Forms and Conventions of Thriller Films - Vertigo

Vertigo (1958) - Directed by Alfred Hitchcock

Vertigo is a film about a retired police detective Scottie Fergusson who is asked by an old college friend to follow his wife, who he thinks to be behaving weirdly. Scottie manages to stop her suicide attempts after saving her and begins falling in love with his friend's wife. This film stars James Stewart and Kim Novak.

In the opening two minutes of this film Hitchcock cleverly delays the showing of an important event. This is recognised when the character recalls of a dream and the unknown event to another character in conversation. This makes the audience begin to question.

With out using to much, Hitchcock adds effects with music and varied camera shots. This film begins with classical music with dialogue over the top. He uses music to highlight significant parts in the film. When the flashback is shown the music changes to high pitch sharp sounds, This adds affect showing the tension and the mood of the certain flashback. When the music stops all together, the atmosphere within the shot changes.

This thriller highlights many of the expected thriller conventions; The story line makes the main character morally ambiguous when he wants to follow his wife. This scenario is unlike normal life and suggests drama ahead and that something isn't right. It shows the normal situation of the hero/main character being in threat or a struggle with the flash back highlighting the characters fear and involvement in a previous experience.

Like many of Hitchcock's thrillers, he uses another realistic setting to create the sense of 'the unusual' occurring within a normal setting. This film is set in an office and the busy city of San Francisco.

I really like how Alfred Hitchcock uses conventions of a thriller and would like to show them in my own. I really want to use music to add tension the way he does and the variety of camera shots he uses, such as; the establishing shots and the high angled shots in some flashbacks. Alfred Hitchcock has the talent of making the simple conventions into a complex exciting thriller.