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Vertigo
Yes--the "European" ending surprised me. Seems like so often it's Hollywood who insists on neat packages with no loose ends, justice being served, etc. and usually I can count on foreign films to give me more realistic endings. Not the case here.
The European ending ruins Midge's whole story. Speaking of the colors, she is the woman in blue. (Anyone have the official color meaning of blue?) She was "washed up" and uninteresting to Scottie. He was after green now. One of the most striking shots in the film to me was a shot of the San Francisco Bay (I think that's what it was). Perhaps it struck me because now (in 2002) that location is so filled with buildings and development. In that shot, though, about 2/3 way through the movie, the Bay was a clear blue color--similar to Midge's outfits. The trees and hillside towered over the bay in a veritable green that matched Madeline's trees, car, outfits, hotel, etc. In other words, Madeline was winning Scottie's attentions over Midge.
Later, after she visits Scottie in the institution, Midge tells the doctor that he (Scottie) is hopelessly in love with a dead woman (and she is right). Then she walks down the huge BLUE institutional hallway all alone. Hitchcock captures enough of the floor, ceiling, and walls in the shot so that Midge is perfectly placed in the center of the frame back by the window. She is distanced from the audience literally, and from all that matters in her life, figuratively. She is isolated, drowning in the blue--a very small fish in the sea (do I take this metaphor too far???). And nobody is keeping an eye on her to save her from drowning in the bay, if you know what I mean.
This, I think, is the perfect ending to the Midge story. It pays off the earlier shot set-ups when we first meet her; during the discussion of their brief engagement the camera takes an odd angle look at Midge and I wondered what was up with her . . . was she going to be the sinister woman in this plot? I came to find out that she wasn't sinister, just very lonely. This is another important theme Hitchcock explores in this film and particularly with this character. This ending raises important questions about the value of interpersonal relationships and lonliness in our lives.
On another note, how about that Pink Floyd-esque stuff in the film? Very bizarre. Any explanations or interpretations of that?
Also, I would like to hear other people respond to the use of music in the film. Someone briefly mentioned Herman's terrific score. For me personally the music (along with the editing) worked fabulously to create suspense and to push me to the edge of my seat (much as the score of Psycho does). However, I remember in my Film 101 days that my professor said this styld of music use in a film is called "Mickey Mouse-ing" and he seemed to disapprove of it on the premise that it insults the audience's intelligence. Any responses to that? Or any more well-informed opinions on this subject? Slade, perhaps you can look up the term "Mickey-mousing" in the film book and fill us in.
Alisha
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