Download Vertigo – Hitchcock (1958)

Vertigo – Hitchcock (1958)
**THE GRADED WRITING ASSIGNMENT FOR THIS
FILM IS AT THE BOTTOM OF THESE NOTES. IT WILL
BE SUBMITTED TO CANVAS AT THE END OF THIS
WEEK**
Camera Technique:
Hitchcock's 1958 film Vertigo contains a camera technique developed by Irmin Roberts that has
been imitated and re-used many times by filmmakers, wherein the image appears to "stretch."
This is achieved by moving the camera in the opposite direction of the camera's zoom. It has
become known by many nicknames, including Dolly zoom, "Zolly," "Hitchcock Zoom," and
"Vertigo Effect."
A dolly counter zoom is also variously known as:
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The "Hitchcock zoom" or the "Vertigo effect"
"Hitchcock shot" or "Vertigo shot"
Triple Reverse Zoom
Reverse Tracking Shot
Back Zoom Travelling
Retrograde zoom
"Smash Zoom" or "Smash Shot"
A "Jaws shot"
A "zido"
Telescoping
Trombone shot
The Trombone Effect
A push/pull
A Reverse Pull
A Stretch shot
More technically as forward zoom / reverse tracking or zoom in / dolly out
Trans-trav (in Romanian and Russian), from trans-focal length operation and travelling movement
Contra-zoom
Music Score (created by Hitchcock’s long-time collaborator
Bernard Herrmann):
Martin Scorsese described the qualities of Herrmann's famous score:
Hitchcock's film is about obsession, which means that it's about circling back to the same
moment, again and again ... And the music is also built around spirals and circles, fulfillment and
despair. Herrmann really understood what Hitchcock was going for — he wanted to penetrate to
the heart of obsession.
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In 2012, Vertigo replaced Citizen Kane (first time Kane has not
been #1 since it entered the list in the 1950s) on Sight and Sound
Magazine’s best films of all-time list. It also appears on AFI’s lists
of best films.
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High Anxiety, a 1977 film by Mel Brooks, is a parody of suspense
films directed by Alfred Hitchcock, but leans on Vertigo in
particular. Obsession, a 1976 film by Brian De Palma, is heavily
influenced by Vertigo.
** Color, Costume and Imagery in Vertigo
Written Response - (25 points):
Write a full typed page (350 words or more), MLA
format, submitted to Canvas
Pay close attention to Hitchcock’s use of color,
costuming and imagery/symbolism. You will be
asked to write one page, skipping lines, about the
use of these elements in Vertigo. Explain which
colors are used and why. Explain why certain
costumes are used and why they are a particular
color (specifically for female characters). Explain
what imagery and symbols are present in the film
and how they tie in to specific themes.
LOOK AT THIS WEBPAGE AND THE CHART
BELOW FOR HELP:
http://faculty.cua.edu/johnsong/hitchcock/pages/stills-vertigo/colors.html