Vertigo (1958)
Besides Psycho I am not that familiar with Hitchcock and was pleasantly surprised to see James Stewart in this. It is a very slow burn thriller that toys with whether we are supposed to think something supernatural is going on or if they are just going mad. At first I thought it was a bit too slow in its buildup, but it does pull off in the end with properly showing the increased obsession that Scottie develops for Madeleine.
What sets this movie apart is how it could easily have ended about halfway a be a completely fine open ended thriller, but then the twist happens and the entire movie is turned on its head to sort of tell the story again but from a completely different angle.
Classics like this suffer a bit from being so influential on directors after it, that its impact isn’t as big when watching it for the first time today. Like it clearly was an inspiration for Lynch’s Lost Highway - which I incidentally watched this week as well.
Rating: 4