Coronado Island Film Festival (CIFF) invites you to venture into the weird and wondrous world of the late great Alfred Hitchcock and his 1958 psychological thriller “Vertigo.” As part of its monthly Classic Film Series, CIFF is proud to present the film on Wednesday, August 30 at Coronado’s Village Theatre, 820 Orange Avenue. Doors open at 5 pm for a “Meet & Greet” with complimentary beverages, followed by the film intro at 5:30, a vintage cartoon (“Mr. Magoo”), and the feature presentation.
Tickets are $15 and are on sale now at coronadofilmfest.com (highly recommended – these screenings have been selling out), or at the CIFF table at the door, if available, on the night of the screening. Early arrival at the theatre is highly recommended for best seat selection.
James Stewart is brilliant as retired police detective John “Scottie” Ferguson, who left the force after an unfortunate incident in the line of duty that left him emotionally scarred, with a fear of heights and a serious case of vertigo (a sensation of whirling and loss of balance). He is coaxed back into service by an old acquaintance, Gavin Elster (Tom Helmore), who recruits him to follow his wife Madeline (Kim Novak), claiming she is mentally unstable and has been acting strangely. Barbara Bel Geddes also stars as Marjorie “Midge” Woods. And it’s always fun to watch for Hitch himself as he photo bombs one of his own scenes, as he does in every one of his films.
The film was shot by Academy Award-winning cinematographer Robert Burks (1909-1968), a favorite of Hitchcock’s, on locations in San Francisco, Big Basin Redwoods State Park, Cypress Point on 17-Mile Drive in Pebble Beach, the Mission San Juan Batista (built 1797), and back in Hollywood at Paramount Studios.
Now considered a true masterpiece, and some say Hitchcock’s finest film, “Vertigo” received only so-so reviews when it first opened, possibly due to its multi-layered complexity and nail-biting suspense. It is definitely one of his most controversial and widely discussed films, one that purposely and unapologetically leads us on a psychological wild goose chase and keeps us confused until the end. So Hitchcock!
Critics have interpreted “Vertigo” variously as “a tale of male aggression and visual control;” “a map of female Oedipal trajectory;” “a deconstruction of the male construction of femininity and of masculinity itself;” “a stripping bare of the mechanisms of directorial, Hollywood studio and colonial oppression;” and “a place where textural meanings play out in an infinite regress of self-reflexivity.”
Wait! What??? Better plan to head on down the Avenue for dinner after the movie and discuss all that. With drinks.
And in case you missed it, CIFF is excited about the eighth annual five-day Coronado Island Film Festival Nov. 8 -12. Badges and tickets are on sale now at coronadofilmfest.com.
