An awe-inspiring array of state-of-the-art 50's film production values - high voltage stars Jimmy Stewart and the almost supernaturally beautiful Kim Novak in a killer wardrobe by Edith Head, Bernard Herrmann's magnificent score, Robert Burks' glowing Vistavision & Technicolor travelogue photography of San Francisco and of the surrounding area and of Miss Novak, handsome sets, titles by Saul Bass, all under the firm hand of maestro Hitchcock at the top of his game - combine to camouflage an extremely nasty and wildly improbable tale of a cruel and preposterously complicated conspiracy to murder, and it's gormless patsy.One can understand contemporary audiences' bewilderment at Hitchcock lavishing all this care on a mood piece which ravishes the senses as it throws plausibility out the window at every opportunity; but with the passage of time it's fifties trappings make it seem ever more exotic, with even Midge's geeky spectacles looking like design classics. (It probably influenced 'Last Year at Marienbad'.)James Stewart's Scottie is already exhibiting an unpleasant superciliousness even as early as his treatment of hotel manager Ellen Corby, and his treatment of both Midge and Judith makes you want to slap his face. The simulteously demure and erotic moment when Judith finally presents herself to him fully suited-up with her hair up for his delectation will strike a chord with any man on whose behalf the lady in his life made him very happy indeed by agreeing to get into biking leathers or a policewoman's uniform. If only Scottie hadn't been content to stop there and persisted in being such a morose, self-centred oaf indulging his hang-ups to the point of destruction.

There's a reason why Hithcock's Vertigo is seen in the eyes of many film critics as the best film ever made. It's truly a masterpiece. Hitchcock's crowning achievement. The acting by Jimmy Stewart, Kim Novak, and Barbara Bel Geddes is extraordinary. The music pulls you into the oddly hypnotic suspense even further. The cinematography is so beautiful and so vivid that it adds more depth to the film. It's almost as if it's the fourth character of the film.Both leads played two parts in the movie. Jimmy Stewart as the calm and mostly collected former detective, and Jimmy Stewart as the unhinged madman trying to get back to his Madeline. And Kim Novak as the beautiful wife of a former friend of Scotty's, hauntingly possessed by the spirit of Carlotta Valdez, and as the "tawdry" (original trailer's description of her character) redhead from Kansas.Haunting, hypnotic, beautifully strange, suspenseful and unhinged all are descriptives that can easily be used to describe this wonderful film. It is a MUST see!

An incredible perfect blend of background music, camera work, fascinating story, acting, suspense, and mesmerizing romance.

What are these unrealistic characters, and why is this man so obsessed with the woman. There's no foundation for being so crazy about her, it just happens out of nowhere, and it's almost as if the story wants to portray how manipulative women are. Or maybe this man just never understood how much she troed to get away from him without being able to succeed due to her fragility.