A Hitchcock Masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (2 January 2001)

Many believe that this was greatest work of a master renowned for the outstanding direction of suspense thrillers. Alfred Hitchcock creates a vortex of emotion and deception in this classic film about obsession.
There are so many complex themes to this story that it requires several viewings to appreciate. It metamorphoses numerous times, shifting from a detective story, to a love story, to a murder mystery, and finally to neurotic obsession. It is a deep character study of flawed characters. Some are not what they appear to be and others change before our eyes.
Hitchcock's direction is superb, not only from the standpoint of assembling the story, but from a technical perspective as well. The photography, lighting and perspectives are brilliantly done and locations wonderfully selected, especially the shots at the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge. Hitchcock also brings forth outstanding performances from Kim Novak and James Stewart. Stewart generally played admirable and heroic characters in his career so the deeply flawed John Ferguson was a clear departure for him. This is probably his best and most gut wrenching performance and I don't think it would have been possible without Hitchcock's direction because Hitchcock was the master of bringing such characters to life. Novak and Barbara Bel Geddes (most famous as Miss Ellie on TV's `Dallas') also give excellent performances.
Bernard Herrmann's musical score is superlative. It is beautiful, compelling and chilling and brought additional power to almost every scene. Hitchcock had such great respect for Herrmann that he stated during production that whether the scenes of the film worked or not depended completely on the music Herrmann would write. He trusted that Herrmann would create just the right mood, and he was correct.
The DVD version presents us with a completely restored version of the film with rich color and powerful sound. The new DVD is the only way to watch this film if one hopes to experience it the way it was originally presented in 1958.
This film is ranked number 61 on AFI's top 100 movies of the century. I rated it a 10/10. It was virtually ignored at the Academy Awards garnering only two nominations for set decoration and sound. However, it endures in the opinion of many as one of the best suspense thrillers ever made.