Greatest American movie of all time

Rating: 10/10 (26 September 1998)

Vertigo is the greatest English-language movie of all time. It goes deeper than any other film and its exploration of obsessive love should be required viewing for anyone concerned with the human condition. Unfortunately, it's also a vastly under-appreciated film.
I've seen Vertigo in the theater maybe 9 or 10 times, more than any other movie. The audience is always on the verge of booing at the end. I can sympathize with them. I didn't like it the first time I saw it either. The movie has a major plot twist about three-quarters of the way through and an ending that is anything but traditional Hollywood. Hitchcock's Psycho also has a big plot twist, but it happens much earlier in the story, and Psycho is more superficial and less emotionally involving.
The second time I saw Vertigo, its greatness came through and I was able to appreciate it for the masterpiece - and I don't use that word lightly - that it is. All the things that moviegoers may object to - the slow pace, protagonist's breakdown, non-happy ending - they're all integral to its greatness. See it again and again and you may appreciate it, too. Vertigo is head and shoulders above Hitchcock's other movies.