I have been baffled for years as to why this is ranked so high in the Hitchcock canon. I've always remembered this as being a bit slow and boring like nothing happens, so I decided to give it another chance on Blu-ray. The good news is...the Blu-ray restoration looks amazing. Seeing a late 1950s San Francisco on film is truly spectacular. The bad news is...this movie is just as boring as I remember. Nothing happens! Guy follows a lady, this lady may or may not be nuts and is related to a lady who committed suicide. This lady kills herself, Jimmy Stewart is tried in court by the most asshole judge ever, then is crazy for a scene, then finds a lady who looks like the lady, turns out that is the lady, then boom, she is spooked off the tower. Okay, when I say it all like that, stuff does happen. And when written, those twists seem interesting. But putting them in a two hour movie, there is a whole lot of padding....including a scene where his platonic best friend paints herself into the painting of the famous lady. Man, that was awkward. Also, that end scene is so abrupt and out of nowhere. I know we're watching this with 2016 eyes, maybe it wasn't as jarring to a 1950s audience. But that scene is shot as if the nun was spying from the corner where the husband hid. She approaches in the shadows, gives one creepy line, then Kim Novak falls off for real. I get why the nun was shot like that, it's supposed to make us think its sinister and supposed to scare Kim Novak, but I'm just not buying it. It's too much of a stretch. And then BOOM, credits.

I don't know. Maybe I wouldn't be so hard on this movie if it wasn't ranked so high. This bumped Citizen Kane form the 2012 Sight and Sound poll and in previous years was ranked at #2. The idea that this is better than Citizen Kane is just impossible. It's not even in my Top 5 Hitchcock! Psycho, North by Northwest, Rear Window, Shadow of a Doubt and Suspicion all rank higher. I even want to say Dial M For Murder and The Man Who Knew Too Much are better, but I need to rewatch those again too. Anyway, Vertigo is a beautiful movie. Watch the Blu-ray.

A tense, dizzying thriller from the Master.

Plot in a nutshell: A retired detective suffering from acrophobia takes the case of an old college chum's wife, who may be possessed by the spirit of her great-grandmother who committed suicide many years previous. But of course, a much darker, and more down-to-earth, secret lies beneath the surface.

Comments: James Stewart is the perfect anti-hero in this: clever and brave, but also disturbed, unhinged, and at times possessive. He does a stellar job with a difficult role.

In the supporting role of Stewart's faithful friend "Midge" is Barbara Bel Geddes, and she does a delightful job.

According to one source I've read, after Vertigo flopped upon release, Hitchcock blamed Stewart, claiming he (Stewart) was too old and people no longer wanted to see him, hence the film's lack of success. When Hitchcock went on to do North By Northwest, Stewart reportedly begged Hitchcock for the lead role, but Hitchcock refused, giving the lead to Cary Grant, who was actually four years older than Stewart.

But according to a biography of Cary Grant written by Pamela Trescott, the reason Hitchcock wanted Grant instead was simply because they worked well together and had wanted to do another collaboration after the success of To Catch a Thief. In short, that the lead role for North By Northwest had been intended for Cary Grant, and no one else, right from the beginning.

All that aside, Vertigo has established a high reputation as a masterpiece of film, and rightly so. It's also beautifully photographed, and the entire film has a soft, haunting, dreamy quality to it that's utterly captivating.

All I know, this film wasn’t so successful at first and this probably because the audience didn’t expect a film so dark and claustrophobic. Vertigo was so strange already from the beginning because of its surreal and nightmarish atmosphere. I bow to Hitchcock in his creativity in visualizing Jimmy Stewart’s acrophobia by implementing one of the oldest cinematography techniques, using zoom lens as it zooms in while the object moves away, emphasizing his terrified feeling and insecurity whenever he’s at a particular height due to a chronic vertigo he suffers. As always, the film director’s cameo appearance has always been fascinating since we know it’s his habit therefore we will usually let our eyes wander throughout the film, trying to spot him. In conclusion, this timeless thriller remains a classic gem despite the emergence of new modern films. The great visual effects also seem timeless when compared to digital effects. I hope my review doesn’t give you vertigo = )

I will never understand the universal adoration for Vertigo. Blindly inherited wisdom is the only explanation. How anyone could prefer this to North by Northwest or Rear Window is beyond me. An exceptionally made, exceptionally boring movie

Not one of my favorites from Hitchcock, and certainly dower, but still visually striking and two amazing performances from James Stewart and Kim Novak. This is only the second time seeing this, guessing the last time was maybe 10 years ago or so, not entirely sure when I'll revisit it. **3.75/5**