Vertigo
John „Scottie“ Ferguson (James Stewart), a former police detective, who was forced to retire after he was diagnosed with a fear of heights (because of which he wasn’t able to save his partner from death), is employed by Gavin Elster (Tom Helmore) to spy on his suicidal wife Madeleine (Kim Novak). Ferguson is drawn by the golden-haired beauty like a magnet; he follows her everywhere and when she falls in the San Francisco Bay, not only does he pull her out of the water, but he falls in love with her. Even though this plot – taken from a novel by the Boileau-Narcejac duo – seems trivial, Alfred Hitchcock turned it into a story about identity, lust and doomed love which resists simple interpretations and encompasses all of his creative fascinations and obsessions. In 2012 Vertigo was named the best film in the history of cinema by „Sight and Sound“ (overthrowing Citizen Kane by Orson Welles which reigned for five consecutive editions of the poll). It combines thriller and melodrama, is filled with both Freudian themes and innovative visual elements.
After the screening on November 9th: a discussion as part of the Film Club Pełna Sala (in Polish only); free admission with a ticket to the screening or when reserving a seat for the screening using a pass/accreditation.
before the screening on November 10th intro by Alexandre O. Philippe
awards
San Sebastián IFF 1958 - Best Director
Alfred Hitchcock
The director, born in 1899 in Great Britain, is one of the most important creators in the history of the Seventh Art. He entered the industry in the early 1920s. After making a series of silent films, with the transformation he shifted to sound cinema. Aware of the technical possibilities offered by Hollywood, he moved across the ocean, where he developed one of the greatest careers in the history of the moving pictures. He became famous as the author of suspense-filled stories exploring human nature. He died in 1980.
Selected filmography
1929 Szantaż / Blackmail
1935 39 kroków / The 39 Steps
1940 Rebeka / Rebecca
1946 Osławiona / Notorious
1948 Sznur / Rope
1951 Nieznajomi z pociągu / Strangers on a Train
1954 Okno na podwórze / Rear Window
1955 Złodziej w hotelu / To Catch a Thief
1958 Zawrót głowy / Vertigo
1959 Północ – północny zachód / North by Northwest
1960 Psychoza / Psycho
1963 Ptaki / The Birds
Cast & Crew
