The Big Picture

Hitchcock’s film Vertigo is considered one of his best and is hailed as one of the greatest films of all time. The famous “Vertigo Shot” in the film created the feeling of paranoia and fear by distorting the audience’s perception of depth. The dolly zoom technique used in Vertigo has been widely adopted by other filmmakers, particularly in horror films, to create tension and disorienting effects.

There are few figures in film history whose impact on the medium looms quite as large as Alfred Hitchcock. Also known as “The Master of Suspense,” Hitchcock changed the industry through the use of inventive techniques that became widely adopted in the aftermath. Hitchcock created the modern slasher film genre with Psycho, invented the freeze frame with the underrated film Champagne, and won the Academy Award for Best Picture for his masterpiece Rebecca. The ramifications of his work can still be felt today, as modern directors often find themselves utilizing filmmaking devices that Hitchcock mastered long ago. While it has now become commonplace within thriller and horror films, the “dolly zoom” camera effect was first utilized in Hitchcock’s 1958 masterpiece Vertigo.

Vertigo A former San Francisco police detective juggles wrestling with his personal demons and becoming obsessed with the hauntingly beautiful woman he has been hired to trail, who may be deeply disturbed. Release Date May 28, 1958 Cast James Stewart , Kim Novak , Barbara Bel Geddes , Tom Helmore , Henry Jones , Raymond Bailey Rating PG Runtime 128 Tagline Alfred Hitchcock engulfs you in a whirlpool of terror and tension

The Famous ‘Vertigo’ Shot Creates Paranoia
While Hitchcock directed many all-time classics, Vertigo is often ranked among his very best due to its exhilarating depiction of paranoia and shocking plot twist. Vertigo was revolutionary because of Hitchcock’s success in making the viewer experience the same fears that the character do, creating an immersive cinematic experience. The film follows the San Francisco detective Scottie Ferguson (James Stewart) after a tragic accident claims the life of one of his fellow officers. Scottie is left severely traumatized by the incident and makes an early retirement due to his extreme fear of heights and vertigo. Although he has acquainted himself with a quiet life outside law enforcement, Scottie is drawn back into a world of intrigue after an encounter with the enigmatic woman Madeleine Elster (Kim Novak).

Among the most famous sequences in Vertigo is a moment where Scottie pursues Madeline through a church and up to a bell tower. During the chase, Scottie loses his balance and nearly plunges to his death, experiencing extreme vertigo as he peers down into the empty street. At this moment, the camera quickly zooms in to distort the audience’s perception of depth, allowing them to experience the same extreme fear of heights that Ferguson does. While much of Ferguson’s anxiety is conveyed through Stewart’s brilliant performance, the in-camera effect makes the moment more shocking.

Hitchcock uses the technique once more during the final sequence of Vertigo when Scottie realizes that Madeline’s husband, Gavin Elster (Tom Helmore), hired the woman Judy Barton to impersonate her. Armed with the knowledge that Judy and Madeline are actually the same person, Scottie can return to solving crimes. Dolly zooms can convey a major character development, and Hitchcock’s second usage of the effect shows how Scottie is able to overcome his initial fears. Although Vertigo was nearly saddled with a completely different ending, its inventive use of the dolly zoom became the most widely recognized aspect of its legacy.

Related Alfred Hitchcock Invented the Freeze Frame With This Film The film is an early indicator of the visual imagination that Hitchcock would develop over the years.

The Dolly Zoom Was Adopted by Other Filmmakers

While Vertigo isn’t necessarily considered to be one of Hitchcock’s scariest films, the dolly zoom technique has become commonplace in horror films. One of its most famous uses was in Steven Spielberg’s classic horror film Jaws during the iconic “get out of the water” sequence, where Chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider) realizes that the shark is nearing the shore. The quick zoom into Brody’s face conveys the pure horror of his realization and stands as a more effective means of creating tension than a graphic shot of violence. Spielberg is considered to be a natural descendant of Hitchcock because both filmmakers understood the necessity of limiting the audience’s perspective in a particularly intense sequence. By denying the audience footage of the shark itself, Spielberg is able to heighten the fear of the unknown and create the ultimate summer blockbuster.

While it’s often used to evoke visceral scares, the dolly zoom can also be utilized to create a disorienting psychological effect. Another famous usage of the technique occurs in Martin Scorsese’s biographical drama Raging Bull, in which the audience views a boxing match through the perspective of Jake LeMotta (Robert De Niro). LeMotta has become so obsessive and jealous that his worldview is completely distorted; the use of the dolly zoom shows the audience what his corrupted perspective looks like. It’s a rare instance in which the viewer is forced to stand in the shoes of a monstrous character; the scene is made even more haunting due to Scorsese’s use of black-and-white imagery.

The dolly zoom serves as an effective foreshadowing device, as it adds momentum to a still image and can indicate a shift in atmosphere. Peter Jackson utilizes a dolly zoom in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring on Frodo Baggins’ (Elijah Wood) face that shows his terrified reaction before an attack by Orcs; Quentin Tarantino uses the technique to a similar effect in Pulp Fiction when Mia Wallace (Uma Thurman) begins to suffer a drug overdose. Considering how frequently the effect has been used, it’s also been routinely parodied; Edgar Wright creates a comedic effect in Shaun of the Dead by zooming close in on Simon Pegg’s face during an action sequence.

‘Vertigo’ Remains One of Hitchcock’s Unimpeachable Masterpieces
image via imdb

While Hitchcock has many films that have stood the test of time, Vertigo has been hailed as one of the greatest films of all-time. Sight & Sound magazine hailed it as the second best film ever made, signifying that it continues to inspire critics with its haunting story. Vertigo also served as an important film within Stewart’s career; while he first became known for more comedic roles in films like The Philadelphia Story and Destry Rides Again, Vertigo indicated that Stewart was capable of playing dark, conflicted characters.

Vertigo’s unique visual language has a seismic impact on the crime thriller genre, influencing everything from David Fincher’s Se7en to David Lynch’s work on Twin Peaks with its haunting visuals and dreamlike logic. It’s one of Hitchcock’s most thought provoking films, as there is still a debate to be had about how much of Scottie’s perception can be trusted. Although it was announced that Robert Downey Jr. would star in a Vertigo remake from screenwriter Steven Knight, it’s hard to ever imagine a film that could top the original.

Vertigo is streaming on the Criterion Channel.

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