So we venture out last night to watch Alfred Hitchcock's "Vertigo" (1958) on the Big Screen. First of all, kudos once again to Turner Classic Movies and Fathom Events for presenting this series.
Some quick thoughts and a question....
- I have seen "Vertigo" many times, but this was the first time on a big screen in a movie theater. Huge flat screen high def televisions and Blue-ray discs are great, but, trust me, any movie is better in an honest-to-God movie theater.
- There are some film scholars and critics who will tell you that "Vertigo" is the greatest movie ever made, and certainly Hitchcock's greatest movie. Yeah, it's a good movie, but I personally would rate "Rear Window", "Notorious", "Psycho", and "To Catch A Thief" ahead of it in the Hitchcock canon alone.
- A measure of how great an actor James Stewart was can be seen in "Vertigo". In the beginning of this movie, he mostly plays "Jimmy Stewart", but as the movie progresses, he goes against type, and becomes sort of weird and not all that likable, but it is totally believable.
- Kim Novak sure was beautiful.
- The character I feel really bad for is the one played by Barbara Bel Geddes. A great performance by her.
- The "green scene" in the hotel room between Stewart and Novak, and if you've seen the movie, you know what I'm talking about, is a spectacular piece of film making.
- Perhaps the best "character" in this movie is the City of San Francisco. As much as anything else, I enjoy watching this movie for the location scenes of that city throughout.
Okay, now for the question for those who have seen this movie. You all know how it ends and the final shot of the movie (I'll say no more so as to avoid spoilers.) If Hitchcock hadn't ended the movie where he did, what would have happened next?
Coming in May in the TCM Big Screen Classic series....."Sunset Boulevard". Can't wait to see that one on a Big Screen.
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