Vertigo

Designed by Saul Bass

  Many film critics view Vertigo as Alfred Hitchcock's greatest achievement. And with the restoration of the film, it serves two purposes. To show the true magic of Hitchcock's directing, and to preserve the film for generations to come. The restoration of Vertigo is great, but there are some spots where the colors detereorate from the film experience and some of the lighting is too overdone. Do not be fooled though. Even with the restoration, Vertigo is still one hundred percent Hitchcock, and Hitchcock at his very best.

  The story of Vertigo is adapted from the novel "D'entre Les Morts" by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac and is split up into four parts (or movements). The prologue introduces John "Scottie" Ferguson (James Stewart) as a detective, chasing a crook on rooftops, then falling and hanging from his death while another officer tries to pull him up, the police officer then slips and falls to his death. This scene is crucial because it establishes Scottie's acrophobia or fear of heights, through the use of Hitchcock's directing. He uses a model of the ground and moves the camera back while zooming in and out to create a very dizzying effect. This "Vertigo" will be Scottie's downfall in the movie later to come. No one ever knows how Scottie got down from the heights above, and it is as if he is metaphorically suspended from his inevitable downfall.

  The next movement is the set up to the story. After the dizzying scene on the rooftops, we are taken to the apartment of Midge Wood (Barbera Bel Geddess). Midge's apartment is plastered with paintings and sketches of corsets and different types of clothing. Apparently Scottie and Midge had a romantic past. They were engaged for 3 weeks. They are just friends now but there is some romantic tension between them. In the next scene, Scottie is hired by a rich shipbuilder and his high school friend Gavin (Tom Hellmore) to use his detective skills, to watch his suicidal wife, Madeline (Kim Novak). As he watches her lose her mind, immerse her self in the ideas of her great-grandmother, and attempt suicide. He quickly falls in love.

  Madeline and Midge, the two women in Scottie's life, are complete contrasts of each other. Midge is smart, caring, and sane in the head. While she is not gorgeous, she is an ideal woman to marry. Madeline on the other hand, is drop-dead gorgeous, icy cold, and clearly insane. These differences are portrayed not only in the personalities of the two, but in the costumes of one another. Midge dresses sensible, even though she is a fashion designer. The way she dresses is a direct correlation to her personality. Madeline's fashion sense is a combination of the extravagant and fetishistic. She is a typical Hitchcock blonde. She is cold & icy on the outside, gorgeous, and has a fatal flaw. The make up, and costume design of Edith Head is some of her best work in "Vertigo". Because not only is it beautiful, it allows us to easily distinguish the personalities of all the characters by their costumes.

  The next movement of the story leads us to the Bell tower of San Juan Bautista. Where Madeline appears to commit suicide by jumping of the bell tower.  Once again we have Hitchcock capitalizing on the audiences expectations by destroying them. If you were watching Vertigo for the first time, you were completely unprepared for Madeline's death. She is the heroine of the story, and we are prepared for a happy ending not a grand mid-way rupture. We next see Scottie in a mental hospital, trying to figure the pieces of his life together. He experiences a dream sequence that was the cutting edge of cinematic effects for Hitchcock at that time. This dream sequence is metaphorically significant to the plot of the story. He starts to wonder around San Francisco, visiting the places Madeline used to frequent. All of a sudden, he sees a girl that is similar to Madeline. Scottie follows her to a hotel where she lives. This sets up the final movement of the film.

  This woman, Judy (Kim Novak) is hostile against Scottie when they first meet, but slowly  warms up to him. And Scottie asks her out on a date. It is here in this scene that Hitchcock reveals that Judy was Madeline all along. Now why would Hitchcock reveal this crucial scene midway through the film?
He basically ruined the story for the viewers, and now there is no point to even finish watching the film because we already know everything Scottie doesn't know. Many film critics at the time condemned Hitchcock for this decision to ruin the suspense. But there is a method to Hitchcock's madness. He does this to remove ourselves from Scottie, no longer identifying with him but observing him objectively. This scene serves to sever feelings we attached with Scottie. The feelings we had have just been a painful hoax. Not only is Madeline dead, she never existed at all. This makes the final movement of the film profoundly disturbing to watch.

  We watch as Scottie molds Judy into Madeline again. He is determined to have Madeline back by any means possible. He sees Judy as just an object, while Judy genuinely loves him. All of these emotional feelings come together in arguably Hitchcock's single greatest and expressive scene. It all takes place in Judy's hotel room. Judy comes back from the make over not looking enough like Madeline(she needs to fix her hair). Judy only now realizes that she is being controlled, but because she loves him she accepts this and does the makeover, and walks towards Scottie out of a haunting green light from  a green neon sign outside on the street to resemble a dreamlike effect. The two embrace in a scene that reveals the true character of Scottie himself as well as Hitchcock.

  After Scottie has her women, he takes her back to San Juan Baptista to relive that fateful day again, and to do what he wanted to do. To get rid of his acrophobia and to save Madeline just like he intended. He forces Judy up the stairs in a determined manner, slowly conquering his vertigo. He leads Judy all the way up to the top of the bell tower where she takes a fatal misstep and falls to her death.

  The performance of of our two main characters are phenomenal.  James Stewart plays the everyday man we all can relate to. His innocence is overshadowed by his undeniable love for Madeline, he would do anything to have her, even if he has to make another one. Kim Novak has the best performance of her lifetime. Playing the roles of Madeline and Judy, she manages to capture love, wanting, heartbreak, pain, and sorrow all in a single performance. Her acting elevates Vertigo to another level than just romantic love story. 

  Overall, Vertigo is a beautiful film about love, sorrow, and pain. It is Hitchcock's most expressive film as it dealt with the themes he used in his art, particularly the way he controlled women. The city of San Francisco as shot by cinematographer (Robert Burks), and restored by Robert A. Harris & James C. Katz has never looked so beautiful on film. Combined with the haunting music score of Bernard Herrmann makes San Francisco a haunting stage for this story to be performed on. Vertigo is about obsession, which means that it's about circling back to the same moment, again and again so the music is also built around spirals and circles, fulfilment and despair. Alfred Hitchcock takes extraordinary emotions like fear, guilt, and love, and put them in everyday characters. The defining characteristic of a Hitchcock film is a ordinary man, being placed in extraordinary circumstances. And developing the story through pictures, not words. This makes "Vertigo" a film to be viewed, analyzed, and cherished for years to come.

Rear Window

Rear Window  is a film critics dream, it has everything a movie watcher could want. A beautiful set, A good mystery, phenomenal performances, and the kind of charm Hitchcock brings to all his movies. In my opinion, Hitchcock has never seemed more in control of a movie than Rear Window. It is a masterclass of suspense, and not to mention highly entertaining too.

  The protagonist of Rear Window, L. B. Jeffries( James Stewart) is a adventure photographer who works for a sort of Life-like magazine. After having sustained an accident on a race track, he is stuck in his apartment with nothing to do but look out the window and observe the workings of his neighborhood. He is trapped here, and we are trapped in his apartment with him, seeing as we never leave. Jeffries is occasionally visited by his insurance nurse Stella(Thelma Ritter) a sassy old school type of broad who can smell trouble from a mile away. And his girlfriend Lisa Freemont(Grace Kelly) who is a pampered uptown socialite who is hopelessly in love with Jeffries and will do anything for him.

  The set of Rear Window is the main star here. As Hitchcock, a master of making so much out of so little demonstrates. The set was built on one Paramount lot and is fully furnished. The people of the neighborhood are as interesting as the story. We have Ms.Torso a ballet dancer who only practices in her underwear, Ms. Lonelyhearts who is desperate on finding a man. The Songwriter who lives in the studio apartment and his constantly playing. The Newlywed couple right next to Jefferies who are happily in love, but constantly argue as the film goes on. An older couple on the floor opposite of Jefferies apartment who have the cutest little dog. And the main act of this show, Mr. & Mrs. Thorwald. Who become the subject of interest during the whole movie. The set is designed (under the clever excuse of a hot & humid summer in New York), so we can see everything without ever having to leave Jefferies apartment, like we are experiencing everything with him.

  As time passes by, Jefferies gets familiar with his neighborhood, as do we. We feel the anguish of Ms. Lonelyhearts. And the parties The Songwriter & Mrs. Torso give. This voyeurism leads Jefferies to the apartment of the Thorwalds.

  Mrs. Thorwald is constantly nagging Mr. Thorwald making life hell for him. On one night at 3 a.m Mr. Thorwald, with blinds closed mysteriously leaves the apartment with a suitcase 3 times, and the next day Mrs. Thorwald isn't there. Jefferies eventually begins piecing parts together (the saw & blade, the wife's jewelery, and the mysterious disapearance) that Thorwald killed his wife. And off goes the story. From now on, every thing Mr. Thorwald(Raymond Burr) does is a closely watched event. And we the audience as well as Jefferies are thirsting for the truth of what really happened to Ms. Thorwald.

   The performances of our 3 main actors, really get take this film to another level. Raymond Burr as the emotionally drained Mr. Thorwald plays his role all the way down to the final scene where he confronts Jefferies with a real sense of fear and suspense. James Stewart has an everyman appeal, but he is not a moralist, or a superhero, he is a man who likes to look. His role as a L.B. Jefferies suits him well here because he is someone we all can relate too. Grace Kelly as Lisa is cool and elegant, yet hopelessly in love with Jefferies. She tries to please him at every turn, surprising him with dinners and gifts, yet nothing seems to work. And there are some scenes where we see the hurt in her eyes. She would do anything for Jeff, even climbing into someones house and grabbing evidence. With her performance in Rear Window she joined the illustrious group of "Hitchcock blondes." These women are classy, graceful, elegant and give each Hitchcock film the feminine touch it needs, and that is exactly what Kelly does here. The love story in Rear Window is just as entertaining as the suspense story.

  The costumes designed by Edith Head give a sense of class to the movie. You can tell it is rooted deep in the hearts of the 50s just by the way people dress. From Stella's nurse dress to Lisa's long flowing dresses and high fashion designs. Everything that has to do with the clothing makes this story seem elegant, and not only looks nice but seems to make this story like a play. The costumes elevate this story from a seemingly simple plot to a full on production of cinematic theater

  The music fits exactly into the story and the period. The opening theme of the movie sets the mood on the 50s New York neighborhood. Hit songs from the time like "Mona Lisa" & "Thats Amore" are nice touches and add some deeper meaning to the subplots the neighborhood residents, including the love story of Jeff and Lisa. The addition of the songwriter and the canned sounds of the city, make this film more of like a play instead of a movie. Everything that the music does, is intentional to set a mood. Or to give some insight into the hearts of the people we are watching. We feel even more for Ms. Lonelyhearts because of the music going on in the background. Overall, the music is superb and guides us through all the events of the neighborhood with a sense of control.

  The suspense scenes in Rear Window, are some of Hitchcock's greatest works. Creating situations and letting Lisa and Stella wonder in them, while Jefferies is helpless. We are helpless too, because we feel for these characters and do not want to see them get hurt. The great thing about watching this movie is that you don't know what is going to happen next. Hitchcock explained once the differences between suspense and surprise, he said that "surprise is a bomb blowing up under a table." The surprise is great only for a few moments but quickly dissipates into a meaningless action. Suspense is knowing there is a bomb under the table, but not knowing when its going to blow up." And Hitchcock illustrates this principal in Rear Window in the scene when Lisa is sneaking into Mr. Thorwalds apartment. We know Mr. Thorwald is coming home but we never know when. The suspense slowly builds into a great climax that sticks with us the whole movie. Its like a roller coaster ride for the mind.

  People view Rear Window as two things. A great mystery story with plenty of action, romance, and suspense. And to others a sick, depraved, story of voyeurism and of meddling into peoples affairs when you're not supposed to be there. But no matter how people look at it, they cannot deny that Hitchcock was in full form here, and everything was executed to perfection. The performances of our characters, to the ambient music and natural neighborhood sounds, to the clothes and little touches of the 50s, and the beautiful set that encompasses all of this. They all come together to make this story seem larger than life. The suspense is so beautifully captured, it makes Rear Window in a special league of its own, far above any slasher or horror film that was out at that time. No matter what people may argue about this film, we cannot deny that Rear Window is one of Hitchcocks greatest efforts and one of the finest films ever printed to celluloid.

Paths of Glory

  

Paths of Glory was Stanley Kubricks entrance into the realm of great directors; and, for good reason too. Every scene from the meeting of the 2 powerful generals to the pointless charge is all aimed to display the brutality of war and the separation of classes on the battlefield. Kubrick and his cinematographer(George Krause) use the black and white film as an instrument to show the darkness of war. This film has no need for color, in fact, if it was shot in color it would take away the effect it has on the viewer. The lighting works hand in hand with the black and white film too create drama; and, enhance the effect of death and destruction of war.

  Paths of Glory was first written in a novel of the same name by Humphrey Cobb,which Kubrick bought the rights too from Cobbs widow for $10,000 dollars. The movie starts off with a narration setting up the story. As Germany and France entered the war they dug fortified trenches stretching from Switzerland all the way to the English Channel, by 1916 successful attacks were measured by thousands of yards and paid for by thousands of lives. The opening scene starts off with 2 generals in a palace, the man even has a live palm tree for god sakes. They talk how the war is starting to stalemate and that taking a heavy fortified German position is the only way to move forward, deeming that 60% of casualties is acceptable. We then switch from the lavish palace to the heavily fortified trenches of the battlefield, this is a perfect example of contrast in the sense of the story; and, Kubrick uses this as a visual way to show the major separation of the 2 classes, the ruling class and the workers. The generals are detached from the value of many human lives because they are in a position of power. And this is Kubricks main character in the film, power. The way power is used to kill and maim thousands of men by the hands of the few. The story, in a nutshell is a Colonel Dax (Kirk Douglas) disobeying his commanding officers General Broulard (Adolphe Menjou) and General Mireau (George Macready) by defending 3 men who were convicted to death by cowardice.

  The actors performances are fantastic. General Mireau(George Macready) is played with such fire  and conviction. Kirk Douglas' performance is stone cold and resolute, yet never over the top. He is a man following orders; but, when hes angry you could tell. There is power and conviction in his role and is one of the main reasons why this movie is exceptional.

   The costumes of Paths to Glory are fully realistic of the French army clothes at the time, from the tiny metal hats all the way down to the dirt on the mens faces. Costume design and make up was crucial in enveloping the viewer of what trench warfare was really like. Every man has character, they look like they have been through the war itself and that not only enhances the effect Paths of Glory has on the viewer, it is the result of good costume design. While there is not much blood shown it is revealed tastefully, and here we see Kubricks experience with directing his earlier film noir movies, he knows how to place blood only in the most crucial of scenes.

   While there were not much special effects in the movie, the futile charge Colonel Dax leads is full of explosions, smoke, gun fire, and many many extras dieing. This is such a crucial scene in the movie from a technical aspect and a plot aspect, it is the turning point in the movie; and, Kubrick executes it to perfection with such stunning realism of what war actually looks like. All the shots in this movie are long and drawn out. The trench scene just before the troops charge into no mans land, the wide angeled shot of the carnage, the long trailing shot of the generals ball; and, the funeral parade of the 3 "convicts." This is a classic trademark of the Kubrick style, drawing scenes out to stress their importance. These shots are crucial to the advancement of the story; and, are used to emphasize their  importance on us and reveal certain things like the hypocrisy of the ruling class, and trench warfare. These shots are not for looks but are aimed straight at your heart. This movie is not beautiful, and that is intentional. We all know Kubrick with his skill, could have made the most beautiful anti-war movie ever with every color of the rainbow imaginable, with colors so vivid and shots so beautiful they'll make your head spin; but, that is not the point. Kubrick directed this film in such a way so the viewer can get a glimpse of what war is really like and the sorrow it causes men.

The Futile Charge.

Our 3 "convicts."

   The music is typical of the time, back in 1957 all soundtracks were made with a full orchestra and this film is nothing different. The French national anthem in the beginning scene was a nice touch in setting up the story. But after that there is not much music till the end, only war drums in some parts . This was a smart choice by Kubrick seeing as full score music would only distance the viewer away from what the film is trying to achieve. Silence is the main music here and it does a good job in maintaining the vibe, ESPECIALLY during our time with the 3 convicts, the stark silence in the cell does its part to make us feel for the convicts.The final scene with the German singer is a surprising twist  and a classic example of how audio in a film can be used to make it spectacular. The singing of the men, singing out with cathartic voices tug on your heartstrings; and, bring a great climax to the end of the film, only to be ruined by the ending movie credits with full orchestra. Great audio in a film only exists to enhance certain scenes and in Paths of Glory while there is not much music, the sound and silence speak for itself.

   Overall, Paths of Glory succeeds in what it sets out to do. Create a true anti-war movie. Kubrick succeeded so much that the film was banned in France, Switzerland; and, Spain for a number of years.  While this movie is short for a Kubrick film, the cinematography shows greatness and hints of Kubricks future projects when they are more expansive and groundbreaking. Every scene is carefully crafted to greatness, Kirk Douglas called it the "Best acting performance of his life." And my god, the ending scene will continue to cause viewers to cry for many years to come.

Lawrence of Arabia

     When Lawrence of Arabia first premiered in 1962 it seemed to take a back seat to other classics at the time. Including, John Ford’s The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Howard Hawks’s Hatari!, Vincente Minnelli’s Two Weeks in Another Town, Stanley Kubrick’s Lolita, John Frankenheimer’s The Manchurian Candidate, and Sidney Lumet’s Long Day’s Journey Into Night. In fact in a issue of American Cinema many critics rated it below excellent. This was during a time of cinematic rebellion against all the old characteristics of film, the literary theater has taken a new direction and Lawrence of Arabia was the last of a dying breed, of classic epic cinema. 

      While it may has not been revered back when it was released, Lawrence of Arabia is now considered one of the best movies of all time, this is all due to the fantastic direction of David Lean and the electrifying performance of a young Peter O' Toole, who's blue eyed English features stand out in the brown arab desert. Peter O' Toole manages to capture the character of who Lawrence should have been; not, a man, but a legend. This costumed epic is rich in classic touches of literary film. The costumes are extravagant, beautifully decorated, and historically accurate, from the extras clothes, to Prince Fisjals ornate robes. The makeup give a touch of old English theater where it is used to make the characters seem more than life, more than they really are. The blood is displayed in a classic Victorian sense, a touch of film noir where barely any blood is displayed but just enough so you know the deed is done. These touches give a sense of class to the movie at a time where many people were trying to break out of the mold. 

   The shots in this movie are some of the greatest shots to ever appear in a movie. Lean manages to capture the immensity of the desert, the terrifying beauty it contains, and believe me it doesn't look that bad on 70mm film. The shots in this movie are so good that  you could stop at any time in all of the 216 minutes and make that picture your wallpaper. The visuals including transitions to lighting all do their part to move the story along, and entertain at the same time.The set is all natural the desert itself, the amount of time it took assembling, shooting, and breaking down are so time consuming in those conditions not to mention expensive that the shots itself are to be appreciated for what the production crew was able to accomplish . The film is chopped into many different scenes which employ transitions. The transitions do their part to entertain and move the story along. This epic does exactly what it sets out to do. Entertain in the only way it knows. Bigger and bigger shots.

     The audio, from the beginning to the end uses instrumentation of a army band, playing army marches. The music is in your face and basically guiding you on when the plot changes, and when the scene changes. For example when Lawrence gets promoted to Lieutenant and walks down with General Allenby to the recreation room the music playing is a typical army march. The effect is like a virtual parade. And this is true of all scenes in Lawrence of Arabia. When the action gets intense the music gets more intense, when a battle is won the music gets more triumphant. The music serves only as a tool by Lean and Maurice Jarre(The composer) to move the story along; and, does a fantastic job about it.

   There is no doubt about it, Lawrence of Arabia is one of the best films ever made. While it may not be historically accurate; and, may have some acting flaws: It is mysterious, magical, handsome, sophisticated, narcissistic, brilliant, bombastic, and proud just like Lawrence himself. But it's not really a film that has hidden meaning - the ironies and ambiguities are all on the surface; but, in the film there are so many exceptional entertaining scenes, it only leads me to believe that Lawrence of Arabia is one of the greatest movies of all time.