SSC Film Studies

Vertigo to me now is seen more than just a thriller. With going into so much detail into it, it is clear to see why it is considered one of the greatest films of all time. There are lots of different theories and other things in the film such as colour.

 

The use of colour in Vertigo is very interesting. The reason for this is that each colour represents something. One example could be the colour of green. In the film, this is seen in many scenes.  It signifies re-birth, death and obsession, most of the topics that are included in the film. The first time we see it is when Madeleine is in Ernie’s and she is wearing a green dress. This is also the first time our main character Scottie sees her and then this triggers his obsession for her. The next time we see green is when Scottie is waiting in Judy’s hotel room for her to come home from the hairdresser’s. As Judy comes down the corridor, we can see a green glow around the lights in the hotel. Scottie’s face then changes when he sees Judy and then this signifies his obsession and also that something is wrong. Because Judy hasn’t got her hair like Madeleine he immediately asks her to change it. This shows that his obsession has gone beyond control and will do anything to show that he can get Judy to look like Madeleine. In the hotel room there is a green door and outside of the window are bright green neon letters. The green on Scotties face symbolises his anticipation of seeing Judy walk out of the bathroom. As Judy opens the door she is seen in a ghostly glow with the colour green shown around her. This shows that we are seeing a re-birth of a character showing that Judy is now dead and Madeleine is very much alive. Scotties eyes also connote that the transformation is complete as they are a light colour shade of green. As they kiss, the camera pans right around them, in the middle of the scene, we see the stable where he kissed Madeleine for the final time. The camera stops and it shows that the cycle has been completed as it has gone around in a full circle.

 

Red symbolises all kinds of things but in Vertigo the main two things it connotes are love and danger. An example of this could be again the scene at Ernie’s. Around the walls is red wallpaper. Also when she gets up and walks to the door she is getting closer to Scottie who is sitting at the bar. We see as she gets closer, the more the colour appears. It appears brighter around her head and also shows more on her cheeks. This shows that love and passion is there but also that danger is also getting closer.

 

One thing in this is that a theory surrounds this film and also other films. This is the Male Gaze theory which was invented by Laure Mulvey in the 1970’s. This can be seen in the church yard scene where Scottie has followed Madeleine to the cemetery. From this scene we can see that we are either a gazer or a spectator. When we are spectating we are viewing Scottie. We show we align more to him as the camera is closer to him and also he is more dominant shown with the camera angle he is shown on. We are gazing at Madeleine through Scottie’s eyes. This shows his point of view and it is also for the spectators pleasure to view her as her whole body is in view. We are also denied any point of view shots from Madeleine or even any shots that are close up to her. This shows the males dominance in the film and the role he has in the narrative.

 

Breifly, we also see this in Ernie’s when the camera cuts to an extreme close up of her face for the spectator to view her. We can only look at her as she fills up the screen and there is nowhere else for anyone to look.

 

We are also gazing at Madeleine in the opening sequence of the film. We see close ups of her eyes and her lips. She look very nervous and agitated. This maybe because of the hundreds of spectators viewing her in the cinema. They are looking at her because there is nowhere else to look so there is no choice but to look at the screen.

 

Overall there are many different things involved in Vertigo but the most dominant thing is the Male Gaze Theory. This is seen almost everywhere in the film. I also think that it is a very interesting film to study as there is a lot to learn from it.