Alfred Hitchcock Vertigo Analysis

Released in 1958, Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo was not very popular, but as time went on, the film gained acclaim and became noted as the quintessential Hitchcock movie. After being released from his job as a detective because of his vertigo, John “Scottie” Ferguson is asked to follow his friend’s wife, Madeleine. As he investigates her, he begins to become obsessed with her, being drawn to her mystery. After she commits suicide by throwing herself off a bell tower, Scottie later sees a woman who looks exactly like Madeleine. His obsession pushes him to remake the woman, Judy, into another version of his dead lover. His obsession eventually leads him to lose grip of reality. Through purposeful coloring of the background and costumes, Alfred Hitchcock

After Scottie saves Madeleine from the San Francisco Bay, he takes her back to his house where he gives her a red robe. Scottie has changed into a green sweater (38:36-40:05). Scottie has adopted Madeleine’s color and with that is showing his true feelings to the audience without him even realizing them. This color swap represents how Scottie has begun to fall for Madeleine, intoxicated by her mystery. After Madeleine’s apparent suicide, Scottie is wracked with guilt about not being able to save her and has a nightmare. In his dream, the screen flashes blue and then after he sees images of Madeleine’s bouquet disintegrating, the screen shifts to yellow and then red. As soon the screen turns red, Scottie is suddenly in Carlotta’s graveyard. The green of the trees in the background bleeds through the red filter until Scottie falls into Carlotta’s grave. The screen alternates red and green until he wakes up (1:13:45-1:14:53). Red and green mixing together represents Scottie’s loss individuality; he can no longer define himself without Madeleine. She occupies his every thought. This obsession is what allows Scottie to remake Judy into Madeleine and eventually attempt to save her so he can forget the guilt Madeleine’s death left him