Desires Within Vertigo

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Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo is a psychological murder mystery that keeps the viewer on the edge of his or her seat. The filmic elements in his movie keep the viewers constantly guessing. By the choices Hitchcock made and the way he frames the movie, he imprints a negative vision on the female characters in the film. Madeline, Midge, and later Judy are all subject to undesirable connotations put upon attractive women in the movie industry. Hitchcock deliberately uses specific camera angles, enchanting colors and stereotypical characters to build upon his theme of the manipulation of women. Vertigo is a film in which a detective, Scottie, played by James Stewart, develops a fear of heights when he is unable to help a fellow officer in the line of duty. This fear forces Scottie to retire from the force, only to promptly be back in detective work when an old friends calls to him for help with a mysterious case. Gavin Elster thinks his wife, Madeline, played by Judy Novak, is possessed and asks Scottie to follow her. In his stalking, Scottie becomes obsessed with Madeline; he falls deeply in love with her. On an outing of theirs, Madeline falls through the window of a mission tower, plummeting to her death. After being consumed for months by a deep depression about the loss of his beloved, Scottie sees a woman that strongly resembles the late Madeline. He follows her home just to talk to her, to feel like he did when he was with Madeline once more. He encounters her and Judy, the mysterious women, somewhat unwillingly agrees to go out to dinner with Scottie. Scottie turns Judy into Madeline by changing her clothing, hair, and her manners. In all the changes it slips that Judy had actually been playing Madeline in a murder attempt. During Scottie’s confrontation with Judy, Judy falls off the same ledge where she had previously faked death. Hitchcock uses specific camera

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