What is your favorite movie?

VERTIGO is my favourite film because it is quite simply the most emotional experience I have ever had with a work of art. Alfred Hitchcock is history’s greatest director and this is his magnum opus. I don’t feel the film works extremely well as a thriller like some people do, but to me this film is not supposed to be a thriller. It’s a rich and cryptic love story that feels like part mystery, part horror and part romance but wholly tragic and on par with the best of Shakespeare in its affective scope. Bernard Herrmann, cinema’s best composer, has never sounded better, and his score for VERTIGO is enough to bring tears to my eyes, even unaccompanied by Hitchcock’s magic eye. The most amazing aspect of VERTIGO is that no matter how many times I have seen it, each screening is guaranteed to be an emotionally transcendent encounter.

To me, Vertigo is the greatest because it’s a detective story that involves obsession. It also has a love story to it and the beautiful score by Bernard Herrmann. Jimmy Stewart is pulled by a pool of obsession in the movie which drives him a little insane. I consider this Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpiece and most personal film.

VERTIGO is my all time personal favorite movie. I was so pleased when I viewed the updated list and saw that this film jumped to #9 on the AFI list where it should undoubtably be. One reason I feel this way is because it deals magnificently with the subject of how human beings can become obsessed with images, and James Stewart’s realization of this obsession is superb. The character of Scottie borders on psychosis; he literally has a brush with insanity. And Hitchcock’s direction of all this, coupled with a perfect musical score by Bernard Herrmann, is flawless. The subtext of the film almost transcends the plot itself. A truly great, emotional film that will withstand the test of time.

Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak make me wonder if there are any other classics that came before me time? I am 23 years old, and cannot get enough of this movie. The chemistry Stewart and Novak exhibit is something I have never seen until recently. When one thinks about this movie; Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak were featured on screen exclusively for roughly 90% of this movie. A masterpiece!

A wonderfull spectacule of music and dramatization

This movie grips you so tightly, emotionally, that you can easily ignore the logical anomilies (conspiratorial leaf oilers; a woman who can jump into the bay, keep her shoes on, AND feign unconciousness while her rescuer hauls her about and undresses her, etc etc etc). Hitchcock’s, Hermann’s and Stewart’s artistry reign supreme here. Not “the best movie ever” but my favorite for the fifty plus years since I was captivated by the spinning spirals!

I first saw this film on black and white television in 1965 at age fifteen. I could not stop thinking about it. I didn’t see it again for several years, this time on color TV. I was more astonished! The colors were so vivid. Kim Novak so beautiful and Jimmy Stewart so typically spellbinding.
Since then, I have seen Vertigo nearly 100 times. Alfred Hitchcock is my favorite director, Jimmy Stewart my favorite actor and Kim is dazzlingly gorgeous.
This film is the ultimate in suspense. Every time that I see it, I find something new about the plot. Hitchcock changed the novel in that, while in the novel, the reader does not know that Judy is Madelein, Hitch reveals that fact to the audience. As a result, the audience has a heightened level of suspense in figuring what Scotty will do when he finds out.
A stunning performance is also rendered by Barbara Bel Geddes as the motherly Midge.
There aren’t enough good things to say about this movie. The restored version on DVD is my dream come true. I will go watch it now.

ABG

The story and imagery are almost hypnotic. You get carried along seemlessly by the characters, the mystery, and that haunting musical score. Scenes seem to arise out of your subconscious and stay with you like a dream. When Kim Novak “steps out” into Jimmy Stewart’s conscioulsness with that dress and blonde hair, it’s like few moments ever experienced in movies. It’s a masterpiece from beginning to end.

I have loved this movie better than all others since I saw it in the theater when it was first released (I was very young then). I have never determined why it is my favorite movie, but I love most Hitchcock movies and this is his best, in my opinion. I am entranced by the setting, the acting, the mysterious plot, all of the actors and the cinematography. I have seen it at least 50 times and have bought each version as it was released. At one time I owned four different versions. There is nothing about it I do not love. A copy of the original poster of this movie hangs in the movie room of my home.

Vertigo stands out to me as my favorite movie because it is a unique film that stands the test of time. Although some effects like the soapy scene by the water with the waves is a bit much, the storytelling makes this film a standout. Director Alfred Hitchock hit his summit in quality with this one. The cinematography captures San Francisco (in a rare out of studio film for Hitch) and makes you obsessed with this tale about doomed lovers. But what makes this movie truly unique is the switching of perspectives mid-tale from one character to another. This is where actors Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak shine better than they ever have. In the end the shot of Novak throwing flowers in to SF Bay with the Bridge and beautiful sky behind her as Stewart spies on her is what truly brings me back to this film over and over again.

Not only does this stand out as Alfred Hitchcock’s finest achievement, I see it as the best American film ever made to date. Yes… even over Citizen Kane, 2001: A Space Odyssey or The Godfather (films I also rank quite highly). Over the years and many screenings I can find no other film which reveals itself more with each viewing. Sure it’s delibertly paced…. but it’s also hypnotically graced.

My favorite film is Alfred Hitchcock’s greatest and most personal picture. In VERTIGO, the master of suspense examined obsession, voyeurism and the descent into madness better than through any other film. All of the makers of this work of art were at the top of their game, especially Bernard Herrmann, whose VERTIGO score is the best in cinema history.

Alfred Hitchcock’s amazing work and innoventional “vertigo” effect has changed the way movies are made.

This movie not only deals with Romance, Suspense, Thrill and Tragedy, it also throws the mind for a plummit down several stories. Alfred Hitchcock’s amazing work and innoventional “vertigo” effect has changed the way movies are made. The movie itself is a glorious piece of workmanship, but Bernard Hermann’s score is at least half the glamor. Kim Novak’s “glazed” appearance lures us into her and causes us to fall entranced along with Jimmie Stewart allowing us to super impose ourselves with the characters and provide the opportunity for personal application in our own lives. The ultimate ending to a wonderful
movie could not have been devised better!
By: Blake Allen

I believe Vertigo to be the most exciting Alfred Hitchcock movies I have seen. I have seen Rear Window and North by Northwest but this one by far seemed to have much more depth. The score was amazing, and not only did it entertain you throughout the movie, it also helped bring out emotions in a much more mature way than words could ever do. Also, this movie’s cinematography was engaging (especially in the moment where Stewart and Novak are kissing and it changes from one scene to another and then back to reality). But what I believe makes this movie a masterpeice, more than anything else is how Hitchcock can keep you tense the entire movie and actually satisfy you at the end. All I can say is, “Wow!”

Not much of an entertaining story here. Basically I was bored and picked this out of the library.

Vertigo was not only the first film of Alfred Hitchcock that I saw, but it was the first film I saw with Jimmy Stewart, my personal acting GOD. His performance, going from his nice-guy persona to the seriously messed up S.O.B transcended everything I knew about acting. It is, in my opinion, the greatest performance done by an actor on film.
By: Zach NeSmith

The master at the top of his game…

The master at the top of his game…

An hypnotic and resonating view on human nature.
By: Maria Casanova

Hitchcock’s classic masterpiece.

A suspenseful love story that’s filled with obsessive twists and turns. Talented cast. Beautifully photographed. Haunting film score by Bernard Herrmann. Hitchcock’s classic masterpiece.
By: Joseph Peters

Hitchcock does everything right in this romantic suspense thriller.

Hitchcock does everything right in this romantic suspense thriller.
By: Lawrence Cabanero

This is the perfect movie.

This is the perfect movie. It is beautifully filmed and powerfully acted. It is thrilling, romantic, horrifying, and haunting. Whereas Citizen Kane was innovative, it lacked the emotional resonance of Vertigo. Vertigo needs to be higher on the list than Psycho, Rear Window, and North by Northwest.
By: Adam Perkes

If the human race could only preserve one film to remind us what the movies are all about, “Vertigo” should be it.

For me, Hitchcock’s “Vertigo” represents the best example of what film can do more effectively than any other medium, namely to create a mood and sustain it for an extended period of time. Every last detail of the film’s production, including the set designs, the dream-like cinematography, Bernard Hermann’s powerful score (the best of his career, in my opinion), Edith Head’s costumes, and, of course, Hitchcock’s masterful direction, combine to create an overall mood of pyschological and romantic obsession that is unparalleled in all of cinema. “Vertigo” is a prime example of both “auterism” in practice (since Hitchcock’s haunted personal vision shines through every last frame of the film) and the collaborative power of movies (since each artist who worked on this film contributed magnificently and essentially to the whole). Thus, contained within the film are the driving principles of both the Hollywood studio system which was beginning to see its demise upon “Vertigo”’s release and the individualaity of the various New Waves and independent cinemas that would follow. While “Citizen Kane” is often (perhaps deservedly) considered the greatest film of all time, I feel that “Vertigo” contains the emotional depth that is often missing from Welles’ first masterpiece. “Vertigo” forever changed the way I look at movies and is likely to remain my favorite for some time.
By: Jake Adams

Hitchcock’s brilliant movie of a man obsessed with a woman from the past, with the most gripping ending ever filmed.

This is Hitchcock’s best and most personal film, I’ve seen it 7 times. I was moved by the secret, and I was fascinated by the use of colors to express emotions and people. The best film. Ever.
By: Adriano Vazquez