2020 Blind Spot Series: Vertigo (1958)

There's plenty of Alfred Hitchcock films I'm yet to see so why did I pick Vertigo? Simply because it is regarded as a masterpiece and stars James Stewart. Yes, I'm that shallow. But also, Stewart was terrific in Rear Window, which is easily my favourite Hitchcock film, so I figured I'd play it safe with it. I was wrong as, while it's not terrible, the film is far from being the masterpiece I was expecting. 

Rear Window (1954)

Genre

Mystery | Thriller

Director

Alfred Hitchcock

Country

United States

Cast

James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendell Corey, Thelma Ritter, Raymond Burr, Judith Evelyn, Ross Bagdasarian, Georgine Darcy, Frank Cady, Jesslyn Fax, Rand Harper, Irene Winston, Havis Davenport, Gig Young, Harry Landers, Ralph Smiles, Alfred Hitchcock

Plot

After breaking his leg, professional photographer L.B. "Jeff" Jefferies (James Stewart) is confined to his New York apartment. He spends his time looking out of the rear window observing the neighbors, and he becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.

Opinion

I've watched the Castle episode with a similar plot and I was worried I wouldn't have enjoyed the film, but I did. Rear Window is a combination of mystery, romance, thrill and comedy. Alfred Hitchcock was a great filmmaker and he knew exactly how to make a captivating film. All we do while watching this film, is observing someone watching someone else, behind which we can identify the director himself.
The similarities between the start and the end quite impressed me: the film starts with the camera moving from a sleeping backyard to James Stewart's sweaty face, to his broken leg, and it ends in a quite ironic way: same James Stewart, but with both legs broken - meaning he has been punish for his curiosity.
The cinematography is great. The acting is superb.

Quotes

Stella: Intelligence. Nothing had caused the human race so much trouble as intelligence.

Rating

9.0/10