tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509825018139758536.post1924530217649719299..comments2024-02-05T21:23:49.249-08:00Comments on Lady Eve's Reel Life: A Month of "Vertigo," The Final ChapterThe Lady Evehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11963115499930520653noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509825018139758536.post-44715181668761792062012-02-21T07:53:38.593-08:002012-02-21T07:53:38.593-08:00Thanks, doc, and thanks, too, for following this s...Thanks, doc, and thanks, too, for following this series so closely. A lot of work, but much reward.<br /><br />I think, in his prime, Hitchcock could've adapted from just about any source and made - at the very least - a fascinating film. With "Vertigo," a departure from the rest of his work, he revealed to the world that he had the soul of an artist. A surprise, no doubt, to those who saw him as simply the rotund and amusing "master of suspense."The Lady Evehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11963115499930520653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509825018139758536.post-62707557558675292792012-02-20T23:47:14.523-08:002012-02-20T23:47:14.523-08:00fantastique!!! great insight...your analysis of t...fantastique!!! great insight...your analysis of the novel really explains the "Gallic Flavor" of VERTIGO...it is interesting how well Americans and Brits can translate French works to film and how poorly the French do with English sources...just my opinion..and I am a huge fan of LE CINEMA FRANCAISE!!!doctom666noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509825018139758536.post-60314539533027423902012-02-20T09:18:13.869-08:002012-02-20T09:18:13.869-08:00Good to hear from you, Becky, and thank you. I hop...Good to hear from you, Becky, and thank you. I hope you're feeling much better.<br /><br />If you have the chance, the Boileau-Narcejac novel is definitely worth reading. I envisioned images and atmosphere closer to Jean Renoir's "La bete humaine" as I read it - which speaks to how fully Hitchcock asserted his own vision and artistry and made of the material something entirely his own.The Lady Evehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11963115499930520653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509825018139758536.post-55232341371289511842012-02-20T05:35:54.888-08:002012-02-20T05:35:54.888-08:00Eve, as you know, illness prevented me from keepin...Eve, as you know, illness prevented me from keeping up with your incredible month of Vertigo, but you deserve the highest of compliments for this marvelous idea and your bringing it to life. This article about the background and the book is fascinating. I always wondered what the book was, but had never made sure to read it. What a dark and eerie story. Hitchcock's vision of the story is of course magic, but the book sounds like something I would like to experience also. And of course, this article showcases your own wonderful writing talent. Congratulations on a very special idea and event, Eve.ClassicBeckyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03591715859057540467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509825018139758536.post-81231509577684754242012-02-18T08:14:16.226-08:002012-02-18T08:14:16.226-08:00Thanks, Dawn. This project has been a lot of work ...Thanks, Dawn. This project has been a lot of work but, more than that, incredibly rewarding. "Vertigo" will never be the same for me either, by the way.<br /><br />AMC's "Mad Men" returns on March 25 and I'll be hosting a mini-event to celebrate - more on that later.<br /><br />Thanks again for not just following "A Month of Vertigo" and commenting (regularly), but also for promoting the event on your own great blog.The Lady Evehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11963115499930520653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509825018139758536.post-1498131622161081772012-02-18T05:25:32.487-08:002012-02-18T05:25:32.487-08:00I have also really enjoyed reading your blog-a-tho...I have also really enjoyed reading your blog-a-thon. I cannot wait to see what you have planned for your future blog-a-thons. Job well done to all who participated! The film Vertigo will never be the same for me.Dawnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03476174860119487509noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509825018139758536.post-8615751168883370132012-02-17T14:13:30.835-08:002012-02-17T14:13:30.835-08:00Thanks to all for your thoughtful comments...
Tha...Thanks to all for your thoughtful comments...<br /><br />Thank you, Wendy, for the link to your book, "The Testament of Judith Barton," I'm looking forward to reading it.<br /><br />Thanks again - Brandie, R.D., Christian, John, 'Gypsy and Classicfilmboy for your superb guest contributions (& for your kind & insightful comments here).<br /><br />And thank you - Motorcycle Boy, Kay, Kim, Jacqueline, Hep, FlickChick and Kevin for following "A Month of Vertigo" so loyally (and so often with comments as thought-provoking as the blog posts themselves).The Lady Evehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11963115499930520653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509825018139758536.post-58305476366823181232012-02-17T11:00:02.908-08:002012-02-17T11:00:02.908-08:00Ever thoughtful with this final post in your month...Ever thoughtful with this final post in your month of "Vertigo" event. "Event" is the right word as it transcended the usual blog-a-thons with a depth and scope rarely seen. Your post beautifully connects the film to its source and demonstrates how different takes on the same material can both be powerful in their own ways.Classicfilmboyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01278928051994100842noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509825018139758536.post-32393804222533652692012-02-16T14:17:53.700-08:002012-02-16T14:17:53.700-08:00Eve ~ a fascinating look at the influences and ins...Eve ~ a fascinating look at the influences and inspirations for “Vertigo” and a brilliant conclusion to a month (plus) of tribute to the film. I can give no higher praise than to quote your own evocative and excellent words, “He would shape from it an allegory of aesthetically and technically meticulous images and sounds and with allusions to ancient myth, Medieval legend, 19th century philosophy and modern psychology. And he would endow Boileau-Narcejac's desolate tale with a romantic heart and an eternal soul.” <br /><br />I am intrigued to learn of the history of the novel and how the film differed from the original story. I also find it fascinating how the European version differed from the American version (I thought French films tended to be more honest than American counterparts). The added scene is a bit confusing and takes away from rather than adds to the story, but I understand the censors concerns. <br /><br />The focus on Hitchcock and “Vertigo” has had the added benefit of leading me to the “Alfred Hitchcock Hour”, which I have been watching for about a month. The episodes all seem to date from 1962, but contain some eerie similarities to the 1958 film. One episode featured a blonde female wearing Kim Novak’s upsweep with the whirlpool center, a second episode featured John Gavin visiting a colleague in a mental hospital and bringing him his favorite sheet music, and last night’s episode was based on a novel or short story by Patricia Highsmith. <br /><br />Thank you again for your superb finale and for sponsoring this tremendous look at “Vertigo” the film and Hitchcock the master filmmaker.whistlingypsyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06126688373252306609noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509825018139758536.post-46439265286141889582012-02-16T14:04:29.128-08:002012-02-16T14:04:29.128-08:00It was really a great series. I didn't comment...It was really a great series. I didn't comment on every post, but I read every word on a masterpiece that seems to grow deeper and more haunting with each viewing.Kevin Deanyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07697597405552599370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509825018139758536.post-55929884257269776512012-02-16T11:55:49.662-08:002012-02-16T11:55:49.662-08:00Eve, this piece is a delicious icing on a fantasti...Eve, this piece is a delicious icing on a fantastic series. My congratulations to you and to all who participated in this wonderful adventure of one of cinema’s greatest works and its amazing filmmaker. The background information you provide was most interesting and a great way to open to your article.John Greconoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509825018139758536.post-63961764293307599682012-02-15T15:51:51.140-08:002012-02-15T15:51:51.140-08:00Bravo for a wonderful post and a brilliant month. ...Bravo for a wonderful post and a brilliant month. I bow at the feet of the great Lady Eve!!FlickChickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17351624749230610755noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509825018139758536.post-40317517091846329972012-02-15T15:13:45.816-08:002012-02-15T15:13:45.816-08:00This final chapter lays out in simple, chapter to ...This final chapter lays out in simple, chapter to chapter to book to film creation process the source of this river Vertigo. it will never cease to amaze me, to strike me with awe that the same stuff that made American Pie is also the stuff of Vertigo. Recipes are easy to follow. Cooking an adequate meal, some practice. Creating the dish that is Vertigo and the rest of Hitch courses, well--that is something done by that once or twice in the planet's cultural history. Thank you, m'lady for the month and this lovely reminder that all great works begin with that empty full of faith and hope first step.Dan Auiler https://www.blogger.com/profile/13614271843346319002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509825018139758536.post-34155540270423666522012-02-15T14:38:40.721-08:002012-02-15T14:38:40.721-08:00Thank you for this wonderful insight into the nove...Thank you for this wonderful insight into the novel behind the film. Obviously, Hitchcock was very faithful to the novel's key plot developments, however reimagined. It is truly one of Hitchcock's greatest films, where he thrills us with suspense not for the sake of thrilling us with suspense. It has been a great series indeed.hepclassichttp://fan.tcm.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=7681590&as=66470noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509825018139758536.post-74597518686860228152012-02-15T03:27:46.769-08:002012-02-15T03:27:46.769-08:00Congratulations on an informative, excellent post,...Congratulations on an informative, excellent post, and a marvelous series.Jacqueline T. Lynchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11047941886908178350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509825018139758536.post-47423636947231713892012-02-14T20:50:52.822-08:002012-02-14T20:50:52.822-08:00Your "Month of Vertigo" was a huge succe...Your "Month of Vertigo" was a huge success, Eve. You have ended it on a high note with your own wonderful post. You should be proud of yourself and to all who contributed.Kimberly J.M. Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09078951928157843937noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509825018139758536.post-12879334105867756742012-02-14T18:40:11.477-08:002012-02-14T18:40:11.477-08:00Outstanding post Lady Eve - very insughtful and a ...Outstanding post Lady Eve - very insughtful and a great back story to the genesis of Vertigo. And thank you for organizing such a rewarding and productive collaboration.<br /><br />Stranger things have happened but both the literary and the film version of this story were influenced by works called "The Stranger." Albert Camus began the genre of the existential novel with "The Stranger," whose no escape story philosophy influenced Boileau and Narcejac. Then Orson Welles' movie "The Stranger" with its cinematic techniques and bell-tower setting influenced Hitchcock, though both "Strangers" seemed to bare no resemblance to each other. The only other point I would make is that to my mind a more accurate translation of D'Entre les Morts is "Between the Deaths," which is really what the book and Vertigo are both about, though one "Vertigo" title suits both. Again, thank you Lady Eve.Christian Esquevinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04442827724576856379noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509825018139758536.post-14837764121056605622012-02-14T12:13:58.819-08:002012-02-14T12:13:58.819-08:00Lady Eve,
This is easily the best blog-a-thon I...Lady Eve,<br />This is easily the best blog-a-thon I've ever enjoyed. The writers/vloggers have been superb, the subject, legendary. I cannot wait to see what you embark on next and only hope I can make it into your Olympian round-up of bloggers! Thanks over and over to all who participated on behalf of we who soaked it all in. Your wrap-up only makes me want to go watch it again. And again. And again...<br />Admiringly,<br />Kay<br />www.moviestarmakeover.comMarlinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04442632575933706511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509825018139758536.post-58602564666214331032012-02-14T10:36:27.971-08:002012-02-14T10:36:27.971-08:00I really enjoyed reading your back story on VERTIG...I really enjoyed reading your back story on VERTIGO - you did a superb job. There is a strong French sensibility behind it's story and characters, so it's only appropriate that it was the French who later promoted the artistic regard that Hitchcock so deserved. Thanks to A Month of “Vertigo", I’ve learned a tremendous amount about the details of how this classic was put together - the dedicated work and thought that went into it’s creation. The contributions of all of this month's writers have been varied and, in each case, thoughtful and enthused by the subject. I feel that with VERTIGO Hitchcock caught a tremendous wave of inspiration. I personally don't think it's of primary importance to focus entirely on what Hitchcock was consciously trying to communicate – that’s obviously valuable to consider - but I believe that art on this level is capable of bringing to the surface elements and meanings that are far beyond even the artist’s conscious intentions. Perhaps because VERTIGO was so personal to Hitchcock he was able to touch the deepest emotions of the audience. The artist explores his own unconscious, applies his technical expertise (which in Hitchcock’s case was considerable) and creates art that serves as a mirror into which generations that follow can explore their own inner workings – it reveals to us something about ourselves, our hearts and souls, and how we see the world around us. VERTIGO is an extremely poetic work and like the best poetry, it has it’s patterns and themes and references, but it also is intended to not be totally literal in it’s meaning. This month of VERTIGO has been a rewarding journey and a deepening view into a truly classic movie. Thank you, Lady Eve, for the imagination and hard work it took to act as mid-wife to this complicated but evocative child.Motorcycle Boynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509825018139758536.post-43841423219755229412012-02-14T09:58:25.144-08:002012-02-14T09:58:25.144-08:00Eve, a great finish to a great event and a wonderf...Eve, a great finish to a great event and a wonderful read all on its own. I like the way you began by introducing us to the writing team of Boileau-Narcejac and then placing "Vertigo" in the context of Hitchcock's American career up to that point. You took this way beyond a synopsis of the source novel and a comparison/contrast between it and Hitchcock's film. You covered the ways the film differs substantially from the novel yet how Hitchcock managed to take its essential elements and especially its themes and fashion them into something entirely personal: "Hitchcock would also create a fascinating portrait of his own inner landscape; a work of art will always reveal the artist." Very subtly stated and a wonderful general observation, only one of many such instances in your brilliant wrap-up post.<br /><br />I'm sure everyone who has participated in "A Month of VERTIGO" as well as everyone who has followed it will agree what a memorable event this has been. You put together a tremendous team of writers. I think you hit on a truly original idea by using one movie as the theme, and I'm tremendously impressed with the amount of planning and organization that must have been required, far more than for an ordinary blogathon where writers post at their own sites. And, of course, you couldn't have chosen a better or more appealing film for such intensive scrutiny. All in all, this will be something to remember and for all lovers of Hitchcock and "Vertigo" in particular to refer back to as a reference source.R. D. Finchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05045080274131718843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509825018139758536.post-76356565560339401332012-02-14T08:36:37.848-08:002012-02-14T08:36:37.848-08:00This was a brilliant wrap-up to a month of brillia...This was a brilliant wrap-up to a month of brilliant posts. And it's a little twisted (at least in my mind) to bring this celebration of VERTIGO to a close on Valentine's Day, of all days, considering the themes of love and obsession that are such hallmarks of the movie. I find myself yearning to read the book now for myself.<br /><br />Thank you for putting this together and for being such a champion of this film and the bloggers who contributed posts!Brandiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02142157631653690212noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509825018139758536.post-68652259462998060342012-02-14T04:52:15.296-08:002012-02-14T04:52:15.296-08:00TLE, thanks for this thoughtful background study (...TLE, thanks for this thoughtful background study (not to mention the whole past month).<br />I've long been troubled by Judy's motivation: for Hitchcock’s Judy, as played by Kim Novak, is not the hard-bitten film-noir mistress of the Boileau-Narcejac novel. Perhaps she could have been another man's mistress - she’s no innocent - but to be Elster's mistress would mean she knew full well what Elster was planning to do – and I cannot see Judy Barton as a murderess.<br />I think Hitchcock wanted her character to be softer, more vulnerable and sympathetic than her French inspiration, but never bothered to reconcile that change in her character with the motivation for her participation in Elster’s plot. The film itself treats her as an image, just as Scottie does. Like Scottie, the film doesn’t care all that much about who Judy is.Wendy P.http://www.thetestamentofjudithbarton.comnoreply@blogger.com