Analysis of Vertigo (opening sequence)

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The opening sequence of Vertigo poses a number of enigmas such as Does Scottie get his fear if heights from that incident? or How does he get of the roof? 





The purpose of the opening sequence is to show us that he has Acrophobia which is an important part of the film.




In the opening sequence we learn certain thinks about Scottie for example his emotional disturbance by one of his colleagues who die trying to save his life. In the opening sequence we also are introduced to the central character and he has a haramtia which leads to his downfall. 



There is an extreme close up of the woman’s eye during the credits which widens abruptly as if she is shocked or scared and at the same time the shot has been edited to go a blood red which shows the connotation of danger. As this is happening the music becomes louder and faster to build more tension and keep the audience on the edge of there seat. The use of red to symbolise danger, violence, blood and death is commonly used in thriller genre films. There are many spirals that appear in the credits. Spirals are a common thriller signifier, and have been used many times before as they can show twists and turns, which many thriller films include in their narrative.

The opening shot of the first scene is an extreme close up of a man’s hands. Already, the audience in intrigued as they instantly want to know what he is doing and who he is. The opening scene is as whole consists of a man being chased by two policemen across high rooftops, this is important because it ‘hooks’ the audience from the very beginning of the film but going straight into an action scene, also the audience will be suspicious due to the fact the men are on rooftops and the film title ‘Vertigo’ (which links into the main character having a flaw which is a fear of heights). A police chase implies that the film is about crime which is a common sub-genre of thrillers. The Mise-en-Scene of the opening scene is dark and gritty; the location is a urban city. This is a thriller signifier that is commonly used in the thriller genre. This helps give the film a thriller feel to it. The music during the opening scene of the chase is fast paced to help keep suspension and tension during the scene. Death is part of the opening scene in Vertigo; this adds to the sinister and dramatic feel of the film it also gives the audience and idea of what the rest of the film will be about. The opening scene is filmed at night and in the background in some shots you can see street lights. This shows a contrast between light and dark, this can sometimes symbolise good and evil; chiaroscuro lighting is a commonly used thriller signifier.

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