Vertigo

USA, 1958. Director Alfred Hitchcock. 128min.

Vertigo ranked highest in the latest Sight & Sound ‘Greatest Films of All Time’ poll of film scholars and critics. Although a critical and box office flop when released, through the years, Hitchcock’s complex erotic thriller about the death of love and its possible return has gained an enthralled audience. James Stewart stars as a retired detective who attempts to re-fashion his lost love, as Kim Novak plays both the lover and her apparent double. The complexities of grasping the image of the beloved, the pain of loss, and the perils of recovering the past through control of costume have never been so stunningly visualised.

Many Hitchcock films focus on transgressive female characters – strong but troubled figures who are ultimately punished for their deviance. Alongside elements of suspense and romance, the films often unfold as investigations into these women, and, by implication, into femininity itself. Appearance becomes crucial here, with costume and styling used to construct an image which is alluring, powerful and also, implicitly, dangerous.

With James Stewart, Kim Novak and Barbara Bel Geddes. Costume design by Edith Head. Set design by Sam Cormer and Frank R. McKelvy.

For further reading, see Adrian Garvey’s essay Hitchcock’s Woman of Fashion.

Past screenings

Between Stigma and Enigma – London
Thursday 18 May 2006, 19:00 | Ciné Lumière
With a talk by film historian Adrian Garvey.

Wearing Time: Returns, Recalls, Renewals – Miami
Thursday 28 January 2016, 20:45 | Bal Harbour Shops

Wearing Time: Past, Present, Future, Dream – London
Saturday 18 March 2017, 15:00 | Curzon Soho
With introduction by fashion designer Phoebe English. Screened alongside The Perfect Intoxication (1920).