SPOILERS DOWN THE PATH; THE DISCUSSION BELOW WILL NOT BE COMPREHENSIVE WITHOUT IT.
TREAD CAREFULLY. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED.
THIS MOTION PICTURE IS OFFICIALLY AN AFFILIATE OF THE FILMMAKING PARAGONS.
Vertigo is one of Alfred Hitchcock's most renowned classics ever! Everything about the technical aspects on display here can be described as ahead-of-time. Magnanimous score, gorgeous locales, constant contrast of red and green colors for effective juxtaposition plus otherworldly camerawork coupled with fantastic blocking and steady storytelling made this motion picture a rare piece of cinematic achievement!
James Stewart in one of his best performances, stars as John 'Scottie' Ferguson - a retired detective with fear of height aka acrophobia. He is tasked to tail his acquaintance's; Galvin Esther's (Tom Helmore) wife, for she is believed to have been possessed by a dead person! And this entire investigation drips with eerie suspense! Striking resemblance to a museum painting, disappearance from hotel room and suicide attempt are examples. It only gets complicated further when Scottie falls in love with this exact woman he's investigating, before she tragically dies in a situation that puts the protagonist's acrophobia on ultimate test! What happens after this is a mystery for you to solve.
The dialogues could sometimes be heavy in exposition, but the way it's written will keep you listening without being wary of the information loadout too much. While the believability on Galvin Esther employing a decoy to murder his wife is farfetched, the aftermath of the event provides great drama for our main character. Scottie truly loved Madeleine (Kim Novak), and losing her helplessly scarred him! Hitchcock successfully makes you feel what Scottie's experiencing; the trauma, the terrifying nightmare sequence, everything! Even the effect of acrophobia is fantastically shown via the innovative dolly zoom! And the powerful climax will nail itself in many of our minds for as long as cinema lives!