She didn’t jump. She got scared by the nun and fell. This is a great film about obsession and how it destroys. One of Hitchcock’s masterpieces. Nice reaction guys. I highly recommend Psycho.

Judy didn't jump at the end. She was startled, backed away, and fell. Hitchcock has quite a lot of brilliant films. I'd advise you to watch "Psycho." It will blow your minds.

The reason he was so angry was because his ideal woman was a fake. The reason she resisted his changes is because she wanted him to love her, Judy, not the fantasy of Madeleine.

That wasn't a trial, it was a coroner's inquest.

For much of its 128 minutes, “Vertigo” pretends to be at least two different movies than the one it is. It’s not a ghost story. It’s not even a murder mystery. It’s a tragedy - a cinematic opera - about a man so in love with the woman in his head that he can’t see the woman in his arms. It’s a movie about the ways we try to mold the people we love into the people who never loved us back.

I think Judy really did love Scottie, and she desperately wanted him to love her for her real self and not who she pretended to be in the past. Scottie's anger at the end has as much to do with the demolition of his ideal love as it does having been lied to. Really good pick up on the thematic importance of the title! The meta aspect of the movie involves Hitchcock himself molding his female stars to HIS liking (and presumably the male audience members). There is an unused ending (a bonus on the DVDs and Blu-rays)... Scottie is entering Midge's apartment while the two of them hear a news report on the radio about Gavin Elster's capture: completely anti-climatic!

He doesn't fall in love with just any woman, or even more than 1 woman - he falls in love with her, no matter who she "is". ✌️💜

Before CGI is where you find the real filmmakers. Now, with a big budget, everything is possible. 🎥🎞️

Possibly my favorite movie ever. And since you mentioned David Lynch, this is one of the most influential movies on Lynch, especially on Mulholland Dr.

One of the great tricks that Hitchcock accomplishes is the change he makes the audience go through; Scotty is the victim in the first half, the audience identifies with Scotty and feels sorry for him. Then Scotty becomes the antagonist, the aggressor and the audience no longer identifies with him and becomes uncomfortable with his obsession. Many Hitchcock themes are about various obsessions but this film is unique because we the audience get drawn inside the mind of the person and feel his transformation from innocent victim to someone obsesses. However, at the end, he does seem free of his “vertigo” or “acrophobia.” The doctor and Midge had talked about the chance that another great shock might get rid of his problem, and the entire experience of finding out the truth and seeing Judy’s death shocked him out of his condition.

Gentlemen. This was a fantastic reaction! Was so nice to see people of a younger age (than me) appreciate this movie much the way I did when I was your age. Your reactions to the two biggest surprises was particularly fun. There is no official truth as to whether Judy fell or jumped and it is still debated to this day. But she did have to die according to the Hayes code. If you are not familiar the Hayes code was a moral standard placed on movies from 1934 to 1968. One of its rules was that anyone that committed a crime had to pay for it with a prison term, or their life. I've lived in the SF bay area for 53 years and I am happy to tell you that all but two of the locations this movie was shot in are still there. Ernie's closed in the 80s or 90s and same with the McKitrick Hotel. Mission San Juan Batista is the Mission they visited but there is no tower there. Two minor errors. The forest where Madeleine points to the redwood tree is Big Basin (SW of San Jose) and not Muir woods but that was a logical conclusion. I believe it was the foreground and not the background painted on to the that image, since it is the tower that is missing and the rest of it looked fine to the best of my recollection. Please watch more Hitchcock, and please watch more movies. Your series are great, but Catch-up packets deserves equal air time in my opinion.

Wonderful movie. It has so many layers it keeps you wondering about many things.

She did not jump. She fell trying to get away from the shadowy figure. And his vertigo is over.

One great plot point that you don’t see until the second time you watch the film is that in his first scene Elster says, “The things that spell San Francisco to me are disappearing fast. I should have liked to have lived here then. Color, excitement, power, freedom.” Then later the bookseller uses the exact same words when talking about Carlotta’s life when he says her husband “...threw her away. He had no other children. His wife had no children. So, he kept the child and threw her away. You know, a man could do that in those days. They had the power and the freedom.” So in his first scene Elster is in effect telling Scotty and the audience exactly what he wants to do with his wife (literally throw her away off the tower) but we don’t know it yet.

Judy thought the nun was the ghost of the murdered wife (and she fell).

My friend Dorothy's dad composed the music for this film among many other Hitchcock films.

Vertigo was Hitchcock's visual metaphor for time and memory and memory's relation to obsession and art.

Kim Novak who played Judy/Madeleine, was almost 25 years younger than Jimmy Stewart. Kim Novak is still alive at age 90. Tippi Hedren who played Melanie Daniels in The Birds is still alive at 93, and Eva Marie Saint who played Eve Kendall in North by Northwest is still alive at 98.

You two are freaked watching this with the lights on while talking to each other. Imagine watching this in a dark theater where there is no talking and the only impressions on your brain are coming from Hitchcock.

So glad that you guys decided to watch "Vertigo". It's in my Top 5 Hitchcock films (Psycho, The Birds, Rebecca and North By Northwest).

Judy may have fallen from the tower when she saw the nun because she may have thought she was the angel of death coming to get her and she was trying to get away but fell to her death instead

I love Arrested Development. As far as the condition vertigo, it has something to do with your inner ear which affects your balance. Car sickness is actually vertigo. When people feel dizzy from a car ride. if a person has problems with vertigo, they should be a front seat passenger whenever possible and look out the window and not down. If they can’t be a front seat passenger, they must not look down and read anything. They must always look forward or out the window. if they must look down, they must hide their peripheral view. Having your head down when you’re reading and seeing everything moving in your peripheral, causes vertigo. Amusement park rides that go upside down or too fast or in a circle faster than a merry-go-round, could cause vertigo. Vertigo could also happen at any time without warning. Vertigo could also last anywhere from a few hours to months. Sometimes eating fresh ginger, not tea or powder, but fresh ginger root can alleviate the vertigo symptoms. The person suffering from vertigo would need to take a few slices of the fresh ginger and chew it. It’s not pleasant, but it must be done. If possible, the juice of the ginger can be squeezed out with a garlic press and the sufferer can sip on the juice about a tablespoon should do it. Sometimes, during a bout of vertigo, it may be necessary to keep your head turned a certain way to alleviate the dizziness.

Barry is back for S4 - the final season. First two episodes were good. As for Hitchcock, he has so many great films. Vertigo is definitely one of his top three masterpieces. We had to study it in film school for a variety of reasons. Yes, the color green is significant. North By Northwest is considered the first modern action film. A step up from the stiff historical epics, but a precursor to the blockbusters of the 70s. The plane sequence is iconic. Rebecca, Rear Window, Strangers on a Train, Rope, The Birds, and Psycho are just a few others must see films.

Bird phobia: Yeah, I have that too, and it's directly related to having seen "The Birds" at a young age! And after learning that birds are essentially descendants of those few dinosaurs that survived the meteoric extinction, and having seen "Jurassic Park" a million times, I now feel somewhat justified in my fear... lol "The Birds" is a brilliant and disturbing film, and despite having scarred me for life, I still highly recommend it! ;-] Other Hitchcock films you just cannot die without seeing: Rear Window, The Maltese Falcon, North by Northwest, and Psycho. Those films are the reason you even know the name, Hitchcock!

Glad I found your video. It was great fun to watch two Vertigo virgins get deflowered. Thanks for posting. Especially since it’s my favorite film of all time. A complex movie to watch as you will see new things in it each time. One clue: notice the recurring imagery in the film to understand the deeper meaning of the story. Okay another clue: necrophilia. Enjoy!

Judy didn’t jump in the end, she fell, when she and Scottie are at the top of the building he’s pushing his way through “a test” to cure his vertigo, he becomes obsessed with the idea of suprassing the trauma of losing Madeline, that idealized woman that went from loving to having a twisted and toxic desire towards her, and in that spiral he pays a great price, he loses the woman he could’ve been happy with as well as his sense of love and desire become twisted, leaving a man whom we feel creeped out and not sympathizing. And with Judy, she never makes peace with the atrocity she’s done in the past, being complice of the murder of an innocent woman merely for her desire to be loved by the wrong man, in the end she falls again for it except this time it could’ve been the right one hadn’t been for the harm she’s caused in the past, and because of that when she’s most close to her happiness the divine judgment appears (symbolized by the nun) to remind her what she’s done and how there’s no escape from it.

Of all the reactions to this movie I've seen, this was one of the most fun to watch because you guys are whip-smart and manage to think just enough ahead to set up the next reveal with a legit "See? I thought so!" Of course I got a kick out your genuine the shock in the middle. And I bet Hitchcock would've enjoyed you expressing layers of increasing discomfort as Scotty drags Judy deeper into his rabbit hole: you feel your own queasy sense of being off-balance befitting the theme of "vertigo." I also share your grasp of the film's underlying point about the hopelessness & inevitableness of a messy ending that comes from basing a relationship on catastrophic deceit. We should feel queasily off-balance in our own complicit guilt as we empathize with Judy while Scotty forces her through changes, despite her role in Madeleine's murder and the abuse of Scotty's incapacity. We can understand why she yields to Scotty's maniacal oppression - guilt? love? both? - but it all makes this movie feel even more like an authentic, feverish nightmare. I think this is Hitchcock's best, most personal and most unsettling work. Unlike "Pyscho," "The Birds," "North by Northwest" or "Rear Window," there are no virtuous/victorious heroes here. Instead there's a crook (Gavin) who murders his wife and the two flawed leads (Scotty and Judy) who played dangerously with fire and got burned. The two truly tragic figures are the real Madeleine, of course, and Midge, whose selflessness & nurturing nature never get rewarded.

This is , in my opinion, a fantasy movie about men’s obsession with controlling women. Notice how when Scotty is following her in his car he seems to keep driving further and further downward, as if Hitchcock is showing us how Scotty seems to be falling further and further into this spell, that he’s not going to be able to get out of. The DVD release has an incredible commentary by none other than the great Martin Scorsese, this is one of his favorite films. Seeing you guys, experience it for the first time was so enjoyable, I loved how lost/confused/befuddled you both were with all the twists and turns. Great reaction, guys.

Hitchcock was called the Master of "Suspense". He built tension better than anyone who ever made movies. Please go down the rabbit whole with him. His early 30s 40s 50s movies all are great trust me.

Nice reaction and I loved the "6th grada" trauma analysis at the end. I did miss Barbara Bel Geddes (the lady friend 'without benefits') in your edit though😉 'Madeline' was kinda Scottie's 'Carmen' and Midge was his 'Micaëla' (check out the story of the opera "Carmen" by Bizet, lol).

The shadow of the nun was Death. And Stewart was cured of his vertigo. Hitch was a wild-eyed Catholic moralist. Everybody pays for their sins.

You're head is spinning at the end of this, like YOU have Vertigo

Judy had to die at the end because she was an accomplice to a murder. The studio probably told Hitch that she had to be punished in some way.

"He's just falling in love with every woman who pays him any attention." *Barbara Belle Geddes enters the chat*

She was startled and fell, she didn’t jump.

Great reaction guys! There are really some cool Hitchcock movies you have to watch. Like Rear Window, North By Northwest, Psycho, to just name a few... Hitchcock more or less invented the "cool" shot.

"...I'd never go anywhere up high ever again.", or anywhere near a platinum blond ever again! 🤣 Poor Midge was obsessed with Scottie; Scottie was obsessed with Madeline. Two heartbreaking moments: when Scottie wants Judy to bleach her hair, she says, "Will you love me then?" up in the tower, when Scottie's voice goes weak & almost cracks when he says to Judy, "You shouldn't have been so sentimental." Really enjoyed both your reactions and discussion about the movie at the end. Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak starred together in another movie in 1958 (totally different genre) called "Bell, Book and Candle", sophisticated & funny rom-com set in NYC. Kim's a modern day young witch who puts a spell on book publisher Jimmy. Great supporting cast of comic characters. The movie is said to have inspired 1960's BEWITCHED television series. Give it a watch & reaction!

I agree with the previous comment. She was frightened by the nun. Great reaction to one of Hitchcock's classic films.

What a great reaction and discussion, guys! I've loved this movie for many years, but you gave me some fresh perspectives I haven't thought about before. I really hope you'll do some more classic films, especially Alfred Hitchcock. This one is my favorite, but as many others have suggested Psycho, Rear Window, North by Northwest and The Birds are all brilliant. Got my sub and notification turned on, can't wait to see what's next!

She couldn't confess because she was an accomplice in a murder.

One of Bernard Hermann's musical masterpieces. The next one he would do is Hitchcock's Psycho.

My best high school buddy got trained to be an electrician in the navy and did the job in civilian life for 30 more years after that. One of his jobs was climbing up radio and TV broadcast aerials/masts and replace the red lamp on top. Doing that job, he was sometimes 25 to 30 stories off the ground. I could never do that since I get vertigo in tall office buildings at that height. My friend always $50K more per year than I did, but he can have it!

Wayne’s World discusses what may be the greatest movie ever made

Hollywood at the time had the man and woman fall almost instantly in life-changing love at first sight - which caused lots of their audience to get into hasty and regrettable marriages when they tried to follow this meme, in an era of rare divorce. And older men were often matched up with much younger women - but almost never the other way around. Hitchcock also had a thing for the icy-cold blonde type for the female lead.

Judy sees the nun and thinks she is the ghost of the murdered Madeline.

David Lynch saw this when he was in junior high.

Some have survived a jump from the Golden Gate Bridge.

Rear Window, Strangers on a Train, North by Northwest, Saboteur, Shadow of a Doubt, Notorious, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Rope, To Catch a Thief. Hitchcock's best. You've likely seen Psycho.

An inquest. A "trial" to determine cause of death.

If you search on KZfaq you can find the last scene of Vertigo that was cut to make the ending that we see now more ambiguous

It's my understanding that in the book he murders her at the end. Obviously they couldn't have Jimmy Stewart murder her in the movie so Hitchcock changed the ending. In the remake I hope they stick to the original ending which makes more sense than her falling by accident.

Judy/Madelin was startled by the nun, backed up and fell. One way to end the movie was for Judy to die. Back in the old days movies were required to show that "Crime doesn't Pay". She confesses to detective Scotty that she was an accomplise to a murder. Scotty would have turned her in. Then she's off to the slammer.

One of the most dysfunctional relationships in the history of mankind. 😅

Fun facts: Mission San Juan Bautista, where the mission scenes were filmed, doesn't have a tower. It was painted in as you guys noticed. A few percent (2% to 5% depending on source) of people who jump from the Golden Gate Bridge do survive, despite reaching a speed of 75 mph before hitting the water.

Wonderful reaction, guys, thank you. Vertigo is probably my favorite Hitchcock, but there are SO many other great ones as well, as suggested in previous comments. I hope you'll check them out someday, and maybe even go back to some earlier Hitchcock classics, such as The 39 Steps or Notorious or Shadow of a Doubt.

The last scene where he stands on the ledge... Well, at least he was cured of his fear of hights (Acrophobia) :D

The Birds is very scary.

You guys are so dope. Love your chill energy and you have great insights into / knowledge of film in general 👍

Music composed by Bernard Herrmann

Scottie removed all of her clothes and etc. while she pretended to be unconscious.

nuns are creepy i’ve seen this movie dozens of times this, alien, shining, and believe it or not a room with a view i’ve seen those 4 about the same nbr of dozens of times - there are so many layers to this movie and the symbolisms are numerous in the vein of the shining

The issue with Judy's secret is that she's an accessory to murder and he's a former police detective. How can she come clean with him and stay out of jail? That's my take, at least. I enjoyed your discussion on the subject, too. I think my favorite Hitchcock film is North By Northwest, but I'll recommend Rear Window for you guys next. The thing to really watch for in a Hitchcock film is the direction.

Great reaction, subscribing now. The nun represents the darkness.

Second favorite film of all time. If you do David Lynch try Blue Velvet.

Excellent reaction and analysis, guys! Subscribed! More Hitchcock, please--Rear Window, North by Northwest, Psycho are all great.

I was 11 or 12 when I first saw this in the theater. It had been released. And I remember being stunned that they could actually end a movie this way.

A person attempts suicide and he doesn’t bother to call an ambulance or take her to the hospital?

Guys you missed at the end what a lot of reactions miss at the end i.e. Scotty is standing at the top of the bell tower looking down, and he no longer has vertigo.

How many recent films could raise so many questions? Hitchcock did not provide easy answers. I think the "vertigo" refers more to the audience reaction than to the plot.

Thank you! Great reaction to a true masterpiece...

Well now you gotta see "High Anxiety".

What do you guys have against Midge?

I love this movie. It's my second favorite (technically 3rd favorite) behind Hitchcock's North By Northwest and QT's Kill Bill. I saw this back when I was first discovering older films and the twist blew me away, did not see that coming at all.

36:01 You got to know that a cop is going to hate you when you've set him up to pull off a murder and get away with it.

Vertigo can be found on lists compiled of the best films ever made, despite a plot that makes no real sense, and a big reveal given way too early; there are much easier ways to murder someone than the ridiculously complicated and risky scheme employed by the husband. Despite this, the film is a psychological masterpiece operating below the surface plot, and that deals with themes of obsession, longing, and especially the desire to overcome death itself. The sequence in the Empire Hotel where Judy walks out of the bathroom to be revealed as Madeline is one of the most powerful in all of film because Scotty feels like he himself has defeated death. In addition, the score and cinematography are among the best ever put on film. Rear Window is Hitchcock's 2nd best film, in my opinion.

No Scotty is not just a lonely guy who falls in love with anyone who pays attention to him. Midge? No. Girl from Salina? yes. Why? Not because she was any girl, because he was only in love with one women and he could feel it was her.

Notorious

12 ANGRY MEN (1957) ... VERTIGO (1958) :) :) :)

The incredibly restrictive Hays Code from the 1930's was still in effect until it was replaced by the current letter rating in 1968. The code dictated so so much of what and how these old movies were allowed to show. In this case, she HAD to be seen punished for her crime of being an accessory to murder, so the death scene was probably the best way for Hitchcock to include it.

You need to see Rear Window

Watch the movie Notorious

That was a coroner's inquest

The extended alternate ending (on KZfaq) has him back with Midge.

You need to record a follow up now that - hopefully - you’ve untwisted all your wacky wrong ideas about the plot! Great reaction throughout the movie; disappointing you had it so wrong!

Scotty was never crazy, he was lost for a bit, looking for the key to this mystery and slowly edging towards what made sense. When he changed Judy into Madeleine, he knew that he was on to something important and it was not about trying to create a fantasy for himself. He needed her to make a mistake.

Great reaction -- best Vertigo react ever -- see Psycho next... Try to stick with movies rather than episodes. lots of ideas for you. also see Be Kind Rewind -- do no research, you;ll be completely in love!!

Try to disconnect with current social conditioning before attempting a classic film reaction. And all the outrage and judgments seemed to blot out the actual story from what you were watching, and you can't hope to understand something more complex than the cartoons that pass as films today. Vertigo is one of the best examples of what happens to a man when he lets his ego and his need to control his partner dictate his emotions, and even more so what it feels like for a woman who decides that to be loved she must give in to that same man's needs before her own self. The idea of Scotty's vertigo is a visualisation of his fear of not being in control. In the end it kills Judy, who falls to her death thinking that her victim has come to punish her.

I've never seen this movie, but I'm just dropping in to say you should follow up with High Anxiety... :p

While this heartwrenching love story was developing, you two were busy blathering away about the lousy movie you were trying to make. In order to react to a film you'd be well advised to watch it closely and with an open heart, at least in the crucial moments...

Please screen :"FEDORA" 1977...Billy Wilder...

💙💙💙

Watch "Black Narcissis"!!!!

Curious how old are you two?

Pls react to euphoria

So good to see you folks discovering movies. Real movies are complex and masterful. You’ve seen two great films; ‘12 Angry Men’ and ‘Vertigo’. ‘Interstellar is a pale copy of greater films in the past (‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ and Andrei Tarkovsky”s ‘Solaris’). ‘Vertigo is one of the greatest films of the 20th century. The twisted obsession of Scotty and his downward spiral was the vertigo of the title. The audience were the ones who were left dizzy, thanks to the vortex-like screenplay. If you really want to experience the cultural beauty of film, this is the tip of the iceberg. ‘Old” films put recent movies and serial tv to shame.

people are creepy and irrational ( regardless of alleged "gender dynamics of the age "), will always be so. hitchcock make movies about people. it absurd to look at his ( or any other ) movies with current limited, very bigoted, western pseudo rational ideology, and resulting "correct" way to think about , gender, behavior, people etc etc..

You guys are simultaneously the smartest and the dumbest reactors to this movie I've ever seen. I feel compelled to clear up a few points for you 1. He didn't know that Judy was Madeleine until she put on the necklace. Before that he was just trying to remodel her into 'Madeleine' because of his obsession with Madeleine. He never suspected that they were the same person until the necklace 2. 'The thing that's hurting him most is that he thinks she doesn't love him.' Where the fuck has this observation come from? He's angry and hurt at her because she and Elster conspired to create a woman that didn't exist, whose 'death' caused him untold pain and suffering. Love isn't on his mind at that particular moment 3. She doesn't jump. The sodding nun appearing out of the shadows is the clue there. Put yourself in Judy's shoes. Your nerves are frayed because you've just experienced five minutes of terror as Jimmy Stewart has made you re-live what you did and picked apart the whole scheme whilst pushing you up the stairs, you've felt guilty for the last half of the movie, you're finally relatively 'safe' after Jimmy Stewart has had his rant and overcome his agoraphobia, and then a fucking shadow appears in the very spot that you and a bloke threw a woman from. It's not a stretch to think that she might've felt it was Madeleine's ghost. This movie took a few rewatches for me to appreciate, and you guys got a lot of it right, but gee whiz, some common sense wouldn't go astray

Did it bother you that the whole plot hinges on the unlikely point that the murderer would gamble his life that Scotty wouldn't make it up the tower to reveal the whole thing?

Not really believable truthfully, for it’s not just her face that’s identical, but her movements, expressions, sound of her voice, someone in love would be keyed in to all of her nuances.

Great movie, seriously marred ending in my opinion, not her death, but how it happened, made little sense.