Homework Movie - Vertigo

When your old friend asks you to watch his wife to find out where she's going, you know something's going to end up all wrong. Such is the case for detective John "Scotty" Ferguson played by James Stewart in Vertigo by Alfred Hitchcock in 1958. I've had such a hard time following the muddled plot to this movie, now matter how many times I've watched it, it still takes too long to get the point across why Galvin Elster has his friend watch his wife to observe her behaviors. Is it a plot to rid Ferguson of his Vertigo issues? Does Galvin's wife really die?

Making a duel appearance is Kim Novak as Madeleine Elster, the wife of Ferguson's friend and then later as Judy the plant that looks exactly like Madeleine. In the climax of the film I was not sure if it was Madeleine or Judy that threw herself off the bell tower. No matter who it was, it sure made an impression on Mr. Ferguson, as he was completely infatuated with her looks, despite having to figure out which woman she is.

His quest was doomed from the beginning as his friend knew his condition would impair his ability to travel to anywhere with heights. On top of that, his relationship with his best friend and former fiancé was more than enough female interaction he should have needed, however his attraction to Mrs. Elster led her to her ultimate demise.

I've enjoyed more of Alfred Hitchcock's movies, but for some reason this doomed man story just doesn't hold up like the others. As for the other clips we watched in class, I was more interested in how the doomed character was involved with artistic choices in The Big Knife than Stewart's obsession with someone

Homework Movie - Bullitt

I’ve watched Bullitt a few times now for several different reasons for different classes. This movie is by far one of my favorite chase movies of all time, so it’s my pleasure to watch such fine driving sequences over again. I do find that it’s interesting that there isn’t any dialogue during the chase scene, even thought there are two men in one of the cars. It seems to me that they would have a great deal to talk about.

Also, I noticed that there are a lot of movies that were made in the 90’s that have directly taken from this movie scenes that work in their own movies. For instance, the airport scene in Bullitt reminds me of Chris Tucker in the first Rush Hour when he refused the FBI job because he’s LAPD. That scene is shades of Steve McQueen telling the other agent that he doesn’t want to hear what he’s selling and that he should leave the airport now. Almost immediately following that the bad guy chase scene on the airport tarmac is similar to Robert DeNiro and Al Pachino chasing each other in the climactic ending to LA Crime story Heat.