Hitchcock and Stewart deliver a Classic

Rating: 10/10 (15 September 2005)

I have been a die-hard fan of "Vertigo" for over 10 years, having seen it over again and again, but up until now I could not put into words about how I felt about the film until now. And so here I go, pulling you the reader of this review into a story of obsessive love and serious phobias.
As the film opens, we see Detective "Scottie" Ferguson (James Stewart), in pursuit of a criminal with a fellow officer. As he tries to jump across a roof, he slips and falls, hanging on for dear life. The fellow officer, in an attempt to help him, falls to his death. It seems that he has acrophobia, which causes his vertigo and forces him to retire from the force, feeling guilt about the officer's death. Sometime later, while visiting with his former girlfriend Midge (Barbara Bel Geddes), Scottie tells her about Galvin Elster (Tom Helmore), a former college friend that needs his help. It seems that Elster's wife Madeleine (Kim Novak)is acting a bit strange: she goes into trances and disappears for hours without being able to account to her whereabouts. Scottie at first doesn't want anything to do with this. One look at Madeleine however changes his mind. From the moment he lays his eyes on her, he's hooked.
While tailing her, he finds that she is obsessed with an ancestor of hers: an ancestor that went mad and killed herself. Scottie manages to save her from such an attempt (She tries to drown herself in the San Francisco Bay). He starts to fall for her HARD.
During an attempt to help her at the San Juan Batista Mission, Madeleine runs from Scottie and up the tower. Scottie, unable to continue up the tower because of his acrophobia, can only watch in horror as Madeleine falls to her death. The death of the woman that he had fallen in love with is more than he can bear and it drives him to a nervous breakdown.
Sometime later, Scottie, still haunted by Madeleine (And visiting some of her haunts)sees Judy Barton (Novak again), who looks remarkably like Madeleine. Scottie soon becomes obsessed with turning Judy into Madeleine (Even having her sit by the fire the way Madeleine did). Scottie is so desperate to reclaim the love he had for Madeleine that he is oblivious to the deceptions that have been surrounding him: He is truly falling in love with an illusion.
All the parts of the film work wonderfully, from Saul Bass' opening titles to Bernard Herrmann's incredibly haunting music. But it is Stewart and Novak that bring the film it's life. When Scottie looks at Judy emerge out of the bathroom as his lost Madeleine, the green light makes her look as if she is truly a ghost, returning from the dead to once again love Scottie.
If you have never seen this film, then you are missing one of Alfred Hitchcock's classic films. This is truly a classic film and a must have in your collection. You will absolutely fall in love with the film.