1962)Roger Ebert on “Vertigo”http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19961013/REVIEWS08/401010371/1 023 Art of the Titlehttp://www.artofthetitle.com/title/vertigo/ Film Locations for “Vertigo”http://www.movie-locations.com/movies/v/vertigo_1.html Five Plot Point Breakdownshttp://thescriptlab.com/screenplay/five-plot-point-breakdowns/1180-vertigo-1958 The Film Spectrumhttp://thefilmspectrum.com/?p=6832 A Bright Wall in a Dark Roomhttp://brightwalldarkroom.com/post/34362095208/sight-sound-list-1-vertigo-1958 Finding Equilibrium in Hitchcock’s “Vertigo”http://youtu.be/wpzbe_mnGJM “Vertigo” Color Symbolismhttp://faculty.cua.edu/johnsong/hitchcock/pages/stills-vertigo/colors.html Hitchcock, “Vertigo” and the Uncannyhttp://www.alfredhitchcockgeek.com/2010/05/hitchcock-vertigo-and- uncanny.html Hitchcock's Vertigo The collapse of a rescue phantasyhttp://www.psychoanalysis.org.uk/epff3/berman.htm The Obsession with the Past in Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo http://waysofseeing.org/vertigo.htmlFaith No More – “Last Cup of Sorrow”https://vimeo.com/37349314 “Vertigo”http://hitchcock.tv/essays/vertigoessay.html Last Laugh - Was Hitchcock's Masterpiece Vertigo a Private Joke?http://brightlightsfilm.com/18/18_vertigo.php