Deserves the feminist criticism it receives in some quarters. As to charges of Hitchcock being a misogynist don't make me laugh. He wouldn't have made movies if it weren't for the blonde heroines (and that's how I feel he saw them) he featured. Poor real life Tippi, though. 2:29And yes, I do believe Hedrens story.
Kim Novak and James Stewart were both incredible in this movie. Stewart brings a haunted quality to Scottie that permeates every second he's onscreen, and Novak was so good that I didn't even initially realise that Judy was actually played by Novak. I just thought they'd cast a very similar looking woman.
I love her defiant "I don't like it!!!", I think Judy seems very likeable which makes Scottie obsession even more cold. The whole situation is so tragic! What a movie..!
The second Judy thinks she has accepted his final request to make her Madeleine by agreeing to look like her, Scotty asks for more by telling her to sit by the fire in exactly the same way he had the “dead” Madeleine sit. Her look as she realizes it is so full of dread
I find it intriguing that Hitchcock himself had misgivings about "Vertigo". He had made reference to his wife's (Alma) comment on a point of criticism of the movie--something minor--which Hitchcock interpreted as, "She hates it." Such was the influence Alma had on his efforts and creativity.
I saw this movie for the first time in my 20's after it was remastered on 35mm print in the 90's. I was supposed to go with a friend but she said she couldn't but in a shock as big as Vertigo she borrowed me her car. I saw the while in film school and I never had a....
I have a few questions on this scene. Before this series of events where Judy and Scottie spend time together, there was that scene before where Judy reveals to the audience that she is indeed Madeline. So from there on, we think is creepy for Scottie to "recreate" Madeline with Judy, but sympathize with him, because he was manipulated bay a mans crazy schemes. Now just imagine if we didn't get that scene. That we just saw Scottie descend into madness by recreating Madeline with this poor, random woman, only that she reveals later in the bell tower that she is Madeline. Could we have lost sympathy with Scottie, to still identify with him. It would make the twist that she is Madeline more impactful, and would be a great final closer, but is it better that we already know. Sense we already know, it works with the classic dramatic irony theory, and Hitchcock's bomb theory, which is when the audience knows something a character doesn't and the suspense is built around how it will be revealed. I can't say which is better, but it is a good discussion point, and already adds to the brilliant intrigue this masterpiece gives us.
I think it's better as is, because it's prominent in your mind as you're watching the scenes and watching what Judy is going through. If the reveal was at the end it would only hurt the quality of the movie because you'd have to think back to these scenes which you wouldn't remember as clearly. It still changes your perception about Scottie's actions but because the twist has already been revealed you have the knowledge Judy does while watching Scottie mold her. It would be a lot harder to sympathise with her if the reveal was later.
@@ryanfarrar9185 That is a good point. We do feel a little bit of sympathy with Judy because she reveal that she is Madeline early on with the film. If the movie waited till the end to reveal it, we would not feel much sympathy for her, and wouldn't be enough time for the tragedy of the moment to sink in. So if we are supposed to, I suppose it is better the way it is. Thanks for the thought.
That was exactly how Hitchcock played it originally. The letter scene was added later I think on the advice of Alma Hitchcock who felt the revelation came too late in the film to have the right impact, as audiences might not have time to process it.
I will always love and consider this film a masterpiece. If I were in Judy's position (without being complicit in murder), I would break off things with him right there and file for a restraining order immediately.
Yes, but Judy feel in love with him, and the constant fear of him possibly revealing her is hung over her like a sword of Damocles. So it makes sense why she stays with him. Also its possible, much like Scottie, she is also descending into madness.
"It's madam's size..." -- it's smaller than Kim Novak, come on. They could have found a better match model. I like that look of concern at 1:12 - 1:13. That lady has seen controlling men before.
Maybe Scotty wouldn't have been so controlling if he wasn't deceived into falling in love with Madeline then driven half mad with grief. Judy has a lot to answer for.
I always laugh at the way Scotty angrily squints at the dress while asking "Will the thing fit?", acknowledging the obvious difference between the dainty model and the voluptuous Judy. Hitchcockian humor at it's most subtle.
When Judy lets Scottie change her, she is doing penance for the way she treated him a year earlier. It would probably have been beyond the scope of the film, but it would have interesting to have the clothing store manager befriend Judy, and then have Judy confide her role in the murder.
you gotta love those "damsel-in-distress" squeaky voices that actresses of the Old Hollywood had to put on in every single movie back then...sounds hilarious and incredibly silly at the same time lol
While Judy isn't a good person, I'm not at all that sympathetic to Scotty. His obsessive demands are CREEPY and off-putting. He would be a terrible partner and a likely abusive/controlling husband. Any sane person would run away from a man like that!
hes actually pretty weak and emasculated in the first part of the film so i dont think he is like that i think the whole point is that he is incredibly grief ridden
Youre not supposed to like him in the second act. He becomes the same force of possession towards a woman he was originally trying to prevent in Act 1. Its a brilliant role reversal
Watching this makes me feel angry on Judy's behalf. I don't like to see someone be so blatantly molded into something they're not for someone else's gain. The misogyny in this film very psychological and gripping.
The film has an extremely gripping yet loony plot, you reading misoginy into a man slowly discovering that a woman he thought he died is alive, amongst other things matches it though.
@@miguelmarques4583 I don't think misogyny is so much an explicit theme in this film so much as it is an underpinning due to the time it was made. There is no doubt Judy is profoundly objectified by Scotty, as he is more in love with her appearance and mysteriousness than anything else. Part of why I love this film is because it causes us to take it's "loony" plot seriously through it's delivery.
This scene is even more creepy to a modern audience because it makes it seem like fancy clothing shops in 1958 had a substantial supply of women stashed backstage, simply in order to model clothing for rich customers. Was it really like that back then, or is it a fiction intended to look creepy?
@@randywhite3947 In any police film an autopsy is performed and it would be discovered that the real Madeleine was strangled before falling from the tower. And Scottie would be called in to recognize the body.
