Analyising the opening sequence of Vertigo

Analysing the opening sequence of Vertigo

Vertigo (1958)

The opening sequence of Vertigo begins with an extreme close up of a bar. A hand then reaches up and grasps the bar and fast paced string music beings to play. 

The camera then zooms away from the bar to reveal that it is a man climbing a fire escape ladder of a building. The shot makes the audience question what is happening and the ominous music indicates the man is in some kind of danger. The danger he is in is reinforced when shortly after he gets off the ladder a policeman and detective are seen going up the ladder as well. The policeman is also holding a gun which could indicate to the audience something bad is about to happen. 

An establishing shot of the city scape is used relieving to the audience that there is a chase taking place up on a rooftop, the shot also sets the location of the film as the Golden Gate Bridge of San fransico can be seen. The camera pans as the man is chased by the policeman and detective and diegetic gunshots are heard which increases the thrill and suspense of the scene.

A straight cut edit is used to transition to the next shot which shows the man jumping from one building to the next. At first the suspense is high as he begins to struggle to climb to safety however the tension drops as he manages to climb his way up to the top of the roof. Still in the same shot the policeman makes the jump, this time he struggles slightly more, which again raises the suspense which is dropped once the policeman reaches safety. 

However, the scene then moves to a mid shot as the detective tries to jump the gap but fails and ends up hanging off the edge of the roof. At this point, the suspense and tension will be very high for the audience as they aren't sure if he'll make it to safety or not. The fast paced music that was previously playing turns to a slower paced drum and "rumbling" sound. 

As the detective looks down at the ground through an aerial point of view shot 'Hitchcock' uses a dolly zoom now famously known as the 'vertigo shot'. The vertigo shot is where the camera pulls back from the subject whilst the lens zooms in. This produces a disorienting sense of going backwards and forwards at the same time. The shot also shows a long drop and is accompanied by a high pitched string sound which echoes that of a scream. This indicates to the audience that if he doesn't get to safety he will fall and die. A series of shots then quickly cut between the detective and the policeman. This makes the scene more intense as the uneasy shots of the drop also continue to be shown. 

At this point the suspense is incredibly high and as the policeman reaches out for the detective the audience expect the man to now be slightly safer. However, unexpectedly, the policeman falls off of the roof and an aerial shot is shown of him falling to his death. This lessens the suspense for the audience however it adds to the shock and thrill as a fade to black leaves them wandering if the detective will climb to safety.