Vertigo: Ending Explained

[@thetake]

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[@GigaChadh976]

Analyze oldboy

[@billanthony7896]

ScreenPrism- You guys are assholes for not providing a spoiler alert.

[@jimpickard3850]

@@billanthony7896 Doesn't the title 'ending explained' give you a clue there might be spoilers ?

[@IlSH2]

Nice way of viewing this movie in a narrow and simplistic way. Well thought out and well investigated analysis on the ACTUALLY main themes of this movie? fuck that. jus throw some feminism in there and you are set to upload your "analysis" on youtube.

[@amandahallock9708]

O

[@vedantkale1163]

Or maybe she just got very scared, since that silhouette looked like a demonic ghost. I certainly did.

[@danpenia219]

She looked like Batman

[@SabrinaJohns]

LOL...saaame

[@ignotussus]

lmaooo this comment made me laugh

[@kshwi3215]

That damn silhouette scared me more than the whole movie😂

[@Steve-fe4lq]

No. The appearamce of the nun just served as a representation of her standing in judgment before God or righteousness, and being overcome with guilt, she shrank back and fell out of the window.

[@bobsmith2149]

Wow, the cinematography is absolutely gorgeous.

[@johnjakle943]

the best

[@sign543]

Bob Smith I’m curious to see the film recolored to look like modern color. Just for curiosity’s sake.

[@nolanbrahosky5908]

This is my new absolute favorite film just because of the cinematography, it is the most beautiful film I've ever seen

[@Gregorius24]

Is this the Blu-ray release of the '90s restoration? The quality looks like I'm viewing an IB/Dye-Transfer image, and I've seen 35mm Technicolor prints of this film many times. It's always been my favorite film-I was mesmerized seeing it during TV broadcasts in the 1960s.

[@Killthesefears]

Isn’t it?

[@stevenscalici3470]

That scene when a transformed Judy comes out of the bathroom with her hair up and the outside green pulsing neon sign flashing eerie light into the room and the transformed new Madeline, with Bernard Hermann’s string crescendo building as Scotty sees his dream girl, is absolutely orgiastic. It’s so perfect!

[@michellebetza7131]

Vertigo is amazing!!! I was so shocked when I first saw it,because I just didn't expect it to be so dark. It really does stay with you!

[@trailblazer1615]

It was not dark it was predictable there was nothing to be shocked it was just a simple movie I wanted it to be more mysterious

[@geensloth911]

Trail Blazer shocking and mysterious are not the same as dark, although things that are shocking and mysterious are often dark. This movie while a simple mystery on the surface had very dark themes. Suicide, and spousal murder are dark. The way mental illness is portrayed is very dark in this movie.

[@kallegrabowski8972]

And unforgettable also😉. Getting haunted by this Film is something you feel when you become older and wiser. You discover more and more Details in this Movie-Masterpiece.

[@Fanfanbalibar]

RARELY READ SUCH A STUPID COMMENT !@@trailblazer1615

[@Fanfanbalibar]

@@trailblazer1615 You can watch Halloween !

[@JeremyRatzlaff]

For some reason I'd been ignoring ScreenPrism videos when they popped up in recommended, likely because I was getting them mixed up with garbage like Screen Rant or Looper, but this channel is leagues ahead of most "movie essay" channels. No idea how you're able to come up with such in depth content on such a regular basis, but I'm so glad you are! Happy to jump on as a Patreon supporter!

[@miranda-ok7ed]

Oh my gosh same, I think it's the username and the profile picture that's throwing people off.

[@Veeto200197]

Could also be why they changed the name of the channel

[@ashwins8276]

@@miranda-ok7ed exactly😂 this channel is a gem.

[@cloud3147]

I love how you analyze all kinds of movies, from recent blockbusters to old classics. Love every single one of your videos, please keep it up!!

[@oof-rr5nf]

boring sky I really love this about them too :)

[@basmasobhy2548]

I don't think it's just about Scotty being controling, it shows how Judy is willing to do anything to be loved. She helped the man kill his wife to win his love, hid the truth to be with Scotty and changed how she looked for Scotty. Judy is always so desperately in love that she becomes unaware ofwhat she's doing. At the end, she begs Scotty for forgiveness and although he does forgive her, she still feels guilty. So when she sees the nun and knows that she's busted, she jumps out fear. The nun here is the truth facing her. The truth that is that what's wronge is always wrong, even if it's for love.

[@abhishekdev258]

i think same but chicks these days have feminism in there head not logic

[@IlSH2]

@@abhishekdev258 yeah, it was far fetch to see manipulation of the women in this movie when it's not even a theme in the movie as a whole, sounds more like she is projecting her soup opera drama in her real life instead of trying to watch this movie objetively. It's specialy annoying when she brought up cheap half assed psychology from Jung's concept of anima. The concepts that she nailed were confirmed by Hitchcock himself so she doesn't brought nothing new to the table. It's a really pretencious video and not that diferent from Looper or Watchmojo

[@abhishekdev258]

@@IlSH2 She needs to debate Ben Shaprio. 😂

[@sign543]

Nahueltastico Oh, poppycock. While the channel’s interpretation isn’t necessarily true or not true, it’s just one perspective...an essay of what one person might take away from the film. Film interpretation is a very subjective process...and while Hitchcock did give us insight into some of it, he left the rest for people to interpret how they want. Your analysis is no better or worse than what the narrator gave. It’s just like...your opinion, man 😂

[@abhishekdev258]

@@sign543 You sound like a person who just saw truth being spoken, and who is not happy about it.

[@toboe99]

Thank the Lord Jesus, I have an exam coming up on Vertigo, I really needed this!!! x

[@haymaker710]

I hope you get an A.

[@toboe99]

Thankyou! :)

[@spookymadeleine]

Awesome! Break a leg!

[@jonahwright4454]

What essays are you taking. That seems so sick

[@maxheller7815]

what do you study

[@stephenbastasch7893]

The lovers do NOT "kiss and make up" in the final scene. Quite the contrary, they both realize that all is lost but the memory of an illusion.

[@camilaesquivel7044]

I agree

[@Archivist82]

My favourite move of all time. The fashion to say 'best' may come and go, but it's my favourite. "Here I was born...and there I died...it was only a moment for you. You took no notice..."

[@ronhobbs463]

When I first saw this I felt touched by the hand of God.

[@lannguyen9871]

I think the acrophobia is a metaphor for fear of looking back the past, or the trauma. The past is where you buried all your guilt, your torment, your pain. It's the deepest part of yourself. It makes you feel dreadful and vertigo when you try to face it. And you can't stand the thought of looking down the abyss, not again. You think, like Scottie, you can get used to it, one step to another, but it only leads you to a much deeper and more painful place.

[@grapplergirl10]

I’ve seen vertigo a zillion times, yet still can’t figure out the point of the old hotel scene. He follows her, she goes in, is seen in the window, but really wasn’t there..? Key still at the desk, manager didn’t see her.. what was Hitchcock doing/saying there?

[@colinthedogfromspaced9365]

Yes ! Thought I was the only one. What does that scene mean ?

[@MrJonavo]

I assume it was there just to give Madeline a more ghostly aura and mystery about her with no intent to make sense in the full context of the film.

[@richardoverton-davis6860]

I've always held the opinion that something was edited out at this point. I'm wondering if the clerk at the front desk actually did not see Madeleine pass by her--or was she perhaps bribed to remain silent about Madeleine's arrival. Another point I've always wondered about is: At the beginning of the film--how did Scotty get off the roof of that building when he was dangling from the gutter?

[@danpenia219]

Scottie had great grip strenght and waited until someone else helped him. The hotel scene was just to make her look more misterious to Scotties' eyes

[@johnp515]

Mr. Charles I agree about the hotel but “Scottie had great grip strength” made me laugh

[@richardoverton-davis6860]

This is, hands down, one of the most haunting and intriguing films I've ever seen. For many years after I acquired the DVD, I would stop watching at the point when Madeleine "jumped" to her death. The ending with what happened to Judy was so unsettling and unpalatable to me to the point where it was too painful to watch that part. Now, I suppose my tastes have matured a bit and I can watch it from beginning to end without flinching too much. This film is truly an unforgettable work of art.

[@eligrivrerref]

Wow ! Completely understand your point !

[@hippiecheezburger5457]

A true level of irony

[@gorequillnachovidal]

The nun is not representative of religion being her enemy. When you watch that dude throw his wife off you can tell the fake woman is not in on it and she seems to panic. Now, she sees the nun and is confronted by her own guilt and this is why she leaps to her death.

[@kostajovanovic3711]

Much more likely

[@frumaatholoid]

"leaps" implies choice. You're suggesting she committed suicide? I always interpreted that she fell backwards--wrong circumstances, wrong time, wrong moment--causing her death, underscoring the role of fate. I always thought that Judy thought the nun was the real Madeline Elster, but I guess that would imply her feelings of guilt surfacing too. I agree that Judy is not in on the wife's death when she gets to the tower though. I don't agree with this video's view of the nun representing religion. That's a stretch. Also, the claim that Hitchcock is showing how men control women is a stretch too, the feminist spin is a bit reductive.

[@theproplady]

Hitchcock was a devout Catholic. I doubt he would have intended the nun as a shot against religion.

[@pegbars]

Religion being "her enemy?!" LOL! As one would expect, a typical (and wrong) conclusion from a millennial.

[@jaym3566]

I agree with this. It's also possible that as her identity had been stripped completely, she took on the identity of the possessed, suicidal woman that Scotty fantasized her as being and she also willingly became. Putting on the necklace could signify this too. And when she sees the dark shadow appear it is a reflection of her inner shadow and guilt which she had chosen to ignore rather than confront, which causes her to remain possessed rather than embody her true self and authentic identity.

[@12classics39]

Judy dies because she “became” Madeleine. She gave up her true identity and was willing to live the rest of her life as Scottie’s ideal. But his ideal was impossible … it was a fantasy, a fiction, a character she played who ultimately plunged to her death. So by becoming Madeleine - the love Scottie was always doomed to lose by falling from the tower - Judy essentially sealed her own fate. It’s a poetic ending, and one of the most shocking in film history.

[@mrpurple11]

Great comment as you said she sealed her destiny becoming Madeline. Now for Judy it wasn't only Scottie ideal but also the reminder of her sin. By playing along was a form of repentance instead of going fully with the truth (remember she tears apart the letter) but the truth which was her fear of the real Madeline coming up to her was her demise but Scottie can only go back in spirals

[@pmichael73]

@@mrpurple11 Yes! She was an accomplice or at least an accessory after the fact to murder. A police detective can never marry her.

[@noone5798]

Vertigo 1958 The iconic cinematic masterpiece of the great Hitchcock, a heavy, very heavy film and became a reference for many cinematic works, the artistic design and the use of colors was legendary and the abundance of symbols, angles of photography, and the many directing details in the film are great, and those who watch the film will not believe that it was in 1958, scenes of its beauty as if it were A painting, and the more I watched the film, the more I discovered many symbols, which increased the film's beauty in the performance of the cast, especially the legend James Stewart. - Do not forget to mention the most important information.. In 2012, the film was rated by critics as the greatest film in the history of cinema

[@Spiegelgeist]

Vertigo is one of my all time favorites and one of Hitchcock's best works. Great video as always! :)

[@KevyNova]

I always thought the use of green symbolized Scotty’s envy. He is lusting after his old friend’s wife whom he is supposed to be protecting. Then after the wife is dead, he still wants her so his envy drives him to find a girl who looks like her but he has to make her exactly like the woman that caused his envy.

[@sandrasanders706]

Great point!

[@rebeccamartin2399]

Hats off to Edith Head who did costumes for all but one or two of his many movies.

[@johnneilson377]

Could be, and green is indeed tied to Madeline/Judy. The green-trimmed gown, the green car, Judy's green sweater and skirt, the green lighting all point symbolically to Judy's deception, duplicity, and deceit. It's clear color is an essential element of this film. Your thoughts on the use of red?

[@Bioniking]

Such a great movie. Each time you view it it’s like you’re watching an entirely new movie

[@gavinelster3168]

My once a year Vertigo post. I know it’s long and most wont read it. There are things about this film that are truly unique to cinema and for some strange reason are never addressed by film experts or historians. This video is a dive into Vertigo among many other issues, explores the toxic male portrayed in cinema. As all dissections of the film the character of Scotty is glossed over. Scotty is clearly a deviant. He’s a retired private detective. No one, I mean no one in the history of film history has ever delved into Scottys mindset beyond his obsession with Madeline. Scotty chose a profession that satisfied his need to be a voyeur. Coupled with the clear fact Scotty is a high functioning alcoholic creates a character that traditionally is not a protagonist. The fact Scotty takes Madeline back to his apartment,strips her naked and places her in is bed confirms Scotty is not of good moral character. It is so brazen and off putting yet he’d does it like it’s totally normal. It is behavior that one does not just do without thinking. It’s behavior he has done before. Being a private detective would be a perfect position for a predator to have as it allows opportunities to abuse power in order to carry out a fantasy. Scotty is a serial predator. A rapist in a position of trust. The worst kind of offender. He preys on the weak and disenfranchised. Equally disturbing is Judys choices as she pretends to be Madeline. Scotty plucks her out of the bay brings her to his place strips her and places her in the bed all the while Judy is faking her condition. She lets him strip her. She lest him place her in bed. She is aware of what is going on yet totally ok with it. She like Scotty lives with a sexual norm that is not something society at the time would be willing to address. The relationship with Midge his long time companion and former fiancé shows Scotty has no desire for an independent partner. Midge has resigned herself to this understanding. She painfully lives her life in “the friend zone”. She finds her best qualities, being an independent creative educated woman as her biggest flaws. This torment would be eliminated if Scotty would just love her for who she is. She is the perfect,ideal woman. She is resigned to be his grand enabler for all of Scottys deviant desires. She knows plying him with alcohol gets him to loosen up. In the film she knows his addictions and reenforces them only to be rebuffed. Midge is a tragic character who seems to always come back to Scotty no matter what happens. No matter what he’s done she will be there to pick him up after the fall. Every time. Without fail. Until... She realizes in the hospital there is no way life with Scotty could ever be what she had envisioned. In what is the a defining act of self realization she walks down the hall. Her steps unsteady as she cuts ties and steps off screen, for the last time, into a life she is now responsible for. Her own. There is another oddity in this film that makes it unique to Hitchcock films. Every film Hitchcock has done up until this had been steeped in catholic guilt. If you committed a crime, a sin, you will face judgment. A good example is in Psycho. Marion a single woman is having an affair with a married man. She steals $40,000 in the hopes of keeping the man she desires. She pay for those sins with her life. All bad deeds do not go unpunished in the Hitchcock universe. Except here. In Vertigo the villain, Gavin Elster, is never brought to justice. Gavin a man who murders his wife, has relations with the woman he picked up for the express purpose of using her to set up the murder. Gavin sets the ball in motion that will destroy the lives of his wife and Judy as well as permanently scar Scotty who at the end of the film stands at the precipice, staring into the void. If there wasn’t a fade out the fate of Scotty would be the same as Judy and Madeline. Gavin commits the perfect crime and just skips out of the country with his newly acquired wealth. My last point I need to make is about the Nun. This KZbin video misses a critical point in completing the spiral these characters have been caught in. The nun who causes Judy to stop back in surprise and fall to her death is not such a representation of purity. She is the representation of Madeline . The real Madeline. An important part of the plot is buried as a throwaway line. The Plot to kill Elster’s wife did have elements of truth. The real Madeline did have an odd connection with Carlotta. Gavin picked up on that and hatched the murder plot around this.The nun rises up like a spirit from amongst the dead. She says “ I heard voices”. The voice you hear is the voice of Judy as Madeline. To Judy this is her greatest fear. She is being confronted with the very woman she helped murder. It’s a moment not of being startled by just the presence another person in the bell tower. It the terror and confusion as to who that person is that causes Judy to recoil. I’ve studied this film for decades. It’s characters are so damn fascinating. It’s not so much what they do but why they do them. The choices made by the filmmakers to show just enough of their behaviors to clue you into the real darkness that lies just under the surface.

[@antoniovasquez9946]

Nice analysis

[@gavinelster3168]

Antonio Vásquez thank you. I’m not sure if I’m peeling away layers of this film or discovering more about myself? It’s by far my favorite film and at this point in my life I feel Ive been, in some odd way, every main character in this film along the way. I’m in my Scotty phase. I can recognize a person who hides his drinking problem a mile away. So... yay for experience!

[@oreosconmilk]

nice

[@Steve-fe4lq]

Your analysis of Scotty is quite the stretch. Voyeur? Hardly. Back in the days this film came out, private detectives were depicted as police sidekicks, or at least collaborators with law enforcement, not the spying-on-cheating-spouses schmucks they are today. Private detectives were essentially police detectives on a private payroll back then, many of them former police detectives gone into private practice. You can see that depicted in the beginning of the film, as Scotty is assisting uniformed officers in a roof-top foot chase with a criminal. Had he been involved in the type of voyeuristic profession that private detectives work is today, there would have been no footchase involving police. To imply that he was a sexual predator because he was a PI is to have a terrible lack of understanding of the era in which this film came out. Also consider this, he likely became an alcoholic following the events that led to his crippling mental state of acrophobia, and even his friend Midge understood it as a coping tool. Another thing......if he was a voyeur, then why his naive question about the bra hanging up. Seems like a voyeur spying on women in various stages of undress would not feel the need to ask the question. Rather, they might pride themselves with such knowledge of women's undergarments.

[@gavinelster3168]

Steve 1241 Steve you make a very good point.

[@DCMarvelMultiverse]

Perfect analysis. Everything a fan could ever desire for this classic. Just perfect.

[@billanthony7896]

Lost Age Comics- Except a fucking "spoiler" alert, for those who haven't seen the film!

[@spyboy1964]

The spoiler alert is in the title "vertigo ending explained "

[@sign543]

Bill Anthony If you are complaining about a “spoiler alert” for a film that was made nearly 70 years ago...you need to get a life. If you haven’t seen it by now...it’s YOUR duty to avoid spoiler alerts...not other people’s responsibility. Plus...they WARNED THE VIEWER in the TITLE (Vertigo ending explained...DUH!) that there would be spoiler alerts. 🙄 😂

[@willtheprodigy3819]

Not really lol. This is a feminist critique. The male is the victim in this story, not the manipulative woman. Feminists always see women as the victim, no matter what. That’s why they’re taking Amber Heard’s side in the Depp trial.

[@freddylubin]

We get to understand Scotty's problem with Midge when he asks her about her "love life", and she answers in one word: "Normal". That's pretty much it.

[@davidcawrowl3865]

The ending doesn't really matter since, by that time, one is mildly hypnotized and less-caring about a cogent ending. The hypnotic state, being pleasurable, renders one enjoying the cinematic experience.

[@rt4rtl]

This is a dark commentary on human nature. Judy helped her married lover set up Scottie as the fall guy for a very ingenious murder. Too late she realized Scottie would have been a better catch. When she runs into him a year later she's made up differently, so he doesn't catch on at first, and she has to make allowance for the fact that the man she first used and then fell in love with has changed, and not for the better. You can't use someone the way Judy used Scottie and not expect them to change. The people at the clothing store can see how controlling Scottie is, but they don't know the backstory. Judy does a lot of penance for her misdeeds.

[@edmundcharles5278]

A very cogent analysis which this video analysis did not catch!

[@edmundcharles5278]

As much as I like modern movie directors, none of them have yet demonstrated the subtle style, mood lighting and scene layouts as that of Alfred Hitchcock!

[@p4alls]

That 'anima' reference was just spot on!

[@Mrn0sferatu]

I found the usage of color red (paired in contrast with blue, as we have seen in a lot in cinema) interesting but couldn't really decide if it symbolized desire or death. After Scotty saves Madeleine from drowning, he gaves her a red dress, originally she had a blue one, we see it hanging in the background. In various other shots Madeleine is in red and Scotty is usually in a blue suit but with a red tie. The red tie is especially interesting to me, I interpreted it as a "hangman's knot". Death of desire or death by desire.

[@glamdolly30]

It's a red satin bathrobe, not a dress!

[@Capricorn152]

Love this! I'd love to see a Rear Window analysis soon. 😊

[@fiorefiore9910]

Great timing! I was on a Hitcock marathon this weekend and when I watched Vertigo (for the first time) I was a little let down because I felt confused. Your analysis made some points clear, great job!👍

[@CoCotheTurtle]

I haven't been on a hitcock marathon since I was in my teens.

[@Robpool2000]

Can you guys talk about Terry Gilliam’s Brazil next?

[@laurend9829]

VERY good call. Must happen!

[@fruzsimih7214]

These two have been my favorite movies since my teenage years!

[@Fandango541]

Dude, I was so taken with that movie I musta rented it about 1,000 xs on VHS back in the day. That was a real take on what is happening in the world right now. Total asshats running and ruining civilization. That was a real mind bender (as my generation used to say). 😉😎 As a side note, I never watched that movie without taking a few bong hits before viewing. 👍⚡

[@michaelharrington7656]

A fine analysis. Thank you. I would only add that Bernard Hermann's score is very important in creating and maintaining the atmosphere of the film, and the influence of of Wagner's Tristan and Isolde in unmistakable.The idea of lovers who can be united only in death goes the heart of Vertigo.

[@pdzombie1906]

From Mircea Eliade's 'Myth of the eternal Retun' to Douglas Hofstadter's 'I am a Strange Loop', there's a notion of being governed by our unconscious desires which lead back to our past. Everything we do as adults has its roots in our childhood, just as we are either compensating or reacting to it. We pull away and towards death because we want meaning in our lives and only we can understand it in retrospect. I think Hitchcock suggests this in a very simple and interesting way in Vertigo: our lives are a downward spiral into ourselves (which is the reason why we have kids or make art, in order to save ourselves from being self-absorbed). Great video as usual!!! Thanx, girls. Luv U!

[@abhishekdev258]

he never physically forced her to changer her. She could have rejected him and moved on but she did not and stayed. So the statement that male power and dominance kills women is wrong . the correct statement would be she wanted male validation even if it meant erasing her self completely that "excess" led to her demise.

[@henrymachtay3684]

The closing shot of Vertigo has a lot of meaning for me (and I've discussed it with two different shrinks). It touches my own life with the thought, "Oh Crap, I already saw this tragedy. I didn't know I'd have to watch it all over again." The context is too specific for me to spell out, but it involved seeing a teenager make the same fatal mistakes I'd seen made decades earlier by a previous generation. If you're old enough, you'll understand.

[@jimmymartinez9994]

No wonder why I’ve watched it over 7 times! I was so drawn into this movie that I became obsessed with everything.

[@markdettra1794]

I've seen it about 300 times.

[@edsonnavarrus7379]

From the beginning Hitchcok establishes Scotty as a gentleman of ethics and repressions, a fact that should not be underestimated. And his antithesis turns out to be the femme fatale as revealed at the ending. It is not comfortable for feminists but it works perfectly for this masterful tale.

[@Passions5555]

Mild bitching about "oh no feminism" in the comments section aside this was a great analysis. I'm taking a class on reading film language and it's fascinating we recently watched this film and are studying film noir genre. I have to do a paper on this movie and you helped give me some direction. Question: what do you make of Miranda,'s husband who is supposedly the main character's "friend" using him as an alibi do to his weakness of hieghts? Do you feel he was looking down on his masculinity? The court scene where the judge lays into him and his weakness shows how little sympathy another man toward has toward his condition and looks down on it. Also the main character is put in a villainous light for how he treats Judy and I agree she gets badgered by him, but what about his victimization by both Judy and his murderous best friend? His vertigo gets exploited by them and when he feels he failed to save another person he lands in mental hospital. He gets mind fucked.

[@jackmorrison7379]

Actually it is far from certain that Scotty (Stewart) and Judy (Novak) "made up" just before her fatal fall as you claim. He said to her in an unfriendly way words to the effect that Madeline can't be brought back. In other words her plea to forgive and forget and love her as she is, not as the made up Madeline wasn't accepted. In those days a likeable if flawed retired cop character wasn't going to overlook the past felonies of Judy (accessory to a murder and coverup with a payoff from the murderer Elster).

[@alannothnagle]

Yes, even though Scotty was madly in love and half crazed by trauma, he was still a policeman and lawyer at heart. No amount of romance could change his basic structure. I find this strangely comforting.

[@christophermiller1621]

Good one guys. Can you do a series on Hitchcock's blondes?

[@michaelharrington7656]

Thank you for a first rate analysis. I would only suggest some mention could have been made of Bernard Hermann's score, which contains unmistakable echoes of Wagner's Tristan and Isolde , which is about lovers who can be united only in death.

[@willtheprodigy3819]

It wasn’t, though. It was a feminist critique. The male is the victim here, not the woman.

[@piperita7557]

@@willtheprodigy3819 Both are victims, I think, in a different way

[@backforblood3421]

Not a damn thing ever happens to the guy who broke his wife's neck and threw her out of the bell tower. They don't even mention him more than once afterward.

[@roaringtiger2574]

we can assume scotty informed the cops about what the husband did, but he did say he was going out of country forever..

[@backforblood3421]

@@roaringtiger2574 We can't assume anything, especially not decency. That's something I have learned very well over the past 12 years, not to mention that "Scottie" is someone who was on the verge of committing adultery with what he thought was the guy's wife prior to the first bell tower incident, so there's no reason to attribute him any moral character in the first place.

[@backforblood3421]

@koustav chatterjee That is why you and all others like you belong under the perpetual control and authority of real men.

[@elitsagospodinova7241]

@@backforblood3421 hey, i'm writing 6m late; i watched the movie the other night and have been reading about it on the internet - that was on wikipedia: "Alternative ending A coda to the film was shot that showed Midge at her apartment, listening to a radio report (voiced by San Francisco TV reporter Dave McElhatton) describing the pursuit of Gavin Elster across Europe. Midge switches the radio off when Scottie enters the room. They then share a drink and look out of the window in silence. Contrary to reports that this scene was filmed to meet foreign censorship needs,[51] this tag ending had originally been demanded by Geoffrey Shurlock of the U.S. Production Code Administration, who had noted: "It will, of course, be most important that the indication that Elster will be brought back for trial is sufficiently emphasized." Hitchcock finally succeeded in fending off most of Shurlock's demands (which included toning down erotic allusions) and had the alternative ending dropped.[14] The footage was discovered in Los Angeles in May 1993, and was added as an alternative ending on the LaserDisc release, and later on DVD and Blu-ray releases.[52]"

[@backforblood3421]

@@elitsagospodinova7241 Well, thank you!

[@BlakeHolsey]

I just saw this movie yesterday. I might need to watch it again.

[@blaketremain385]

This movie has so many layers to it. Every time you watch it again it reveals the new layer

[@tinahernandez-zudell1399]

I will always love and consider this film a masterpiece. If you haven't seen Stranger's On A Train, watch it and you'll love it. I would love to hear your thoughts on that film.

[@francisdonner8306]

Wait I’m Catholic so I’d like to redefine what you said about the nun. The nun represents Judy’s conscience. After all she is complicit in a murder! Does she deserve to live happily ever after. I feel sorry for her but she could have prevented a MURDER if she hadn’t gone along with it until she fell “in love”. What would she do if she ever fell out of love with Scotty. Run Scotty Run!

[@Thor-Orion]

I think Vertigo is deserving of the top spot. It’s close between Vertigo, Kaine, Casa Blanca and King Kong. All brilliant, inventive, medium pushing masterpieces.

[@randywhite3947]

It’s Kane

[@neenareadsalot7563]

I am working on a paper for my psychology class, I hit a wall and “Vertigo” is one of the movies I selected. Your video helped me get another perspective and started me thinking about the movie again looking for points to use in my paper. Thank you for the jumpstart.

[@danpenia219]

Still less complex than my last relationship

[@moviefan7755]

Vertigo is one of my favorite films of all time ! Great analysis !

[@eduardo_corrochio]

I'm glad that this excellent piece of Hollywood art is being talked about and examined ... and introduced to new fans each generation when they hear good things about "Vertigo". However, I'm curious: it seems odd that interesting movie endings always need to explained in a KZbin video. Does the general public need things spoon-fed to it, so it can grasp and digest things easier? I don't think people need that, and it's borderline condescending to believe they do. It's a little like saying "Oh, allow me to enlighten you all". Bottom line on "Vertigo" ... Sometimes a nun is just a nun. Of course, in this case the nun happens to be a quick means to a tragic ending, but naturally this story couldn't finish in a good way; these two people were extremely twisted-- when you look at what they did to each other (up until the necklace revelation).

[@rain_and_daisies]

I'll be the first to say I appreciate being spoon fed the information! I'm not a film student and I've never studied literature. I do love to read classic literature and I enjoy older movies, but it is super helpful to me to hear other's thoughts about books and movies to better understand them and what kinds of things to look for. Especially the kinds of movies coming out today are nothing like Vertigo and no one knows how to discuss these subtle movies techniques anymore. It's all CGI and explosions. So a big thanks to the internet for helping me understand these topics better!! I just watched Vertigo for the first time and found it quite interesting and thought provoking but the actual breakdown of the techniques in the movie went right over my head. Understanding them better now will make an even more interesting re-watch.

[@eduardo_corrochio]

@@rain_and_daisies Thanks for sharing your interesting viewpoint. I liked what you had to say. Food for thought!

[@pointysidedown]

I think that Scotty never left the hospital after tower incident and the second act was all a delusion he made up to come to terms with the guilt he felt

[@allypallygally]

I often wondered that myself

[@randywhite3947]

This is an interesting take.

[@mikeochondria4087]

i love this movie so so so much.

[@santibarcena336]

I've submitted a spanish translation of the subtitles so more people can enjoy this great analysis. Please like so The Take can see it and approve them!

[@KenshoBeats]

Great analyses, I would use Herrmann’s score on the background though, after all it’s one of the best movie scores ever created.

[@astrovibes680]

You should do a video on “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”

[@tombennett3827]

...and one on "Beach Blanket Bingo."

[@GialloEurocrimeWorldChannel]

@@tombennett3827 Or "Don't Make Waves."

[@Fanfanbalibar]

AND CHARADE TOO, STARRING HEPBURN (Audrey of course) AND GRANT !

[@maximillianford9301]

@@Fanfanbalibar What is there to analyse about Charade lol. It's the purest example of a good time you'll ever find in a spy flick

[@jessicavictoriacarrillo7254]

I love this could you do Muriel's Wedding?

[@Chandasouk]

Watched this movie last week while on a Hitchcock binge! It was a bit too surreal for me so while I enjoyed it, I didn't love it. I thought the whole "hired and actress to fake wife's murder as a suicide" bit was interesting but wasn't expecting the move to continue after that. Then it became a really twisted "love" story. That nun will forever crack me up though lol.

[@hippiecheezburger5457]

For some reason, I've watched Vertigo probably 3 or 4 times in my life and every time i just get so confused, and I get lost in whats happening lol

[@georgeboyd4619]

Great movie. Just watched it for the first time. Hitchcock is amazing.

[@ChubbyChecker182]

13.38 ish... I love how Hitchcock says "Knickers Orf"

[@Fanfanbalibar]

This is the Brit name for panties !

[@kareningram6093]

Vertigo is one of my all time favorite movies. I've watched it a dozen times and studied it from all angles. And yet I still learned SO MUCH from your video. I can't thank you enough for your incredible work.

[@stevefraser1409]

I can’t get enough of this magnificent analysis. Just as I never get enough of the movie Vertigo.

[@vernwallen4246]

Seeing all those cars in new or like new condition was in it's self a CLASSIC.🗽🗽🗽

[@gregisom45]

Everyone is wrong!! The entire second part of the film takes place inside Scottie's mind!! The second act has only two people in a city of million. Also, there never isn't a mention of a timeline in the second act: Scottie is in his own world, then the film shows the sky, places in SF and then Scottie seeing a green car. How long time has passed, it isn't stated because this is all in Scottie's mind, trying to figure out what has just happened. Noticed at the end, Scottie can stand at he edge with no problem, and the bells ringing is him waking up.

[@alannothnagle]

>>The second act has only two people in a city of million.

[@self1sch]

I loved the movie, the random nun at the end was a bit of a disappointment though. It made me laugh out loud at a moment that I definitely shouldn't have.

[@jasonbaylor9865]

I don't think it was random. It represented the guilt and a higher judgement that she faced and that realization made her jump. We had seen religious references throughout the film with all the missions and churches and cemeteries. Made perfect sense to me

[@edmundcharles5278]

I could only wish that a Director’s Cut of this film existed to add in even more extra plot lines!

[@saigokun]

This was a great analysis, thanks for creating and uploading this. While the green indicates indeed what you say, it also contrasts starkly with the red in Elster's office which seems to indicate danger. I think that the nun at the end represents Judy's conscience that is finally overtaking her.

[@Champingcom]

This is where you wanna come after you're done watching a movie. Your videos makes us dive deep into what we saw.

[@theowlreviewerofficial]

Congrats. I just brought like #900. Saw the film for it's 60th Anniversary this week and damn it's great

[@clare9621]

Have I told you all lately how much I love you? Because I love you. Deeply. Like falling backwards into great depths.

[@smoothALOE]

I’m gonna have to rewatch this movie soon.

[@tedwatson9929]

I enjoyed this very much. What do you think about the fact that Hitchcock didn't give much in the form of direction to actors who worked for him...outside of strict control over their appearance?

[@Steve-fe4lq]

I find it incredibly shallow that analysts of this movie, feminists in particular, automatically assume that Scotty is just obsessing about Madeline so much that he had to CONTROL Judy and remake her into Madeline so that he can "feel" something for her. My theory is that, deep down Madeline's "suicide" did not completely sit right with Scotty, even in his compromised mental state. As a retired policeman, he would have reacted according to his training when something seemed off, so though it may be in part because of his obsession with Madeline that he made Judy "become" her, it has always seemed more likely to me that his cop instincts were kicking in and relying on a slight suspicion, he was trying to find the solution to why Madeline died. The climax seems to imply that his suspicions were confirmed during the confrontation in the tower. It could be argued that his extreme obsession was a ruse in order to get it all out in the open. Of course, regardless, Judy could never have been free to be with Scotty, because she had been an accomplice to murder, and the judgment for her fall from grace was a literal death sentence. At the appearance of the nun, her guilt and condemnation consumed her, and in fear of judgment, she stepped backward out of the window.

[@alannothnagle]

You make a good point about Scotty's policeman instincts. That certainly explains why he is unable to forgive and accept Madeleine at the end - obsession or no obsession, he'd make sure she was brought to justice for her crime.

[@robinstevenson6690]

Brilliant insight about Madelaine being Scottie's "anima!" Let's take it a step further. Gloria Steinhem said (hetero-) women are attracted to men who have the qualities that they wish they had. The same is true of (hetero-) men. They are attracted to women who have the qualities they wish they had - - this is the male "anima." This is very profound upon reflection.

[@8176morgan]

Here are six things about Vertigo that I find are very unrealistic 1). After the policeman falls to his death, Scottie Ferguson is left hanging on to a bent gutter pipe that looks like it is just about to collapse. There is no one around to rescue him and it looks like he can’t hold onto that badly bent drainage pipe for very much longer just by his fingertips, and yet it is never explained how he got himself out of that predicament that should have led to his own death and also the end of the movie right then and there. 2). In order for Gavin Elster’s diabolical scheme to have correctly played out, his wife the real and now deceased Madeleine Elster would had to have landed face down on the roof of the Mission San Juan Bautista, a near impossibility but which for the plot’s sake she fortunately did. Any other possibility, especially face up, and Scottie would have instantly recognized that it was not the same woman who he thought was Madeleine. 3). After the nuns and priests had taken down the body of the dead woman, the retired detective Scottie Ferguson would undoubtedly have stayed around awhile to make sure that not only was she definitely dead but also to make arraignments to transport the body back to her grieving husband Gavin Elster. No way would a responsible law-abiding man like him leave the scene of the tragedy right after her apparent leap to her death. 4). The devilish Mr. Elster would in actuality have paid Judy Barton an enormous amount of money in order to coax her into serving as an accomplice to an intricate murder like that, not just a few hundred dollars as she claimed. And she would have hardly be seen working in a downtown department store as a low-wage sales clerk who abides in a cheap one bedroom apartment. 5). But even if everything else were true, Miss Judy Barton would not have had any romantic interest in a not too well off retired old detective like Scottie Ferguson, who suffers from Acrophobia, nor would she have had any interest in dredging up the past and risk going to prison for her part in the plot; after all, the man had recently been a detective. 6). Finally, Scottie Ferguson would have naturally recognized at some point that Judy Barton had previously pretended to be Madeleine Elster - it would have been as easy as recognizing that Clark Kent was in fact Superman who at least wore a pair of glasses to help conceal his identity - and which is another very cogent reason why she would have given poor old Scottie and very quick and firm brushoff to any of his advances. In my opinion Vertigo would have been a much better and more realistic movie if there really had been two separate women, let us say Vera Miles playing the first part of Madeleine and then Kim Novak in the second part as the sales clerk and with her achieving the same result of meeting her demise by accidentally falling off a bell tower. If that had happened the critics of the day would definitely have given the movie more salutations than they did at the time it was released.

[@Fanfanbalibar]

????????????N?N?????????? VERY MUCH FAR-FETCHED !!!!!!

[@alannothnagle]

>>the retired detective Scottie Ferguson would undoubtedly have stayed around awhile to make sure that not only was she definitely dead but also to make arraignments to transport the body back to her grieving husband Gavin Elster. No way would a responsible law-abiding man like him leave the scene of the tragedy right after her apparent leap to her death.

[@alg11297]

This was one of the movies Hitchcock held back from re-release for decades. (Rope was another) I saw it when it was first put on television maybe in the 70s and thought it was just very strange. It's also because Jimmy Steward almost never portrays anything resembling a real person. However, I still remember him schlepping Kim up the stairs of the church saying "You were a very apt pupil, weren't you Judy? A very apt pupil" And the nun scares Judy but Scottie just stands there. It's got alot of problems.

[@swanpride]

Yeah...I mean, I can imagine that it was impressive back then, with the vertigo effects and all that. But I found the story convoluted and predictable at the same time.

[@Thespeedrap]

Interesting analysis I always wondered what happened to the main character after he lost his girl a second time.

[@Steve-fe4lq]

Maybe they should have had him jump out after her, and fall exactly the way he did in his nightmares. That would have been quite the finality.

[@Thespeedrap]

@@Steve-fe4lq NO

[@simonf8902]

Vertigo is based on a French novel : ‘ d’entre Les morts. ‘ Literally between the two deaths.

[@vickjr98]

Or "among the dead"

[@simonf8902]

@@vickjr98 yes. Thank you.

[@Fanfanbalibar]

NO, "FROM BEYOND THE DEAD" (I AM FRENCH AND READ THIS BOOK BY CO-AUTHORS BOILEAU AND NARCEJAC JUST AFTER SEEING VERTIGI IN PARIS IN 1959 (I WAS 15 !)

[@sudevsen]

Simple answer : Judy sees a nun and slips. Classic comedy pratfalls routine.

[@guest_informant]

What have men and women got to do with it? Plenty of men also change themselves to try and attract the woman they desire. And I'd imagine it's the same across the spectrum of relationships. It's not about men vs women it's about _people_ in relationships.

[@marchtenth7869]

Guest Informant exactly

[@saiashwin26]

this video essay is stupid and irrelevant to the film, they didn't even explore the themes of duality,repetition,obsession,guilt that are based on.Just turned it into another feminist propaganda to suit their agenda

[@marchtenth7869]

Sai Ashwin yup. Anywhere these toxic SJWs can shove their bs down our throats, they take advantage of it.

[@JigglePhysics3000]

@@saiashwin26 You're a goofy lad, but I like you ;)

[@beauhauser]

@Guest Informant Of course there are men who change themselves, do you have a point? What is the title of THIS analysis? It isn't about ALL films or ALL men and women in relationships. it's about the men and women in VERTIGO, as the title indicates. The analysis sticks to that, as it should.

[@michaelgeorge1737]

Has anyone noticed the similarities between Vertigo and Basic Instinct? Set in San Francisco, blonde mysterious woman, a detective who falls for the wrong woman and who knows that she will be his downfall, car tracking scenes around San Francisco, another woman who is in love with the detective but is stuck in the friend zone,...

[@davidbolha]

Good call ! 🤔😏👍

[@mrpurple11]

Love Vertigo! Great analysis but there's one big element lacking in the "Fallen woman" bit and that's a good dose of catholic guilt lol (also talked about Hitchcock/ Truffaut). Judy participates in Scotty's obsession bc she's just as obsessed as him. We could say she's obsessed *with* Scottie and what she had as Madeline but *also* with guilt. She was fully complicit in a murder and has guilt. She begs for Scotty's forgiveness but the nun who appears like a dark spectre it's the thruh she can't escape hence why Judy sees Madeleine's spirit, while Scottie a nun.

[@AB-iu7fu]

feminist spin is really crazy.

[@SistoActivitatemAtm]

Ok usually these analyses are spot on, but in this case, you said it's because of her seeking male validation is why she agrees to change her appearance. My interpretation: But, that's not it. She manipulated and lied to him, then made him feel so bad (faking her death) that he entered a mental institution for a year. So the reason she agrees to change her appearance is because 1) she loves him 2) she feels guilty for what she did to him, as she knows that the memory of her is torturing him. Because she feels guilty for lying to him, and continuously lying to him. It's not "she's putting up with a male fantasy" but rather a man who experienced significant truama (caused by her) trying to cope by recreating his fears with a girl who curiously looks EXACTLY like her, who lives in the EXACTLY same apartment. Those are many coincidences that are impossible to ignore, so he was triggered by his disagreeable memory that is now resurfacing in the present (she looks the same/lives in the she place).

[@krnriceboi619]

I honestly really didn’t like the movie until I saw this review. Made me have some respect for the movie now

[@lisellesloan3191]

I think one of the things this film most exemplifies is how we can all be fools for love, for whatever Jungian reasons: to be willing to override our own identities to become what someone else will love (Judy) or to love someone who fills the hole in our psyches without bothering to figure out why (Scotty).

[@intern0077]

In Vertigo, Scotty feels tremendous guilt because he has failed twice resulting in 2 deaths. First, the policeman fell to his death trying to save Scotty from falling to his death from a roof. Second, Scotty fails to control his acrophobia when he can not climb the Mission steeple stairs to discover whether Madeline committed suicide, or was indeed murdered. He has failed the policeman and the woman he loves. This guilt is made more overwhelming when the audience identifies with Jimmy Stewart's character. Stewart's genius lay in his seeming ability to get an audience to "like him" effortlessly. He is a "nice guy". Scotty brings Madeline "back to life" by transforming Judy into Madeline. He allows himself to believe he is "revivifying" Madeline. By so doing he is able to forgive himself from one of his failures. Additionally, he can "recover" the woman he loves. I do not think we can classify Scotty's actions as necrophilia, though Hitchcock himself allows necrophilia as a possible motivation.

[@Steve-fe4lq]

Pretty sure "revivifying" is not a word

[@mickeyhill8146]

Any chance of seeing you do "Children of Men" in the near future?

[@tylenoljackson9378]

I can never get over the gigantic plot hole that Hitchcock himself hated: The first time Scotty climbs up the tower. What if he climbed all the way to the top right behind Madelyn without stopping? Presumably he would encounter Elster with his dead wife and Madelyn all together.

[@gardensofthegods]

Yes the first time I saw this I think I was maybe 11, 12 or 13 ish ... I felt a little ripped off because I had the exact same thoughts as you and I wanted a better explanation of how they were able to pull this off ... just as you described . I wanted to be able to see all of that part ... but of course they never show it . So , for me there was a sense of disappointment at their convenience of hiding the actual real murder of the wife and them up there in the Bell Tower . To me it didn't make sense to leave such an important part out and to leave it to our imagination . I'm glad I'm not the only one who felt this way . This movie came out a couple days before I was born .

[@bluecollarlit]

It was five months before I was born.

[@mrpurple11]

I neverminded. Once read Vertigo can be watched like a long dream sequence lol

[@no288]

They could have fix that. Either by making Scotties acrophobia much worse to make sure he was unable to get up there. Or if Judy had locked the trapdoor after she got up in the bell tower as it was written in the script. All they needed was to slow him down, as his vertigo did, for Scottie to witness Madeleine fell out of the tower, hence why there would be no reason for him to go all the way up there.

[@Fanfanbalibar]

WHAT'S THE POINT? THE MOVIE WOULD BE OVER !!!!!!!

[@tedwatson9929]

The quality of these film clips is fabulous... how do you get them? just sayin'.

[@blossom1643]

“She has stripped but won’t take her knickers off”!! 😂😂You Gotta Love Hitchcock!!

[@jmallett6081]

Clearly Alfred Hitchcock loved the San Francisco area. He made several films there, yet none show the beauty of the city more than this film. Of course the city has turned for the worse today, a tragedy. I actually saw this when I visited San Francisco, there was a movie every day for a week from him in the bay area. In this review of vertigo I learned a few things including Hitchcock's comment on Scotty's obsession that conveyed necromancy. Carlotta was a dead woman after all and Madeleine pretended to think she was that woman who was obsessed with the idea of suicide . It was that psychology that attracted him. It was odd that after she jumped in the bay, he undressed her and put her in his bed. Was it the fact she was unconscious and vulnerable that he was in love with? The scene at the time seemed fairly innocent, yet what if Scotty took more advantage of the situation than the movie shows. That would be more than 1958 could handle. Perhaps secretly Hitchcock admired the murderous husband and enjoyed the death of the wife and the death of Judy, too many female characters die in his movies, especially the later ones. He prefered the cool blonde types and some of them spoke about his abuse.

[@willtheprodigy3819]

Only a feminist would imply the dude is the problem when she literally manipulates and gaslights him the whole time.

[@no288]

YES!

[@oof-rr5nf]

This video was an amazing experience. Thank you!

[@Sarahchamorro]

Great analisis! You guys are my favorite youtube movie related channel

[@Steve-fe4lq]

Too bad it was all wrong

[@kalyan6045]

Ending is Nightmare of Scottie... It's a dream. That's my interpretation

[@michaelginther3298]

I'm glad I watched your interpretation. Thank you for your work putting this together. I hope I see more 9f your work.

[@mrpurple11]

Once read that we have to look at Vertigo like one long dream

[@Harkness78]

Citizen Kane is still better. Jimmy Stewart as an actor, while very good and effective, comes off as character of himself, basically in every role. Welles in Kane is a perfect performance by an actor distilling a single character.

[@jimpickard3850]

Totally agree with that ... Welles was 25 and the scenes where he's playing an old man are totally convincing ... aside from everything else Welles did in that film his acting performance is stunning .. Stewart has been in a number of the public's favourite films and always gives a great performance but generally always plays a similar character.

[@sweetbitter2]

Why you felt the need to compare them?

[@Fanfanbalibar]

EXCELLENT !@@sweetbitter2