Vertigo (1958)

There are some films that I can watch over and over again, and still find new things in them, or marvel at their near-perfection. Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo is one of them. Of course it's a cliché, but if you have seen the film I imagine you are likely to agree. It mingles love and desire with death and obsession. To say anything else is to spoil it to who ever hasn't seen it, as it is impossible not to reveal something crucial - in fact, everything is crucial here. It's one of Hitch's most perfectly built films, and consequently, one of the most perfectly built films anywhere.

At the core of it, there is what I can only describe as one of my favourite performances. Kim Novak, who is usually a rather limited actress, shows here a fenomenal range. Compare the last 15 minutes of the film with what she showed us in the beginning. What is supposed to be the same, isn't really. Where before there was an aloofness, a distance, there is now despair, intense love, sorrow and as the film approaches the climax, fear. That this performance was not acknowledged at the time with an Oscar or even a nomination just shows how unfortunate can be to some of the Academy's choices.

In fact, the film only got two Oscar nominations, and lost both: Art Direction and Sound. Where are the nominations for Film, Director, Script, Actress or Edith Head's costumes which help define Kim Novak's amazing performance? "Gigi" won most of the awards of 1958, but as much as I like it, it can't really compare.

Or for Bernard Herrmann's mesmerising score, which I can't help but love, and have heard countless times. It is one of the most original, unforgettable film scores. So why wasn't this recognised? And then there is James Stewart. I often find him limited but here, playing a rather unpleasant, ungrateful character and despite the fact he's perhaps too old and certainly obscured by Kim Novak's perfomance (I might be in a minority here), it is one of his best performances. He certainly deserved the award more than David Niven (for "Separate Tables").

But if contemporary recognition failed, time has been kind to it. It hasn't aged and has been finally recognised as the masterpiece it is.

"If I never knew you" (from Pocahontas)

I wish Disney would release the Mel Gibson/Judy Kuhn version of this song sometime soon. I would even double dip on the original soundtrack if they re-did it. It's a lovely song and the one Disney song that I don't own, want and can't have.

Still there might be hope as the OST CD is out of print - it may carry it in its next incarnation. I just hope is not in 2015 for the film's 20th anniversary.

Insomnia with Judy

About twice a year London has nights that are too hot for me to sleep comfortably. It's rather strange for someone who is born and bred in Lisbon, where I have experienced around 30º at night in heatwaves, but I do hate this side of summer. If on top of that I have gone to bed late in the previous nights, I really can't sleep. Tonight is one of this nights... oh well...

So here am I, listening to Judy Garland MGM recordings and writing. Just heard her version of "Anything you can do". I think it's one of her best songs, full of energy and comedy, and makes me very sorry that the film ("Annie get your gun") was never made with her - and I think this is part of the reason why I haven't seen it yet. At least the recording survives, and it's quite high on my iPod's most played...

When I was a kid/pre-teen, I remember recording her songs with a tape recorder from my VHS versions (recorded from TV) of her most famous musicals. I had stumbled into one of her film completely by accident due to a review in the portuguese newspaper "Público". This was when portuguese TV still showed old films on a regular basis... I have to say I was completely unaware of all the symbolism she carries - to me she has always been part of my love of films. Recently I decided to invest in the Rhino editions of my favourites, as well as one of their "best of" and be slightly nostalgic. This is how I became acquainted with the "Annie get your gun" recordings.

My top five of her MGM recordings would definitively have to include this, "Get Happy", "Mr Monotony", "The boy next door" and cheating slightly "The man that got away" (it's a WB film, not MGM, and I prefer the version from the Carnegie Hall concert).

Plus, "The Pirate" DVD should be arriving from amazon soon...