day four

Vertigo, 1958, Dir. Alfred Hitchcock

     As the 1950s began to take shape, the studios were concerned with the sudden availability of televisions in the household. In an effort to retain interest in the theatres, films of the 1950s took advantage of the three components home televisions were incapable of: cinemascope, color, and a large orchestra. Considering the latter, Bernard Herrmann was responsible for developing the score for the 1958 film, Vertigo.

     With modernity taking way by the 1950s, Herrmann develops an innovative response mechanism for his work. With the introduction of a single or pair of notes, he will create a reaction towards the notes that will reside in the space—also known as catch and release. This effect can me most notably seen at the beginning of the film as the credits are rolling; the theme compelled me immediately into the film as the audio’s winding sensation pulled me into the work, almost like a formal invitation to experience it. Traditionally, a theme that is introduced during the credits sheds light on the development of a character’s leitmotif. Herrmann is no stranger to this rule and the theme can be identified as Judy’s leitmotif. A viewer will experience this leitmotif most optimally at the end of the film, when Judy is identified and brought to the bell tower of the same Spanish church the real Madeleine plummeted from. The sensation of winding plays hand in hand with the scene, as both Judy and Scottie are progressively circling upwards in the tower, as well as Scottie’s ability to connect the events that had transpired and identify what really occurred the afternoon of the real Madeleine’s death. With the use of a rather unusual orchestra arrangement—a sea of stringed instruments—Herrmann simulates the same essence of the trance Madeleine/Judy experienced with his score.