{"id":415,"date":"2009-10-13T22:16:14","date_gmt":"2009-10-13T22:16:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/normanbuckley.com\/blog\/?p=415"},"modified":"2017-07-13T22:24:03","modified_gmt":"2017-07-13T22:24:03","slug":"hitchcock-and-the-patterns-of-vertigo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/normanbuckley.com\/blog\/cinema\/hitchcock-and-the-patterns-of-vertigo\/","title":{"rendered":"HITCHCOCK AND THE PATTERNS OF “VERTIGO”"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

October 13, 2009<\/p>\n

VERTIGO\u00a0was not well-liked upon its initial release, but now is recognized as a classic Hitchcock film and one of the defining works of his career.\u00a0It\u2019s also regarded as one of the great films of all time by a majority of critics. It\u2019s amazing that Hitchcock inspires such strong feelings, both good and bad almost thirty years after his death. Here is a link to a\u00a0short video by A.O. Scott<\/a>\u00a0about the enduring appeal of VERTIGO.<\/p>\n

Whenever I teach, I talk a lot about VERTIGO\u2014particularly Hitchcock\u2019s use of design and color elements; the repetitive patterns, in its blocking, in its framing, and its score; and the use of the intrinsic physicality of his two leads, James Stewart and Kim Novak.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Hitchcock said, “The actor must be an element [of composition] because film is montage. But I do explain the cutting to him so he knows why I’ve asked him to cooperate.” To me, this is one of the most important aspects of directing actors, yet as far as I can tell, one of the most under-utilized. Though one wants an actor to feel at ease and unselfconscious in a scene, I find that it\u2019s helpful if he or she understands what I\u2019m trying to accomplish in terms of\u00a0the pieces<\/i>\u00a0of the scene. (I should add here that there are many directors, actors, and acting teachers who would disagree with me about this approach.\u00a0 But I find that a lot of young actors grasp the value of it very quickly. Perhaps it\u2019s because they are part of a generation that has been raised on computers, and therefore they get onboard with the idea of thinking in a non-linear manner.) Hitchcock also said, “You can do anything you want with montage. Cinema is simply pieces of film put together in a manner that creates ideas and emotions.” VERTIGO is an amazing piece of work in terms of how little the dialogue matters to one\u2019s experience of the film. Actually much of the dialogue feels dated, and more than a little ham-fisted (on the most superficial level, the plot is ridiculous), but the impact of the film\u2019s visuals doesn\u2019t feel dated at all. The power of seeing Kim Novak as Madeleine, moving across a room towards James Stewart, three different times in the film, on exactly the same axis, in exactly the same framing, creates an enormously potent motif that reinforces its themes. She\u2019s presented over and over to the viewer in a manner that reinforces the character Scottie\u2019s first and enduring experience of her, and the moment is always treated as dream-like. She moves slowly and artificially\u2014she seems unreal, because ultimately she, the character, is unreal.<\/div>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n
<\/a><\/div>\n

My favorite shot in the film is the long dolly shot that introduces Madeleine. The camera begins on Scottie, seated at the bar, looking over his right shoulder. The restaurant is full and noisy. The camera moves off him and tracks to the left until it comes to rest on a shot of the entire dining room. Then ever so slowly, like a dream, the sounds of the restaurant drop away and the score begins as the camera slowly tracks in towards Madeleine, with her back towards us. We know who we should be looking at because of the positioning of her body in the frame\u2014she\u2019s posed elegantly, like a painting. Her bare back is exposed, drawing our eye like a magnet. It\u2019s not Scottie\u2019s POV\u2014instead it\u2019s an objective shot that identifies the audience with Scottie. It\u2019s as though Hitchcock is saying, \u201cI want you, the audience, to become as fascinated with this woman as the protagonist is about to become.\u201d For me, it\u2019s masterful filmmaking. And it\u2019s indicative of a mind that understands the power of the dynamics of montage–when to make the shot subjective, when to make the shot objective, and how the difference will affect the audience.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n
<\/a><\/div>\n

The film tracks Scottie\u2019s obsession with Madeleine, piece by piece\u2014his attention and the viewer\u2019s are simultaneously directed towards the specifics of her hair, wardrobe, shoes, jewelry\u2014in such a way that one could turn the sound down entirely and know exactly what Scottie is thinking. Madeleine is frequently shot in profile, reinforcing the idea of Madeleine as an Apollonian ideal (i.e. the idea of imposing an illusion of order on the chaos of the universe). Mirrors are also used throughout the film to reinforce the idea of the ephemeral quality of our ideals, the projected image, and the dual nature of the Madeleine\/Judy Barton character.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The film is stunning in how much it evokes a universal experience of projecting onto a romantic \u201cother\u201d our own ideas of what we want that \u201cother\u201d to be. It captures the sense of how we unconsciously try to duplicate an experience that was meaningful for us, in spite of what it costs us in ignoring the pleasure of a present experience. The tragedy of the film reflects the tragedy of the human condition, when one is unwilling to accept what actually is and to let go of the past. I think that is probably why the film continues to endure, and warrants repeated viewing. It presents an opportunity to ponder one\u2019s own romantic illusions and one\u2019s present choices.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Anybody who thinks that Hitchcock is only an entertainer, and not the most serious of film artists, needs only to watch this video…<\/div>\n
\n