Beautiful, haunting, ahead of its time...

Rating: 10/10 (27 December 2000)

Vertigo is one of those movies that has been studied and written about by more worthy film buffs than I. So, without going into plot, Vertigo has three features which set it apart for me... Vertigo captures a snap shot of San Francisco which acts as more than an incidental backdrop for a movie. Hitchcock fell in love with the Bay City and had decided years before he would film a thriller spanning its hilly streets and monuments. Second, Herrmann's soundtrack is among the most haunting and memorable of any movie. Rarely has another soundtrack so successfully created a mood that a movie would have lacked otherwise. Finally, for me, the overall dreamy milieu of Vertigo not only sets it apart from other Hitchcock thrillers, but also makes it one of those films that haunts and grows in my conscience as time passes. When first released, Vertigo received lukewarm appraise from audiences and critics alike. Seen as Hitchcock's most personal endeavour, Vertigo has gradually been elevated to the rank of timeless classic. I envy anyone who views it for the first time.