Vertigo
Dan Auiler
Dan Auiler
<p>When the newly restored print of Alfred Hitchcock&apos;s 1958 thriller, Vertigo, was released nationally to sold-out theaters in 1996, New York Times critic Janet Maslin called it "the deepest, darkest masterpiece" of the director&apos;s career. That couldn&apos;t have been obvious to those behind the scenes during the film&apos;s turbulent production four decades ago, according to Auiler, a film collector and teacher. In this splashy companion/study guide, Auiler traces the "matter-of-fact circumstances under which this odd, obsessional, very unmatter-of-fact film was created." He reconstructs the sometimes uneasy give-and-take between Hitchcock and his playersAactors Jimmy Stewart, Kim Novak and Barbara Bel Geddes; screenwriters Samuel Taylor and Alec Coppel; Robert Burks and his second-unit cameraman who created the now-famous Vertigo effect (a forward-zoom/dolly-out shot); and Bernard Hermann, who composed the mesmerizing score. Interesting factoids abound, from details of...</p>