Vertigo

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Vertigo

PG

Released May 9, 1958

2h 8m

Mystery & Thriller

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Popcornmeter

93%

Tomatometer

97 Reviews

92%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

Hitchcock's romantic story of obsession, manipulation and fear. A detective is forced to retire after his fear of heights causes the death of a fellow officer and the girl he was hired to follow. He sees a double of the girl, causing him to transform her image onto the dead girl's body. This leads into a cycle of madness and lies.

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Critics Consensus

An unpredictable scary thriller that doubles as a mournful meditation on love, loss, and human comfort.

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Adam Kempenaar

Filmspotting

Once it switches over to us getting inside her head... I started seeing it more as Judy's story than Scottie's.

Rated: 4.5/5

Feb 9, 2024

Full Review

Jack Moffitt

The Hollywood Reporter

Alfred Hitchcock tops his own fabulous record for suspense with Vertigo, a super-tale of murder, madness and mysticism that stars James Stewart and Kim Novak.

May 13, 2022

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Deborah Ross

The Spectator

The storytelling isn't up to much. It drags and drags.

May 18, 2020

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Gary Wolcott

Tri-City Herald

Vertigo drones on for two-thirds of the movie before Hitchcock switches gears and moves the film to the level it should have been all along.

Rated: 3.5/5

Apr 23, 2025

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Chris Barsanti

PopMatters

Viewed by many at the time as a departure for Alfred Hitchcock, 'Vertigo' can be seen as a return to form ... redolent of spookier works like 'Rebecca' or 'Spellbound,' with a psychoanalytic frame instead of gothic romanticism.

Jan 8, 2025

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Joseph Tomastik

Loud and Clear Reviews

It may take a while to work up to its thriller elements, but it 100% earns its right to be called a thriller, and one of the best, most understated, and ingenious of all time at that.

Rated: 5/5

Oct 5, 2024

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Kurt B

Hitchcock's Masterpiece!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/02/25

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darlene r

That ending! Didnt expect that. Otherwise loved the acting and the location shots. Very interesting story

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

07/15/24

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dc x

A very short review here. Vertigo is two hours and eight minutes long. The first two hours and five minutes are very slow and strange. The final three minutes explode like an atomic bomb. KA-BOOM!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/10/25

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Julian L

Unlike 2001, which was a ticket to enlightenment, Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece is a ticket to insanity.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/28/25

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Ibraheem M

Vertigo is a chilling thriller—one of those rare films whose mystery remains unpredictable until the very end. It features top-notch cinematography, a solid performance by James Stewart, and a haunting score composed by Bernard Herrmann.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

05/11/25

Full Review

Jens B

Pure atmosphere, somehow the grandfather of "Lost Highway," "Mulholland Drive," and "Body Double," extremely stylishly directed, and Bernard Herrman's score is amazing! And the Technicolor colors! And the shot compositions (especially all those involving mirrors)! The script does seem a bit contrived, though nowhere near as contrived as "Rear Window," which I find increasingly worse with increasing distance (?!). And James Stewart is THE face of Hollywood cinema in the 1940s and '50s, but I still don't consider him a particularly good actor. In any case, I highly recommend it; it already hints at some of the things Hitchcock would later explore in "Psycho" and "Marnie."

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

04/17/25

Full Review

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Alfred Hitchcock

Director

James Stewart

John "Scottie" Ferguson

Kim Novak

Madeleine Elster

Barbara Bel Geddes

Midge Wood

Tom Helmore

Gavin Elster

Henry Jones

Coroner

Vertigo: Official Clip - Visiting the Past

3:13

Vertigo: Official Clip - Judy Becomes Madeleine

2:13

Vertigo: Official Clip - Judy Jumps

2:03

Vertigo: Official Clip - Don't Let Me Go

2:03

Vertigo: Official Clip - Officer Down

1:36

Vertigo: Official Clip - Scottie's Nightmare

1:28

Vertigo: Official Clip - The Bell Tower

2:22

Vertigo: Official Clip - Uncanny Resemblance

1:56

Vertigo: Official Clip - Wandering Together

2:18

Vertigo: Official Clip - Saving Madeleine

2:12

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Synopsis

Hitchcock's romantic story of obsession, manipulation and fear. A detective is forced to retire after his fear of heights causes the death of a fellow officer and the girl he was hired to follow. He sees a double of the girl, causing him to transform her image onto the dead girl's body. This leads into a cycle of madness and lies.

Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Producer: Alfred Hitchcock
Screenwriter: Pierre Boileau, Thomas Narcejac, Samuel A. Taylor, Alec Coppel
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Production Co: Paramount Pictures, Alfred J. Hitchcock Productions
Rating: PG
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 9, 1958, Wide
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Oct 4, 1996
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 2, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $1.8M
Runtime: 2h 8m
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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