Vertigo Review

Vertigo begins with a chase on the rooftops where an unfortunate incident makes the lead character John Ferguson (James Stewart) realize he has a fear of heights. The movie then cuts to a conversation between John and Midge Wood (Barbara Geddes) about quite a lot of things. The conversation is insightful, almost laying out the entire character sketches of these two characters in front of the audience.

Alfred Hitchcock is known as the master of suspense, and for quite solid reasons as well, his plots are intriguing, but his characters are more intriguing. ‘Vertigo’ works like a Greek tragedy, where doom befalls on all its characters. What is the movie about ? John Ferguson has retired from the force owing to his acrophobia. He is then hired by a colleague of his college times, Galvin Elster, to observe his wife Judy Barton who has been acting weird lately.

The tone of Vertigo is similar to all of Hitchcock’s previous works. The plot materializes in the first twenty minutes, and then, the bleak tone sets in. Hitchcock always was fascinated with the supernatural, never just believing in it. Vertigo and Psycho are similar in that way. Both have a supernatural plot line that progresses from the time things start getting awry and as much as Hitchcock loves exploring that tone, he brings us face to face with stark reality in the end.

I love how Hitchcock draws the lines here. Seemingly unrelated plot points converge at regular intervals. The master’s control over the craft is at its best here. The progression of the plot is similar to its main theme – OBSESSION. A plot begins, progresses, and comes back to its inception and demolishes itself paving a path for a new plot line. This is a story that goes back to back in loops. The  whole movie circles towards the same mysterious incident. In the beginning, it paves the path towards it and after it occurs, it brings us back to it repeatedly.

Stewart is brilliant here as Ferguson. The desperation is present on his face all along and produces a terrifying effect. Novak is unfortunately another pretty face lost in the intrigues of Hitchcock’s plot. Hitchcock, I think, would have been heavily criticized if he had been making movies now, with the cloud of feminism spreading all over the globe. Women are omnipresent in Hitchcock’s plot, but I don’t think he expects them to act, their only function is to look sexy. They provide the factor called ‘lust’ which is the driving force of all Hitchcockian plots. Men are obsessed with it and pursue it in his movies until it becomes the terrifying obsession due to which downfall befalls upon them. In fulfilling that purpose, Novak excels.

Vertigo is undoubtedly on of the most important movies ever made in the history of cinema. Every aspect of it was revolutionary. The costume design first of all ! The characters are as beautiful as they ever can be. And a lot of attention is given to these costumes for they are pivotal plot-turners as well.

Vertigo is one of the most beautiful movies ever made. Although most of the attention that Robert Burks’ cinematography received is attributed to the dolly zoom, what I find fascinating is the beautiful convergence of natural and artificial lighting in the forest sequences. Hitchcock always considered a cinema was successful only if it had an effect on all the senses of its viewer. The graphics are in terms with that and produce a disturbing effect as well. But the main attraction is the score by Bernard Herrmann, which is actually the prime factor which brings about a vertigo effect for the viewer, because it irritatingly goes back and back and back in loops, just like the plot of the movie which is all centered around a single incident.

But, in the end, like all greats do once or twice, Hitchcock errs. For the first time, Alfred Hitchcock displays sympathy towards his female characters. They materialize not just as a theme in the plot, but as actual characters. And as folly comes, he seems to be struck by the grief of Novak’s character ad devotes the end to understand her as a person. This move is what proves to be collateral for the whole movie. Imagine you are watching a Formula One race, with cars moving at 300 km/hr and faster and suddenly, they start moving at snail’s pace. That is the dampening effect that this move produces. A movie called Few Good Men also did the same mistake, although it still held itself high. It reveals the prime plot twist almost twenty minutes before the climax, and from there the plot becomes increasingly predictable. While A Few Good Men, saved itself due to its unforgettable dialogues in the last twenty minutes (all credits to Aaron Sorkin for that), Vertigo becomes an increasingly dull affair, second by second, until it reaches into a climax any dimwit can predict. And a glorious movie paves the way for its downfall. How horribly disappointing !

Vertigo is one of the most important movies ever made, and so is Citizen Kane. That doesn’t make them great movies. Vertigo’s downfall can be explained in a single word that also happens to be the main theme of the movie itself – OBSESSION. Hitchcock lusts for his own creation here, and as it is so realistically depicted in all of his works, isn’t lust the only thing that can cause the downfall of even the mightiest ?

Rating :- 8.1 / 10

THANKS FOR READING. IF YOU HAVE LIKED/HAVE DIFFERENT VIEWS / HAVE ANY  DOUBTS, PLEASE SHARE. I WILL RESPOND TO IT AS SOON AS I CAN. AND PLEASE SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE. YOU CAN FOLLOW ME ON MY FACEBOOK PAGE TOO https://www.facebook.com/pages/Demanded-Critical-Reviews/1565666967024477?ref=hl YOU CAN ALSO E-MAIL ME ON castlebang786@gmail.com OR favebook2011@rediffmail.com

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Copyright : All written content on this site, unless otherwise noted, has been created by the website owner. As such, the content is the property of the website owner. This content is protected by Indian and international copyright laws. If you wish to reproduce, re-post, or display any of our content on your own site please only do so if you also provide a link back to the source page on this website and properly attribute authorship. Our preference is that you seek our permission before doing so. If you see anything on this website that has not been properly attributed to its originator please contact me. In response, I will attempt to correct the attribution of the offending material or remove and/or replace it. All material on this website is posted in accordance with the limitations set forward by the Information Technology Act, 2000. If a documented copyright owner so requests, their material will be removed from published display, although the author reserves the right to provide linkage to that material or to a source for that material. As a website devoted to discussing and reviewing movies and television I will at times, for illustrative purposes, present copyrighted material, the use of which might not always be specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Such material is made available  for purposes such as criticism, comment, and research. The website owner believes that this constitutes a “fair use” of any such copyrighted material because the articles published on this website are distributed for entertainment purposes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Life With Harry Potter

In 2009, at the age of eight, I went to watch the fifth offering of the Harry Potter saga, completely ignorant of the fact that there were four prequels which I had never viewed. Fifteen minutes into the movie, I feel like I am writing my school’s yearly exams – I cannot understand a thing. So, I decided to make avail of the sound-functioning air conditioning facilities of the cinema hall. I remember waking up at the climax of the movie where the trio are walking towards the railway station and taking quite a fancy towards Emma Watson, who was the most beautiful girl I had ever laid my eyes on (she still is)

In 2012, a year after the saga had wrapped up, I bought the DVD of Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone from the vendor, honestly because all the other DVDs were of action movies which I despise. And I envy that day when that 11-year old boy was warped into a magical world with no limits. I envy his introduction to Chocolate Frogs, 9 3/4th platform at King’s Cross station, unfriendly goblins and of villains drinking unicorn blood. The next seven days, I finished watching the next three movies. Few months later, I watched the last four as well. There began a magical experience, a passage in my life which would be cherished and considered monumental in my existence like none other. My love for the movies eventually transcended into my love for the books, the pages of which I devoured so rapidly, that I am still not-so-fondly reminded of that period by my parents flashing that year’s report cards of mine. I developed a sort-of-encyclopedic knowledge of the saga, with my books being filled with character sketches and theories associated with the Harry Potter universe. My love grew unfathomably intense than expected, with me getting to numerous fights with my colleagues who sometimes teased my beloved characters.

Years passed. It was 2014. A period of extreme loneliness. As Robert De Niro’s character Travis Bickle says in Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver ‘A day becomes indistinguishable from the others’. I was 13. People were falling in love around me. Hearts were getting broken around me. Boys were discussing their approaches to get their crushes. Puberty was kicking in for all. And…. I was just kind of there. And every day felt like an arduous task to get through. Everything was just going downhill. But destiny has its own ways.

It again interwove a chapter for my story which I thought was a thing of my past, the chapter of Harry Potter. Once again somehow, I ended up again delving through the pages of those books again. I was once again watching the movies again. And there I found solace. I felt back at home. I felt something. A feeling that I was among my friends again, that I was part of a group. A bond so strong that forget the Dark Lord, the five elements wouldn’t dare break it. I began loving life again because I wasn’t living in this banal world. There I was, the fourth in the group, with Harry, Ron and Hermione, facing threats way beyond our ages to face. But with every threat, our friendship was getting stronger and stronger. And inhibiting that fantasy world, I learned to live in the real world.

It is now 2016. I am 15. And while was watching Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part I, I find myself sobbing in the scene where Harry and Hermione dance to ‘O Children’. This scene is where it hits me that all the reminiscences of childhood of the trio has vaporized. They are now mature adults. And my thoughts catapulted back to that train cabin where they first met. And their entire journey from there flashes before my eyes in a second, just like the climax of American Beauty, where Kevin Spacey’s character Lester Bingham experiences his entire life in a split second. And I cry. What glorious years they have been !

Harry Potter saved my life. I carry a picture of the trio always and whenever trouble befalls or loneliness creeps on me, I talk to them. They reply. I hear that reply in my heart. You will definitely think, I am probably an eccentric guy whose has considered his inner conscience as the trio to make himself feel better. I respectfully disagree. I know that it is them. For they do live in my heart. And Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger will forever inhibit that place in my heart. Always

Hachi Review

Everyone called Hachi a mystery dog because they never really knew where he came from– Ronnie

Hachi is a move that floats. There are very few movies made like that. Which seem like they are floating. Terence Malick’s The Tree Of Life was one. Yes, there is a definite plot in these movies but it seems that they wander away at their convenience as well. While watching these movies, it seems as if the movie tries not only to explore the plot, but nature itself. The camera is a constant wanderer. I love these movies because they do not just appear to be a movie, they appear to be an experience. It lets you take in not only the plot and its characters, it lets you soak in the movie’s atmosphere, the surroundings, etc. The problem with The Tree of Life was that as a wanderer, it lost its way. Rather than coming back to the main plot, it kept on admiring the creation laid out before it. Hachi doesn’t lose its focus. It explores, but always comes back to the plot and progresses it when required.

Hachi is directed by Lasse Hallström and is about Parker Wilson (Richard Gere) who finds an abandoned Akira breed dog on a railway station and brings it home. Over a period of years, an unbreakable bond is formed between the dog, christened-Hachi and Parker.

There have been a lot of movies centered around people and dogs in the history of cinema, right from Old Yeller to Marley and Me. Hachi is the best entry into that category. Why ? Because in all those films, the dog has been exploited. Its cuteness, its antics have been used to sugarcoat the film’s flaws and make them into unavoidable viewings on a family movie night. Hachi has a balance. As much as it is about a dog, it is fully immersed in the lives of the other characters as well. The plot doesn’t ever remain stagnant. The lives of the characters are often witnessing humongous changes.

Now here’s a character which no other actor in this world can play expect Gere. His face radiates a warmth, without which this movie would have been a huge failure. The dog who plays Hachi is great. I have watched a lot of movies in which there have been beautiful acts by animals such as Dunston Checks In, but after watching those movies, I felt the animals were well-trained. But the dog who plays Hachi here is heartbreaking. There are genuine movements where you feel his joy, mirth and what not.

Cinematography is unbelievable here. This might be one of the most beautiful movies to have been ever made. The music, my god ! If ears had orgasms, it would be listening to these melodious and endearing compositions.

Hachi is a triumph. It is a narrative that changes shoes continuously. We see the same plot sometimes by Hachi’s mindset, sometimes by Parker’s and sometimes by Cate’s. The surroundings act as a character here. The camera work makes the whole world of Hachi so familiar to us that we ourselves feel a sense of confinement that Hachi feels when he changes his territory. The movie encompasses everything :- love, life, loyalty. It is  a soundly edited movie as well, which progresses the plot just when you are beginning to get bored.

Personally, I started shedding tears half an hours into this movie. It reminds of my brief acquaintances with dogs and the love that I received from them. The movie shows that humanity exists. Hachi has no real reason to wait for his master except for love, but eventually everyone makes sense out of it. I wish we could have been like animals, loving selflessly, without any prejudices or hatred in their minds. I watched this movie two times in two days and I cried both the times till a point where tears couldn’t flow from my eyes because even they have a limit.

The movie is a masterpiece without a doubt. I don’t know when a film has connected more immediately with my own personal experiences. If I ever try to make a list of my all time favorite movies, this would find a place in the top 5. I loved every still of it, every Milli-second of the run time. It is a beautiful symphony about love and loyalty. Movies like Hachi is the reason why I fell in love with movies in first place. Movies like Hachi make you fall in love with life once again. If I will ever have a child, I will show him this masterpiece as soon as possible. I hope he has the same emotional experience I had the first time I watched it. Every time I revisit this movie, it makes me want to hug myself and think  ‘God, I wish I was watching it for the first time’. I cannot think of any other movie in the history of cinema which is an enthralling and emotional experience like Hachi is. It is visual poetry set into motion.

Rating : 9.9 / 10

THANKS FOR READING. IF YOU HAVE LIKED/HAVE DIFFERENT VIEWS / HAVE ANY  DOUBTS, PLEASE SHARE. I WILL RESPOND TO IT AS SOON AS I CAN. AND PLEASE SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE. YOU CAN FOLLOW ME ON MY FACEBOOK PAGE TOOhttps://www.facebook.com/pages/Demanded-Critical-Reviews/1565666967024477?ref=hlYOU CAN ALSO E-MAIL ME ON castlebang786@gmail.com OR favebook2011@rediffmail.com

Photo Rights : Google Images, Wikipedia

Copyright : All written content on this site, unless otherwise noted, has been created by the website owner. As such, the content is the property of the website owner. This content is protected by Indian and international copyright laws. If you wish to reproduce, re-post, or display any of our content on your own site please only do so if you also provide a link back to the source page on this website and properly attribute authorship. Our preference is that you seek our permission before doing so. If you see anything on this website that has not been properly attributed to its originator please contact me. In response, I will attempt to correct the attribution of the offending material or remove and/or replace it. All material on this website is posted in accordance with the limitations set forward by the Information Technology Act, 2000. If a documented copyright owner so requests, their material will be removed from published display, although the author reserves the right to provide linkage to that material or to a source for that material. As a website devoted to discussing and reviewing movies and television I will at times, for illustrative purposes, present copyrighted material, the use of which might not always be specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Such material is made available  for purposes such as criticism, comment, and research. The website owner believes that this constitutes a “fair use” of any such copyrighted material because the articles published on this website are distributed for entertainment purposes.