Vertigo

When Vertigo was released in 1958, few appreciated – or indeed understood – Alfred Hitchcock’s intentions. The filmmaker, who accustomed his audience to relentless suspense, presented a much more nuanced proposition, a film that slowly reveals its cards and whose sensibility brings to mind classic French cinema. The film was certainly influenced by its literary original – a detective story by the French crime-writing duo, Boileau-Narcejac. Although poorly received in the United States, Vertigo was well liked in Europe: it inspired the future creators of the French New Wave and won the Silver Shell at the San Sebastián Film Festival. Vertigo is almost certainly Hitchcock’s most poetic offering, which, despite its ambitions, remains an intricately constructed, even sensuous thriller that intelligently manipulates the viewer. Years later, Hitchcock said that Vertigo was one of his favourite films. It definitely stands out for its fantastic acting performances, arguably the most poignant script in the Master’s career, as well as superb technical execution.

Łukasz Mikołajczyk

Alfred Hitchcock (1899-1980), a amaster of suspense, was the most famous director in the history of thrillers and detective films. He began his career as a director in the 1920s in Great Britain, before moving to Hollywood at the end of the 1930s. His best-known films include Rear Window, The Birds, Psycho, North by Northwest and Vertigo. In 2012, the magazine Sight and Sound ranked Vertigo as the best film of all time.

Catalog MFF Nowe Horyzonty 14. edition