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Vertigo, Hitchcock & the Spiral - Vertigo Film Analysis and the Perfect Symbol for Obsession
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- Опубліковано 5 сер 2024
- Our Vertigo analysis looks at the spiral motif in Hitchcock’s haunting tale of obsession.
Vertigo Movie Explained ►► bit.ly/sp-vt
StudioBinder Screenwriting Software ►► bit.ly/sb-sw
CHAPTERS:
00:00 Intro - The Spiral Motifs in Vertigo
01:33 Vertigo Explained (Story Recap)
03:08 Spirals in the Title Sequence
03:26 Spirals in the Score
04:19 Spirals in Production Design
08:08 Spiral Story Structure
12:01 Motifs in Movies Exercise - American Beauty
There are a few motifs in Vertigo (1958) but none are more dominant or meaningful than the spiral. From the higher-level themes like life/death/rebirth and obsession down to the details like hairstyling and props, the spiral is everywhere in Hitchcock’s Vertigo film. In this Vertigo analysis, we’ll identify and break down all the ways the spiral becomes both a visual motif and a thematic motif.
Scottie (James Stewart) is a retired detective who suffers from vertigo after a traumatic accident. Then an old friend tasks him with following his wife, Madeleine - who he believes is possessed with the spirit of a dead woman. Scottie’s investigation leads him into a mystery built upon deceit and obsession.
And the perfect symbol for this journey is the spiral.
So, how exactly does the spiral become not only one of the dominant motifs in Vertigo but perhaps the crown jewel of all Hitchcock motifs? Let’s start at the beginning - before we see anything, we hear Bernard Hermann’s magnificent score. It is a strange pattern of notes consisting of two scales (one rising and one falling) played simultaneously. Then we see the opening credit sequence, designed by the inimitable Saul Bass, which is a hypnotic and abstract collection of literal spiral patterns furthering our disorientation.
But the spiral motifs in Vertigo don’t end there. We find the spiral twist hairstyle in both Madeleine and the portrait of Carlotta Valdez. The redwood stump is the perfect spiral metaphor, as Madeleine describes her past life - “Here I was born, and here I died.” The design of the belltower staircase is yet another spiral we return to repeatedly. And finally, the structure of the film itself is a spiral as the second half repeats locations, scenes, and actions from the first half. There are many reasons to fall in love with Hitchcock’s Vertigo and perhaps his use of the spiral motif is what lures us in and keeps us returning again...and again...and again.
#FilmTheory #VideoEssay #Filmmaking
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♬ SONGS USED:
"Prelude and Rooftop" - Bernard Herrmann
"The Bay" - Bernard Herrmann
"Carlotta's Portrait" - Bernard Herrmann
"The Dream" - Bernard Herrmann
"The Streets" - Bernard Herrmann
"The Forest" - Bernard Herrmann
"By the Fireside" - Bernard Herrmann
"Scene D'Amour" - Bernard Herrmann
"The Nightmare and Dawn" - Bernard Herrmann
"The Past and the Girl" - Bernard Herrmann
"The Necklace, The Return and Finale" - Bernard Herrmann
"Somewhere" - Daniele Musto
"Dead Already" - Thomas Newman
"Lunch with the King" - Thomas Newman
"Midnight Daydream" - Cinerama
Music by Artlist ► utm.io/umJx
Music by Artgrid ► utm.io/umJy
Music by Soundstripe ► bit.ly/2IXwomF
Music by MusicBed ► bit.ly/2Fnz9Zq
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#film-theory, #video-essay, #filmmaker
CHAPTERS:
00:00 Intro - The Spiral Motif in Vertigo
01:33 Story Recap
03:08 Spirals in the Title Sequence
03:26 Spirals in the Score
04:19 Spirals in Production Design
08:08 Spiral Story Structure
12:01 Motif Exercise - American Beauty
بديع
ua-cam.com/video/W9Ew2OgDC-4/v-deo.html
Hi, I thought you would be interested to know that this video clip is the only SECUENCE PLAN IN REVERSA AND DOBLE TIME ever done. The most curious thing is that it has been done recently in Cuba. Thank you for the good content you share, I love it!
love is a drug and jimmy stewart character is an addict chasing that first hit!
That signature Hitchcock Technicolour though...🤤
A master with colors
Also thank the cinematographer Robert Burks.
That shot in 10:39 blew my mind when I first saw it, she appeared see-through, hollow, almost like a ghost or a hollowgram, as if she's a fake entity. That shot is simply magnificent, masterful cinematography
Hitchcock wanted to, and never filmed a story called Mary Rose, a meditation on, if the dead could come back, what would we do with them? Well, he ended up taking ideas from that project and used them in Vertigo, including filming Madeline as a ghostly specter.
Yep agree...
There are movies I can watch without paying attention and still understand better than anyone... And then there is great movies like this, you discover things even in your 10th viewing... The spiral motif in the music blew me away...masterpiece 🖤🖤
The best movies always have more to unpack 👌
Yes ❤️
He was such a genius.
Repetitive Shapes as you already mentioned, themes and colours keep us on track.
We never get lost in the plot but we certainly feel dizzy after watching it.
ua-cam.com/video/0wVBLidiKqM/v-deo.html
almost like... we got vertigo 😎
I love Hitchcock's films, but director's who abuse their actors give me vertigo...
A ritornello, a vertigo infinite 😮😮😮
Yes, Vertigo is about obsession, but Scotty's obsession with Madeleine is not because of love, it's because of the trauma he was left with, it is because of the feeling that something is amiss.
There is a scene that is very telling about Scotty's character, when he tells Midge that he believes he can overcome his acrophobia by "getting used to height a little bit at the time". He is a man who believes in logic, who believes that traumas can be healed, that the mind is stronger than what we believe it to be.
During the trial scene the judge statement resonates very negatively when he says that it was his lack of initiative that killed her, that John did not try hard enough to save her, that he did nothing. This acts as a trigger in his mind. We see Scotty's expressions changing. He knows he tried and he feels something is amiss. This is the start of his obsession with Madeleine.
It will be very simplistic to believe Scotty is obsessed because he loves Madeleine. He feels something is wrong, deep inside he knows something is wrong.
This is what Hitchcock does, he plants a seed and let it grow. (Read interview with François Truffaut) The seed is not the obsession, the seed is the doubt he was left with when the judge tells him he did nothing. Let's remember that in the first meeting with Elster, John tells him she should consult a professional, that he cannot do anything to help the situation. This first encounter act as a counterpart with the trial and the judge's statement where he claims that a professional detective would have referred her to a professional. Scotty knows he has been professional, that he tried everything, that his insights into the matter were refuted by the husband and Madeleine. He is confused, he can feel he had been played. See the change of his emotions during the statement, he is upset and we feel upset too because we know he tried. We are left confused as well. The seed further grow when Elster talks to him after the verdict and conclude by saying "They cannot understand, you and I know who killed her." Let's remember John is pragmatic and does not believe in fables. This will reinforce his feeling that something is amiss. And it does indeed, the nightmares start, like a vertigo a feeling of uncontrollable emotional whirlpool. His brain is working hard trying to make sense of it all.
When manipulated, it is often difficult to pin point that feeling, we know something feels wrong but we cannot explain it. This is why Hitchcock is a genius, yes, a great director, movie maker, but he knew about human nature and psychology. Here the vertigo is also about how one feels when manipulated, how one feels after being manipulated. We are left in a state of confusion, in a whirlpool of confusing emotions, like a vertigo. Today we speak a lot about victims of narcissists and how those people are left feeling, this is exactly what John is feeling. We also speak a lot about how trauma trigger past traumas, this is exactly what this movie is about. Madeleine's "suicide" triggers his past trauma and generates PTSD. The feeling of doubt triggers Scotty's PTSD symptoms resulting in his obsession. His brain wants to understand. Because this is how the human brain works, it will obsess over something until it makes sense of it.
This is a movie about human psychology and the humain brain.
Insane analysis
This is exactly what I came to UA-cam looking for. Thank you so much for taking the time to write this. I felt there was a deeper message and I kind of understood it the way one understands a bad dream.. vaguely. But now it's very clear. You have enriched my life. I'm humbled. Thanks
??????????????????? Explain@@danzambrana
_Scotty knows he has been professional_
No, not really, he kissed Madeleine. He showed no remorse about that as he kissed her many times again before she went into the church heading for the bell tower.
Scottie knows nothing. While Judy has her make-over done we see him in her apartment waiting. He is not going through her things looking for clues or anything. He just read the paper looking out the window, impatient waiting for her return.
Its only when Scotty sees the Carlotta Valdez necklace on Judy, that he wakes up and starts to figure out what had happened. Its clear on the way up to the bell tower that his former detective skills is back and then we get the whole story.
And subconsciente, pulsiones de muerte y sexo
In the slow, long sequence with Scotty following Madeleine in his car we NEVER see Scotty driving uphill always down down down.
And yet he is following her confusing left and right turns. Spiraling downward, indeed.
very interesting note
Vertigo is the greatest film I’ve ever seen
With good reason!
ImO yes, obsession with this film which is about OBSESSION 😮😮😮
Please make a director's style on Hitchcock
His adjective could be "The Hair-Raiser".
@@joaquinhernandez6940 keratin charger
ua-cam.com/video/0wVBLidiKqM/v-deo.html
He's a prime candidate!
@@StudioBinder thank you studiobinder, im a great fan of ur channel and a Cinema Enthusiast.
Alfred Hitchcock is the master of suspense. Period
No arguments here 💯
I watched Vertigo recently and loved it. Thank you for this informative breakdown!
Happy to complement your viewing :)
When you literally just finished watching Vertigo, then hop onto UA-cam and see this video…
this happens to me sometimes. And its not like the video is old or something and the cookies recommend it to you
We're all on the spiral
C.G. Jung's Synchronicity might make for some interesting reading on the matter.
Haha yes that's why I'm here😁😉
Just finished watching Vertigo
This has got to be the best analysis of the film. It has now made me love the film even more
The #Spiral 🌀 is my favorite thing in existence. Everything from our DNA to the cosmos has spirals.
Never won an Oscar! OSCARS SCHMOSCARS!
Oscar doesn't deserve him. He is out of it's league.
It doesn't matter.. An Artist's success is in his/her work being discussed generation after generations
A lot of movies that have won oscars for best picture have been forgotten and other movies that have been dismissed are still making people question their lives and the universe they live in.
@@LuisSierra42 Exactly.. Time is the biggest test for anything in this world
Crazy how many great directors didn't get it 🤯
Psycho is his commercial best while vertigo is his artistic best.
Not a bad way to put it, both are classics 💯
How about North by Northwest as his most entertaining best? He was on a hot streak from 1958-60.
Notorious, Rear Window and North By Northwest are my favorites. Vertigo is heavy-handed, has too many gimmicks, and Jimmy Stewart seems as if he has no idea where Hitchcock wants to go with his character. Hell, there are moments in which even Hitchcock seems lost.
This is why vertigo is my favorite movie and Hitchcock is my favorite director. He just put so much thought into this…
This video reaffirms my love for Hitchcock and Vertigo! I did a review of the movie as an exercise some time ago, not as detailed as yours though.
We all love Hitchcock and Vertigo!
You didn’t even mention the name of the man who developed these ideas (the shapes) and created the title for the film, he is the genius Saul Bass.
Saul Bass was a genius 💯
OMG I watched Vertigo for the second time yesterday and today you guys gave me this video!
All part of the plan 👀
I have a strong feeling that Junji Ito's Uzumaki is inspired by Vertigo
from what I know, Vertigo also inpired Chris Marker's "La jetée", so as the 12 monkeys movie. (modified) there's a video about this by "studio korewen".
@@laurentg3510 Huh. I knew '12 Monkeys' was inspired by 'La jetee', but not 'Vertigo'. Thanks!
There are probably countless films that owe inspiration to it ❤
Seems that Hitchcock was OBSESSED with spirals 😉
YESSS!! STUDIOBINDER TEACHES MORE ABOUT FILMS THAN MY SCHOOL❤🌀
😂 We do what we can
It was also used masterfully on Strangers on a Train, one of my favorites.
Another Hitchcock classic 👌
@@StudioBinder All the Hitchcock films are classic, having earned for themselves a place in history larger than many films. While the genres of film noire and horror can be applied to Hitchcock films, the only term that stuck and that appropriately fits these films is "Hitchcock". His masterful use of camera, story line and audio elements including careful coaching of how the actors say the lines is something every serious student of filmmaking should study and something that effectively responded to what people at the time were seeking in films.
"Strangers On A Train" is a great film.
I love how two actresses from "Bewitched" are in it -- Marion Lorne (Aunt Clara) and Kasey Rogers who played Larry Tate's wife in the later seasons.
For Strangers on train, she was using a different stage name, Laura Elliott or something...
Thank you for this and your other analyses. As always, great and insightful.
The fact that you spent time to reply many comments prove how thoughtful your channel is
We try to as much as possible! Thanks for watching :)
😎👏🏻
Vertigo zooms are the best technique ever made by old Hollywood why can't we do it again?
It's such a bold move, filmmakers need to be careful with it haha
Good people of StudioBinder, I simply want to congratulate you on this amazingly quality upload! You truly are the masters of your craft and of this lovely niche that brings us all together. Well done and thank you - on behalf of every viewer who forgets to leave you a comment! :)
Appreciate the feedback! Love hearing our viewers are enjoying the content 💖
A fascinating analysis. You know sometimes I'll just watch the credits and opening scene of Vertigo. It's thrilling, tense, exciting and ambiguous all at once... all the cinematic things I love.
i just finished watching, this movie is genius
Amazing analysis for this masterpiece
Finally, it's here. Thanks a lot Studiobinder ❤️❤️❤️
Thanks for watching!
Thank you so much to you team in Studio binder!!!
As always I learn something about Vertigo.
Always something to learn!
Thank you for this incredible video. Vertigo is my favorite movie of all time
I was so startled when this video went into American Beauty, at the end!
I was just watching that on Netflix last night, taking notes, trying to make an analysis!
The use of colour in this movie! Red for Madeline and green for Judy, two complimentary and opposite colours. And you can spot some clues, like Madeline driving a green car. Brilliant!
Even in the subtle warning of a traffic light changing from green to red, as Scotty is really starting to lose his grip on reality.
Opuestos y complementarios, el ying y el yang 😮😮😮😮
13:08 "For Lester and Carolyn, [the motif is] red roses." Specifically, the American Beauty rose, hence the title of the film.
Exactly!
really interesting and useful as always, thank you!
It's all time best video I have seen about vertigo. WE WANT MORE ABOUT SCRIPT ELEMENT..
Thanks for the tip!
10:31 - This part of the score was played over and over again in the SNL sketch, 'Greenhilly'!
3:46
Those are arpeggios being played, NOT scales.
The top, augmented arpeggio is symmetrical in all directions with its equal intervals tracing an endless cycle.
They are played in opposite directions simultaneously though, which is a terrific match to the spiral metaphor as you rightly point out.
Make sure to run your script by a composer for such commentary 🎶
Appreciate the feedback 👌
after many requests finally you made this video thank you ♥️
We're tackling the other requests soon!
Again another excellent lesson.
This movie twist is the best twist I ever seen . It’s just OMG when I watch first time
Alfred Hitchcock is genius
This is one of my three favourite channels on UA-cam right now
🙌💖
Excellent video, thank you!
Excelent! This channel has become my film school.
Amazing video as always !
Thanks for watching!
Forgetting the other repetitive motif in the film - the color green. The color is used over and over to identify first Madeleine then Judy ( both of whom are wearing the color when Scotty first sees them. ) Madeleine's car, that Scotty assiduously follows, is green. Scotty is wearing a green sweater after saving Madeleine from drowning. And in the climactic, penultimate , scene Judy's hotel apartment is suffused with a lurid green light from a neon sign outside her window - and Judy, finally transformed into Madeleine, steps out of the powder room into a haze of green light. "Vertigo" is a French word meaning illness. The root of the word is "vert" French for the color green. A popular expression is that someone is "looking green" when taken ill with nausea or shock.
Thank you for this magnificent analysis of Hitchcock's masterpiece - and arguably the greatest film ever made.
A spiral is just a circle passing through time.
Great description 👌
With every vid that studio binder does, my mind gets blown. Also this totally made me feel a bit queasy with all the spirals 😂
WOW!! THANKS FOR SHARING!!
this is so helpful! thanks for the video!
Glad to help!
In short: Excellent! Congratulations! For me, Vertigo is the best movie of the 20th century. Thank you
Always great content 🔥
For our great viewers 🔥
Obsession obviously is a theme. Hitch is about as subtle about it as a sledgehammer. But that's not the main theme. It's about illusion and delusion, and the role they play in how we experience reality. More specifically, it's an exploration of the nature and complexity of that most profound of human emotions - love.
Amour fou, the eye that transforms the object, thf cinema, the eternal femenine, the pulsion between death and life, sex.....infinite like the spiral and vertigo
Another brilliant video.
Glad you liked it!
This channel is something else.
This is such as masterpiece of a movie, I think Hitchcock's best.
Time to take my weekly film class with the best, Studio Binder
Class in session!
Your Content is sooooo good!!
keeping the standard for your viewers ❤
It took me five minutes to realize that Vertigo is not Rear Window, and also that I've never seen Vertigo. Anyway, love your videos!
Haha, well now you got your next movie screening!
Well, that's an honest mistake. Both are Hitchcock movies starring Jimmy Stewart losing his mind over something (spying on neighbors while nursing a broken leg; being obsessed with a woman who reminds him of his dead wife).
Very interesting breakdown
Cheers!
Studiobinder ......long live
long live cinema 🙌
Learn a lot from this channel
That's the goal :)
thank you so much for this video. I love Hitchcock he is the best in my opinion
A legend of the game!
You guys are great.thx
Thanks for watching!
@@StudioBinder thanks guys for such a hard work.keep it up.
Yes, this is such a video for my homework references.
Happy studying :)
“Almost every movie can be summarised in a sentence”, however rude and absurd a statement that sounds, is a reasonably useful assessment of this video itself.
Hitchcock really told on himself with this movie.
His most personal film 👀
That, and Marnie, which plays the same themes, but this time from the female’s point of view. Hitchcock’s obsession with his blondes became his undoing, and destroyed Hedren’s career.
Never knew American Beauty and Vertigo had the color red as obsession.
Vertigo uses color overall amazingly 😍
Vertigo , Hitchcock & StudioBinder :) Awesome as usual :)
Cheers!
First view. Btw, love your videos and live Vertigo ❤️❤️
Love our viewers ❤
Thank you very much
Whatever I say, thank you for your love
🌺❤️
Thanks for watching!
Please do a directing style on Cronenberg! :)
Thanks for the suggestion!
It makes sense as to why Hitchcock wanted to kill Judy at the end. It's sort of a karmic effect. She has to pay for her misdeeds the same exact way Elster's real wife did and that too in the same exact tower. What never made sense to me was why he chose not to do that with Elster. After all, Elster is the true mastermind behind everything. His devious plans turned Scottie into madness and developed PTSD. So why was he left scott free?
Good question, but how could he prove Gavin was behind it after Judys death? Scotties credibility were not the best after being hospitalized for almost a year after his mental breakdown. Who would believe such a story?
Phenomenal film.
Hitchcock doesn't need any Oscar to be the best .
Agreed 💯
First movie of his that makes me hooked to his movies! 😍
The birds, Rear Window and Psycho are really good as well
Then you go down the spiral of Hitchcock's entire filmography 😉
@@LuisSierra42 north by northwest, rope..
The best part of this video is my favorite narrator.
Just watched the movie!
Your studio binder website is very useful for film pre production,
One thing I am missing is beat sheet future,
Why don't you add that feature, it will be very great full
Suggest me a scene to breakdown to develop my skills. I am asking you because you guys been a master in it.
green identifies as life which is served to a similar meaning of purpose. purpose which conveys our will to pursue. reasons why we have green lights on our roads.
but the very thing that allows us to question the choice of green, the very thing alfred intended us to think. to question why. why green? isn’t that just ambiguous? it’s that very thought of why green exists, to question our purpose. symbolising enigma.
scotty’s obsession is an enigma, yet he purses. which then gets out of control. the fear of falling. falling in love. falling into insanity. vertigo.
love is a drug and jimmy stewart character is an addict chasing that first hit!
Damn good video
Glad you liked it!
deeper understanding of this movie！
That's the goal!
Fair play
Nice
Great!
Hitch is a #MasterofCinema
One of the greatest!
I'm about to cry
More videos about Hitchcock, please
Hola
Just watched this and wow I missed so much.
I just watched it for the first time last week ! How lucky of me 🤣
How'd you like it?
Just curious how these film makers are able to form such complex abstract concepts to form an enigmatic mental image inside the viewer of the film. Extremely subliminal. It's almost as if these film makers were trained in psychological warfare.
What do want to say
Say it clear
@@utkarshpandey6424 I said it very clear.
Or at least took classes on it or experienced it at some point in their lives.
Genius.
💕🙏
I have a question about the story structure. I know the B beat is something like a minor story, most often a love storyline. What if the main theme is love? What are the options for the B beat then?
If the film is a romantic story, then a subplot could be another couple than the main one
@@StudioBinder what about a friendship with someone who's like a mentor to the protagonist?
Could you make a video about Frank Darabont feel good movie making style like the Shawshank Redemption and the green mile.
Thanks for the suggestion!
Please Make a video On SatyaJit Ray And Anurag kashyap Filming Style..They both are Jems of Indian Cinema 🎥💖
Thanks for the suggestion!
I love this man! Hitchcock, the 2nd greatest director of all times!
Who's your first? 👀
😎