Released in 1958, the film Vertigo by director Alfred Hitchcock never fails to captivate its audience with its haunting motives and intriguing, tragic story of the main protagonist. It tells the story of the former detective John Ferguson, nicknamed Scottie, who retires from his duty due to his struggles with a fear of heights and symptoms of vertigo (Lippe, 2016). Throughout the movie, the protagonist becomes obsessed with Madeleine Elster, who Judy Barton plays in an elaborate scheme of Gavin Elster to cover up the murder of his wife. The film creators apply various elements of sound, cinematography, editing, and mise-en-scene to emphasize the haunting implications and motives of the plot (Abrams et al., 2001). In other words, this tone is set from the small details in the beginning until the end of the movie. Therefore, it is important to understand the first scenes to analyze the impact of cinematographic choices in story-telling. The first scene establishes the story’s direction and the film’s tone by providing necessary exposition, intriguing the viewers, and capturing their attention.
Every element of the first scene, from its sound to cinematography, works together to achieve the scene’s goal of providing the exposition, setting the tone, and the story arc’s continuity. The scene’s plot is simple, showing the chase after the criminal as the past moment of Scottie’s work experience as a detective. The audience gets a glimpse into the reasons behind Scottie’s fear and trauma, as the scene results in the policeman’s death from falling after attempting to help Scottie. The sound emphasizes the tragedy of the situation, following the temp established by the story. The music is fast and chaotic during the chase, highlighting the sense of urgency. The grandiose and dreadful notes only begin after the police officers offer a helping hand to Scottie. They culminate in their volume in the last shot of his dead body on the ground at 1:23 (Movieclips, 2021). This change not only expresses the tragedy of the situation but the feelings of Scottie, his fears, and his dread.
In the same manner, as with sound, the editing of the last shots follows Scottie’s line of vision, focusing on the policeman’s actions and death, or Scottie’s source of trauma. Moreover, cinematography provides close-up shots of bars and people’s hands hanging onto them. The scene begins with such imagery at 0:08, then it shows the close-up of Scottie, hanging onto his life at 1:17 (Movieclips, 2021). These shots empathize with Scottie’s fear and foreshadow that the audience will see more falls and life-and-death situations. Furthermore, the visual effects are strengthened by the mise-en-scene choices, as the scene is set in the night dark on the rooftop. The darkness promotes the haunting feeling of unease. On the other hand, the rooftop is an important location for the whole film, carrying immense meaning as the main scene of the accidents that foster Scottie’s phycological trauma. Overall, the first scene’s elements succeed in setting the story’s purpose, mood, and tone.
The first scene manages to not only establish the expository background of Scottie but subconsciously program the audience to anticipate the story about crime and Scottie’s phycological challenges. Throughout the film, Scottie struggles with the fear of heights in the aftermath of his retirement from his detective position. The effects of this fear on his mental health are further exacerbated by Judy acting out the death of Madeleine by falling from the roof of the building. Moreover, he overcomes his fears, in the end, only to witness the accidental fall of the real Judy from the same building. In other words, the film begins and concludes on the rooftop with Scottie’s dread of height unresolved and enhanced by trauma experienced throughout the film. This arrangement of the scenes provides the famous haunting motives, strengthening the story’s tragedy (Nelmes, 2012). Thus, each element of the first scene becomes crucial in establishing this continuity, managing to preserve the film’s main message.
References
Abrams, N., Bell, I., & Udris, J. (2001). Studying film. Bloomsbury Academic.
Lippe, R. (2016). Hitchcock’s Vertigo. CineAction, (98), 65-2.
Movieclips. (2011). Vertigo (1/11) Movie Clip – Officer Down (1958) HD. YouTube.
Nelmes, J. (2012). Introduction to film studies. Routledge.