A 1958 American psychological thriller about a retired San Francisco detective hired to follow a friend's wife, and the obsession that follows.
Production
Alfred Hitchcock filmed Vertigo on location in San Francisco and at Paramount Studios in 1957, working from a French novel by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac. Cinematographer Robert Burks pioneered the dolly zoom, a forward-track combined with a zoom-out, to convey the protagonist’s acrophobia.
Reception
The film received mixed reviews and disappointing box office in 1958. Withdrawn from circulation in 1973 for a decade, it returned with a 1996 restoration that helped reframe its critical standing.
Legacy
The 2012 Sight and Sound critics’ poll named Vertigo the greatest film ever made, displacing Citizen Kane after 50 years. Its color palette, Bernard Herrmann score, and themes of obsession have influenced filmmakers from De Palma to Lynch.
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