Talk:Vertigo (film)

message: Hello! This is a note to let the editors of this article know that :File:Vertigomovie restoration.jpg will be appearing as picture of the day on July 18, 2015. You can view and edit the POTD blurb at Template:POTD/2015-07-18. If this article needs any attention or maintenance, it would be preferable if that could be done before its appearance on the Main Page. Thanks! — Chris Woodrich (talk) 00:14, 27 June 2015 (UTC)
thread_title:  [[:File:Vertigomovie restoration.jpg]] to appear as POTD 

message: This comment is intended as a conversation starter. Commenting on an acclaimed masterpiece is always a little daunting and writing about Hitchcock’s Vertigo is no exception. Since I first saw it in the early 1960s, apparently some critics have claimed it to be the best movie ever made – a big statement!
While the direction is superb, as is the dialogue, the photography brilliant given the equipment then available, and the acting more than adequate, I do find fault with aspects of the plot.
If anyone doesn’t know and doesn’t want to know the story, I suggest they stop reading now.
To start at the end, Judy’s accidental death when startled by a nun is too much of a coincidence to be convincing. It also looks a little like divine intervention, which is unacceptable because of my next point. The death of Judy lets the murderer off. While she is alive, there is the option of her (and Scotty) making statements to the police and getting Madeleine’s killer, Gavin, extradited. Without her, justice is frustrated so it’s unlikely God would have caused her demise. It also leaves a major loose end hanging out of the end of the movie. If Judy had confessed her part in the murder to Scotty when she realized that they loved each other, there was a possibility of justice. There were many opportunities for that.
Scotty recognizing that pendant, and realizing he has been duped, a major turning point in the plot, is not handled well. Since it’s inconceivable that Judy intended to wear that pendant in front of Scotty, her unconscious chose it for her, meaning that wanted him to recognize it. It is a very Freudian moment but the possibility of confession and (perhaps) reconciliation remains unexplored.  An important point the film does make is that she was not a murderer, only an accessory to murder, albeit before, during and after. Scotty and Judy remain sympathetic protagonists right through the film and that always helps to carry a story.
The character of Madeleine, on the other hand, is left completely blank. We never meet her, except as a falling corpse. What was Gavin’s motive for killing her? Did she deserve to be murdered or not? Were there attempts at negotiating a property settlement? We’ll never know. I found myself surmising that the movie was made around ten years after WWII and much of the US and its film industry was so accustomed to sudden death that an apparently motiveless murder was simply acceptable.
The last unresolved issue is Midge, who truly loved Scotty and was prepared to go to great trouble to help him. She followed the doctor’s advice and tried to shock him out of his depression. This failed but she is just left there, calling herself an idiot for trying. I find this most unsatisfactory.
There also seem to be odd bits of dialogue that indicate that various protagonists knew more about other protagonists than they should but they are only minor and I’d need to see the movie a few times to document them…
As I watched, I recalled the story and always knew what was about to happen but, nevertheless, I got totally caught up into the tension as it increased towards that final scene, thanks to wonderful directing. Despite the, to my mind, quite major problems with the plot, I loved seeing Vertigo for the second time in over fifty years and, well, I might just see it again.
Jolyon Sykes (talk) 02:21, 11 August 2015 (UTC)
thread_title:  Comment on the plot of Vertigo: a little like a swiss cheese  

message: Apparently something called the foreign censorship committee required an extended ending in order to address the matter of Gavin Estler's not having to answer for Madelaine's murder. See http://www.filmsite.org/vert4.html. The article could be improved by someone who has seen this ending.
Jolyon Sykes (talk) 23:52, 11 August 2015 (UTC)
replies: text: There's already a section discussing the alternate ending. DonIago (talk) 03:28, 12 August 2015 (UTC)
thread_title:  Supplemental ending version of Vertigo 

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thread_title:  External links modified 

message: Themes section currently includes this passage: Critics have interpreted Vertigo variously as "a tale of male aggression and visual control; as a map of female Oedipal trajectory; as a deconstruction of the male construction of femininity and of masculinity itself; as a stripping bare of the mechanisms of directorial, Hollywood studio and colonial oppression; and as a place where textual meanings play out in an infinite regress of self-reflexivity." 
Above cites one source from a reputable journal. The content, however, reads as dense and at times downright unintelligible. Employs academic jargon. Likely doesn’t reach notability standards for inclusion in article altogether. Seeking advice from others on how to proceed.
Mihir.pethe1 (talk) 13:17, 29 March 2020 (UTC)
replies: text: Seems to me that although the text itself is a little on the precious side the information comes from reputable cited sources. There's nothing that says Wikipedia *has* to be written exclusively for seventh graders. If someone puts in information that is of more interest (and understanding) to PhD candidates than seventh graders, as long as it doesn't *dominate* the article or section, then I would definitely leave it in. As in this particular case. Hayford Peirce (talk) 16:15, 29 March 2020 (UTC)
thread_title:  “Themes” section devolves into postmodern theory 

message: :The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review after discussing it on the closer's talk page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.
The result of the move request was: not moved. (closed by non-admin page mover) Vpab15 (talk) 15:07, 11 October 2023 (UTC)
replies: text: Vertigo (film) →  – Disambiguate from other films with the same name. It may well be that, BarrelProof apparently believes, we should make an exception to WP:PRIMARYFILM here, but deliberately making exceptions to titling guidelines, if necessary, is something that should be done via a RM rather than a unilateral action. * Pppery * it has begun... 22:05, 29 September 2023 (UTC)
replies: text: Note: Announcement of this discussion appears at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Film. —Roman Spinner (talk • contribs) 01:21, 2 October 2023 (UTC)
thread_title:  Requested move 29 September 2023