Analysis Of Vertigo

Vertigo is a sensation of whirling and loss of balance, associated particularly with looking down from a great height. This feeling translates to the 1958 movie directed by Alfred Hitchcock titled Vertigo, which is based on the novel “D’entre Les Morts” by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac. The film is a romantic story of obsession, manipulation, and fear. In the film, a detective is forced to retire after his acrophobia, fear of heights, and accompanying vertigo causes the death of a fellow officer. Vertigo is considered to be the greatest mystery film of all time according to American Film Institute’s rankings. I surprisingly agree with this rating as the suspense carries out to the very end of the film. The film created one the most famous effects in cinema history. With time, Vertigo’s greatness was recognized by critics and viewers. During a pursuit across rooftops in San Francisco, Detective John “Scottie” Ferguson slips and is holding on for life to the gutter of a tall building. A fellow officer falls to his death in an attempt to rescue John who …show more content…
John jumps in and rescues her; due to her unconscious state, he takes her back to his apartment. She wakes undressed in his bed and Scottie explains to her that she slipped. As time goes on, the two spend more and more time together. Madeleine tells him about the nightmares about death she is having and the place she describes is a mission in San Juan Bautista. Scottie takes her to San Juan Bautista trying to put her possession notion to rest. But things don’t go as he hoped as she loses it after professing her love to him and runs toward the bell tower. She runs up the stairs with Scottie chasing after, but his acrophobia and vertigo kick in and he is unable to continue up the stairs. He looks out the window in time to see Madeleine’s body fall and land to her