Why Vertigo Beat Citizen Kane to Become Top-Rated Film
The online dating site Ashley Madison has some 15,200,000 members and a catchy slogan: “Life is short. Have an affair.” Don’t tell that to John “Scottie” Ferguson. He’s the protagonist of Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo, which as of last week ranks number one among the Top 50 Greatest Films of All Time, the British Film Institute’s Sight & Sound critics’ film poll (“the only one serious movie people take seriously,” according to Roger Ebert).
Vertigo is a trivia treasure trove with infinite appeal to film geeks; there’s even a fascinating back story to the captivating portrait of Carlotta (the first version was painted by Italian abstract artist Manlio Sarra, but the one used in the movie is the work of John Ferren). Still, despite the legions of film geeks out there, that’s not the most compelling reason for its recent dramatic rise in acclaim. Just as the internet has become, as cinema scholar Ian Christie writes in his intro to the Sight & Sound poll, “almost certainly the main channel of communication about films,” the ‘net is also now the worldwide relationship hub. And Vertigo is the saddest, most stunning and true-to-life love dramatization of a fear that resonates with us all, especially if we’ve taken a dip in the online-dating sea: fear of falling in love.
Vertigo’s a great film. The poll itself is the dumbest, most politically correct poll of top films I’ve ever seen. It stinks of cultural relativism, an affirmative action mentality, and multicultural diversity all done for their own sake.
History is unrecognizable through a liberal lens. This is, in the main, not a list of seminal films that were game-changers but PC 2012. It reveals far more about ourselves in 2012 than it does about the history of film, which is almost nothing. As far as I can tell, almost any film could make this list since I have not the faintest clue as to what parameters they were thinking of.
You got it nailed.
That “Citizen Kane” is “the greatest film ever made” is a pop-culture cliche. It’s the first answer that pops into many people’s heads when they’re asked “What is the greatest film ever made?” Surveys don’t mean much.
Nah, the film is popular because of Novak’s txts.
I just saw Citizen Kane again. It doesn’t hold a candle to Casablanca. CK looks old and dated. Casablanca still seems timeless. Off the top of my head, even having seen it recently, I can’t remember one line out of CK other than “Rosebud.” I could think of a dozen lines out of Casablanca immediately.
CK is overrated, greatly so.
You have them backwards. Casablanca is the best of its era, and it shows it. Citizen Kane is the best of ANY era, and it is timeless, and it really is the greatest film ever.
I came to Casablanca for the waters.
Citizen Kane knocks Vertigo—and anything else—out of the park. CK was an artistic epiphany. In fact, I saw Vertigo the other day and noted how poorly it has aged. Those are two of the most unsympathetic characters in all of film. And I’m coming to believe Hitchcock was a bit of a sick-o.
Two films that have, however, increased in my estimation over time are The Third Man and Gone With the Wind. Both are noteworthy for their their writing, casting, acting, direction, supporting staff, and production. They address monumental themes and create perfect, believable worlds; also, they abound with small finesses. As I’ve aged, I’ve noticed that true artistic excellence is actually very hard to achieve and much more rare than I had once believed.
Or maybe I’m just nostalgic for a studio system that cultivated talent and grateful for multi-dimensional stories that address the human heart.
I wholeheartedly agree with you, “ahem,” about The Third Man and Gone With the Wind. Those two movies are great artistic achievements across the board. The BFI critics who voted in that poll seem to have been brainwashed into refusing to recognize greatness. That seems to be a common malady with the intelligentsia these days, doesn’t it?
And I couldn’t disagree with you more. You want to talk about “unsympathetic characters”? Take another look at your favorite film, “Gone With the Wind.” Scarlett O’Hara and Rhett Butler are probably two of the most unsympathetic characters in all film history. I can’t watch more than 10 minutes of those two without wanting to throw a shoe at the screen.
As to your “suspicion” that Hitchcock “was a bit of a sicko,” you’re right; but to his fans, Hitchcock’s dark side isn’t a bug, it’s a feature.
“ahem” has started something. This is going to be fun.
GWTW is not only short on sympathetic characters; just LOOK at it. What a disjointed hodgepodge of styles, every one maxed out on melodramatic, atmospheric froo. Art director, please! It’s as if the visual creative team was just discovering this thing called color photography and the set decorator had no taste and an unlimited budget. If it was a home, it would be the Winchester Mansion mixed in with the Topkapi Palace. If it was a neighborhood, it would be one of the rows of Persian Palaces in Brentwood — Spanish Alhambra filling out every square inch of one lot, Swiss chalet crammed next to that, French chateau next, Cape Cod cottage next, etc.
We can still enjoy our old idols like GWTW, but we can’t deny their limitations.
I think it’s undeniable that in terms of being a seminal film, Citizen Kane is undeniably more important than Vertigo. Vertigo is a clever enough film and uses the language of film in a clever way. In that sense, it is no better than The Third Man, a really terrific film.
That was a beautifully written and insightful article. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
Being no certified movie buff, I hated Vertigo. I loved The Sting. I bet most folks did also.
I guess I’m missing something here. You say the moral of the story is “If you’re lucky enough to find love, don’t interrogate it to death. Enjoy it unconditionally, because it might be gone in an instant.” But let’s remember that the Kim Novak character was an illusion. Scottie wasn’t in love with a real woman. He was in love with a lie – a figment of his imagination, created and stoked by a murderer and his accomplice. This is the tragedy of the story, and the reason we love this movie so much. We have all had such moments, when we fell in love with an illusion (think Obama), only to wake up and find out the bitter truth. We could say that the moral of the story is, “Be careful, make sure your eyes are wide open,” but in love that’s often impossible. In politics, though, people should definitely not fall in love without very, very careful analysis.
Actually, it didn’t.
Citizen Kane remains at #1 on the American Film Institute ’100 Years, 100 Movies’ list of greatest films. Vertigo is way down the list at #71.
The British Film Institute rankings matter to…? To the British, I suppose (shocking revelation: Vertigo’s director was British), and to people who need to blog about stuff like this.
Not that I care too much. As great as CK is, in terms of just ‘likeability’ it would be difficult for me to place it higher than Casablanca or The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. I think I’d even place The Third Man a notch higher than CK.
What really makes CK so distinct are the technical achievements that enhanced the storyline. The use of perspective, lighting, camera angles and movement, and sound, make it stand apart from what came before it. By comparison, the camera work in Vertigo comes across as derivative and a bit cheesy.
Survey participants must’ve been required to be drunk or stoned. Most of these films wouldn’t have made it onto the TOP 500 list of actual movie buffs (not critics). Vertigo, The Searchers, both Godfathers flix, Psycho, Seven Samurai, Sunrise & yes, even Citizen Kane…OK! Mulholland Dr? HaHaHaHa!
There’s lots to like about Vertigo. The first half is the most atmospheric, mysterious, compelling hour of cinema imaginable. Hitchcock imposes the magical on the humdrum in a way that is absolutely unbeatble. The flower shop scene . . . the bo McKittrick’s hotel . . the Gallery of the Legion d’Honneur . . and Bernard Herrman’s music! “Carlotta’s Porttrait”, that mesmerising Habanera, one of the best single pieces of film music ever written, surely!
It all falls apart in the second half. The plot becomes more an more ridiculous, so there’s no proper, credible resolution of the mystery. I always feel a bit cheated. And let’s face it, this is not one of James Sewart’s memorable acting peformances. His facial expressions during his various attacks of vertigo are comical.
Just my $0.02 worth . . I accept that most people would think this opinion is not even worth that much. Does anyone else think like me?
I agree with you about the first half of Vertigo, John. You rightly highlight some excellent elements of the movie, such as the Herrmann music, which complements the atmospheric and mysterious qualities that are so prevalent. A couple of other favorite scenes of mine are in the cemetery and the old bookstore.
Personally I find the second half gripping also, especially with Jimmy Stewart’s further descent into mad obsession, and Kim Novak’s fears and turbulent emotions. Its all very disturbing, and Hitchcock handles it masterfully, I think. Those who compare Vertigo unfavorably with other great works such as Psycho, North by Northwest and Shadow of a Doubt are comparing apples with oranges. They are all great movies!
Vertigo? They’ve GOT to be kidding.
Jeeze, it’s not even a very good Hitchcock film. Kim Novak? I remember reading that after making Vertigo, Hitchcock decided never again to cast James Stewart, whom he blamed for making the picture a flop.
Sheesh. Vertigo! I’d be no less surprised and disappointed if they’d chosen The Ghost and Mr. Chicken.
My favorite line in Vertigo is on the spiral stairs: And you were an apt pupil, Maddie, weren’t you? You were an apt pupil!”
Maybe it was Stephen King’s (Richard Bachmann) too? Where else is that wonderful phrase used?
I hadn’t heard that Vertigo has toppled Citizen Kane at #1. I could never abide Citizen Kane but have seen Vertigo at least 30 times and love it. And Kim Novak…sheesh!