In this famous extract from Vertigo, Scottie, played by James Stewart, suffers from acrophobia. Much more than the simple sensation of vertigo, acrophobia is an irrational terror of heights. This phobia, born during a tragedy that cost the life of one of his colleagues who came to save him has already forced him to abandon his duties as a policeman. In this clip, he is confronted with his worst fear as well as a traumatic episode that is replayed: Madeleine, the woman he both loves and feels protective over, has just shared something disturbing with him. When she glances up at the bell tower before entering the church, Scottie understands that danger is imminent, and sets off in pursuit. General shots of the character searching for the fugitive are followed by close-up, claustrophobic shots of Scottie trapped in the narrow stairwell leading up to the bell tower, climbing the steps without thinking. The dramatic intensity of the music rises to a crescendo as Scottie panics and the chase comes to a halt as the viewer, regaining perspective, shifts his gaze to the void at his feet. To convey his feelings, Hitchcock invents a visual effect that causes an optical distortion - the "dolly zoom", a dolly shot combined with an inverted zoom. In addition to the actor's performance, whose anguish can be clearly felt, the viewer themself feel the hallucinatory effect they are confronted with. On two occasions Scottie overcomes his anxiety to continue in vain. Madeleine's body falls through the bell tower window into the void before his helpless eyes. In the same shot of the crushing dive from the bell tower, Hitchcock shows us the line of excited priests and first-aid workers advancing towards the roof, like a small colony of ants, and Scottie, overwhelmed, leaving the building on the opposite side. This visual effect would be repeated by Hitchcock in Psycho and other filmmakers after him and is sometimes referred to as the 'Vertigo effect'.
Comment
In this famous extract from Vertigo, Scottie, played by James Stewart, suffers from acrophobia. Much more than the simple sensation of vertigo, acrophobia is an irrational terror of heights. This phobia, born during a tragedy that cost the life of one of his colleagues who came to save him has already forced him to abandon his duties as a policeman. In this clip, he is confronted with his worst fear as well as a traumatic episode that is replayed: Madeleine, the woman he both loves and feels protective over, has just shared something disturbing with him. When she glances up at the bell tower before entering the church, Scottie understands that danger is imminent, and sets off in pursuit. General shots of the character searching for the fugitive are followed by close-up, claustrophobic shots of Scottie trapped in the narrow stairwell leading up to the bell tower, climbing the steps without thinking. The dramatic intensity of the music rises to a crescendo as Scottie panics and the chase comes to a halt as the viewer, regaining perspective, shifts his gaze to the void at his feet. To convey his feelings, Hitchcock invents a visual effect that causes an optical distortion - the "dolly zoom", a dolly shot combined with an inverted zoom. In addition to the actor's performance, whose anguish can be clearly felt, the viewer themself feel the hallucinatory effect they are confronted with. On two occasions Scottie overcomes his anxiety to continue in vain. Madeleine's body falls through the bell tower window into the void before his helpless eyes. In the same shot of the crushing dive from the bell tower, Hitchcock shows us the line of excited priests and first-aid workers advancing towards the roof, like a small colony of ants, and Scottie, overwhelmed, leaving the building on the opposite side. This visual effect would be repeated by Hitchcock in Psycho and other filmmakers after him and is sometimes referred to as the 'Vertigo effect'.