Overhyped.

Rating: 5/10 (7 October 1999)

If you are a Hitchcock fan (or wish to be one!) watch "North by Northwest". If you a James Stewart fan, you could watch "It's a wonderful life". If you like both, then do watch "Rear window". But "Vertigo" can be safely given the miss without ever having a reason to regret it. For what it delivers, it's forty-five minutes too long, lacks the technical finesse of some of Hitchcock's later films ("North ...", "The Birds", "Psycho"), and is completely unconvincing (and often contrived).
Of course, Kim Novak looks smashing! But then, we all have our virtues.