Hash Import 2026 05 18 12 34

Vertigo (1958)

★★★½ — Vertigo (1958)

Alfred Hitchcock made Vertigo at the height of his commercial and creative powers, slotting it between The Wrong Man (1956) and North by Northwest (1959) in a run of films that cemented his reputation as Hollywood's dominant thriller director. The film is adapted from the 1954 French novel D'entre les morts by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac, a pair of writers who had reportedly crafted the book with Hitchcock specifically in mind as a buyer. Paramount backed the production at a modest but professional budget of just under two and a half million dollars, with location shooting across San Francisco giving the film a particular visual texture that studio work alone couldn't have provided. James Stewart, then Hitchcock's most reliable leading man, had already appeared in Rope, Rear Window, and The Man Who Knew Too Much; Kim Novak was brought in after Vera Miles became unavailable due to pregnancy.

Vertigo is one of those films that’s now hailed as Hitchcock’s masterpiece, topping the Sight and Sound list, studied in film schools, praised for its psychological depth and visual brilliance. But it’s worth remembering that it wasn’t always this revered. Upon release in 1958, it was met with mixed reviews and modest box office; critics found it slow, strange, even sleazy. It took decades (especially a critical re-evaluation from the 1980s onward) for its reputation to grow into the towering classic it’s considered today. And look, I get why people love it. The cinematography is absolutely stunning, each frame feels like a lush, dreamlike oil painting. The use of Technicolor is masterful: the deep greens, hypnotic reds, and hazy San Francisco fog create a mood so thick you could cut it with a knife. The famous dolly-zoom effect, the spiralling score by Bernard Herrmann, the surreal dream sequences, it’s all visually groundbreaking, emotionally charged, and dripping with obsession. But personally I wasn’t particularly impressed. Compared to Psycho, Rear Window, or even Dial M for Murder, Vertigo feels messy, drawn-out, and at times, uncomfortable in ways that go beyond suspense. James Stewart’s performance is intense, sure, but his character’s descent into control and fantasy crosses into deeply unsettling territory that the film never fully reckons with. The pacing drags, the plot twists feel more predictable than thrilling, and Kim Novak’s dual role, while technically impressive, doesn’t quite land emotionally. Undeniably beautiful, brilliantly crafted, but for me, not Hitchcock at his most gripping. A film I admire more than I love. Its legacy is huge, but my heart still lies with his tighter, sharper thrillers.

Rating: ★★★½ | Year: 1958 | Watched: 2025-09-13

View on Letterboxd →

Where to watch (UK)

Rent: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Google Play Movies
Buy: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Google Play Movies
Physical: Amazon UK

Affiliate disclosure: Movies With Macca may earn a small commission on purchases or subscriptions started via these links. It costs you nothing extra.

Related on Movies With Macca

Vertigo (1958)

Read more

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)

Fantastic Planet (1973)

Viy (1967)

Alice in Wonderland (1951)