Roger Ebert on Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo

American film critic reflects on the subtleties of Hitchcock's 1958 film

A still from Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo (1958)

Film critic Roger Ebert (Chicago Sun-Times) reflects on the news that Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo has displaced Citizen Kane as the BFI's Greatest Film Ever Made (thanks to Michael John Goodman for the link): 'The king is dead. Long live the king. Welles' "Citizen Kane" has been dethroned from the Sight & Sound list of the greatest films of all time, and replaced by Hitchcock's "Vertigo." It's not as if nobody saw this coming. The list first appeared in 1952, and "Vertigo" (1958) made the list for the first time only in 1982. Climbing slowly, it placed five votes behind "Kane" in 2002. Although many moviegoers would probably rank "Psycho" or maybe "North by Northwest" as Hitch's best, for S&S types his film to beat was "Notorious" (1947). That's the one I voted for until I went through "Vertigo" a shot at a time at the University of Virginia, became persuaded of its greatness, and put it on my 2002 list.' [Read More]

Also at A Piece of Monologue:

• Vertigo tops BFI's 50 Greatest Films Ever Made
• Kim Novak remembers Vertigo
• Martin Scorsese on Hitchcock's Vertigo
• Costume and Identity in Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo
• Saul Bass and Alfred Hitchcock