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Vertigo

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In Hitchcock’s film, Vertigo, The story revolves around the main character, Scottie who is the detective in the film that has a fear of heights known as acrophobia and his relationships with Madeleine, who is the wife of Scottie’s class mate Gavin Elster, and Midge, Scottie’s old college friend. Hitchcock uses camera work such as profile shots of Madeleine and full shots of Midge to emphasize on the fact that even though one is secretive, she dictates the main character while the other is like an open book, yet she has no genuine power over him. Madeleine is beautiful and a glamorous woman who comes from a wealthy background. Scottie becomes attracted to her in the very first scene at Ernie’s restaurant. He watches her as she sits and walks out elegantly, while he is sitting in one corner. Hitchcock captures the scene with by taking a tracking shot of the restaurant to give the viewers the feeling of the romantic ambience. The tracking shot zooms out of Scottie to the other side of the room on Madeleine, whose back is facing the camera. This suggests that Hitchcock wants to continue with the theme of suspense throughout the movie, which is why he first takes shots of Madeleine’s back to the camera, followed by the profile shot from a distance. The profile shot is marked by a wooden doorway that frames Madeleine as if she is in the spot light, which she is for Scottie. The camera then zooms in for a close up shot of Madeleine’s profile. The sharp feature of the profile shot highlights her beauty and suggests that there is a mysterious side to her because of which Scottie has fallen in love with. In contrast, Midge is portrayed as being simple and a down to earth woman who has known Scottie for years, because of which she has nothing to hide and is like an open book to Scottie. The fact that there are no mysteries in her for him anymore may suggest why Scottie is

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