ANALYSING AN INTRODUCTION TO: VERTIGO (1958)

Vertigo is a psychological thriller/ romance directed by Alfred Hitchcock

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Before anything comes on screen we can hear a building dream like trance inducing music, as an extreme close up of a woman’s face fades in, her lips twitch nervously before an outburst of music is played where the name ‘James Stewart’ comes in. The outburst stops as the name leaves however the trance like music continues to get louder. The camera pans up to the woman’s eyes, showing signs of fear, unease and paranoia as she is under the viewer’s scrutiny. By having a close up of the eyes, Hitchcock conveys ideas of ‘being watched’ which is often prominent in thrillers. 

With each title that appears, another loud outburst of non-diagetic sound is heard. The lighting goes red, perhaps to convey ideas of danger/fear as the main title ‘vertigo’ appears. The use of hypnotic patterns and music is to entice the viewer but also build suspense until the change in music, where the rest of the titles simultaneously appear with the constantly moving patterns.