Anyone who knows me, even on a casual basis, knows that my favorite movie of all time is Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo. I first saw it around the age of 15, when I ordered it sight unseen from the Columbia House Video Club to complete my subscription obligation.
The tape was pan-and-scanned and probably mono, and likely offered no benefit over a television airing except the lack of commercials (oh, and the ability to fast-forwarded, rewind, or just plain stop… an ancient precursor to the joys of Tivo). In short, it looked and sounded like shit.
However….
I was transfixed, utterly mesmerized by the convoluted (perhaps even fractured) narrative, the atmospheric blend of romance and dread, the tragic undoing of an innocent man. I doubt that I fully absorbed the various subtexts, and I certainly had no clue about the extreme level of soul-baring Hitchcock was hurling at the public in what amounted to his masterpiece. But I didn't need to thoroughly understand the film to love it. I think my favorite movie before it was the original Night of the Living Dead, so this was quite a step up.
Vertigo wasn't well received when it was originally released. However, in the 50 years since, it has grown in stature, routinely making critics' top ten lists alongside venerable classics like Citizen Kane and Casablanca. In fact, just the other day the AFI named it the number one mystery film of all time.
I've bought Vertigo on home video three more times since that first fateful VHS tape, and have seen it countless times. Every time I get a new TV, the first movie I watch on it is Vertigo. However, one experience has always eluded me: the pleasure of seeing it as originally intended, in a movie theater. When the film's 50th anniversary came around last month, I was disappointed that a theatrical re-release didn't happen. Several newspapers (including The New York Times and, locally, The Oregonian) ran stories on the film, its troubled history and its incalculable influence on the film industry, so why wasn't it back in theaters? Well, imagine my surprise when Portland's own Cinema 21 scheduled a week's worth of screenings, from May 30th through June 5th (better late than never, I always say). Finally, I'd see it on the big screen, closing a circle that first opened some 23 years ago. The ad in the paper even touted a "new, pristine 35mm print," so I was doubly excited.
Teresa and I made plans to see it on Saturday night (we'd already planned a date night, so this would be perfect). We dined at the Claim Jumper, which is always a treat, and then made our way to downtownPortland
Vertigo wasn't well received when it was originally released. However, in the 50 years since, it has grown in stature, routinely making critics' top ten lists alongside venerable classics like Citizen Kane and Casablanca. In fact, just the other day the AFI named it the number one mystery film of all time.
From left: VHS re-release (1997), first DVD release (1998), most recent DVD release (2005).
I've bought Vertigo on home video three more times since that first fateful VHS tape, and have seen it countless times. Every time I get a new TV, the first movie I watch on it is Vertigo. However, one experience has always eluded me: the pleasure of seeing it as originally intended, in a movie theater. When the film's 50th anniversary came around last month, I was disappointed that a theatrical re-release didn't happen. Several newspapers (including The New York Times and, locally, The Oregonian) ran stories on the film, its troubled history and its incalculable influence on the film industry, so why wasn't it back in theaters? Well, imagine my surprise when Portland's own Cinema 21 scheduled a week's worth of screenings, from May 30th through June 5th (better late than never, I always say). Finally, I'd see it on the big screen, closing a circle that first opened some 23 years ago. The ad in the paper even touted a "new, pristine 35mm print," so I was doubly excited.
Teresa and I made plans to see it on Saturday night (we'd already planned a date night, so this would be perfect). We dined at the Claim Jumper, which is always a treat, and then made our way to downtown
Once inside, I actually went up and down the stairs two different times, scoping out the seating options, trying to determine the best viewing angle, and opted for the balcony. We sat down. The lights dimmed. For the next two hours, I watched intently as my favorite movie of all time flickered before my eyes, bigger than ever, transfixing me just as it has every other time I've seen it.
However, I've gotta point something out: the print they screened was most certainly NOT "pristine." It popped, jumped, and crackled, and every so often a series of ugly horizontal scratch marks would appear (it looked like a cat had gotten ahold of it and sharpened its claws on it). My DVD, by contrast, is practically flawless. But was the experience diminished by this? Not at all. What DID diminish it (at least a little) was some fucking idiot in a nearby section who gasped loudly, clearly for comedic effect, right at the climatic moment at the end. I feel sorry for anyone in that theater who'd never seen the film before. I was THIS close to bitching her out, let me tell ya.
I briefly thought about going back for a second screening on Sunday, but I decided against it. I'd had the experience. The circle was now complete.
When we got home, I went downstairs to my office, and gazed for a moment at the Vertigo shrine on my wall:
The circle may be closed, but my love affair with Vertigo continues. If you've never seen it…. Well honestly, what the hell are you waiting for?
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