Jung and Film Online | Vertigo

Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo (1958) (2hrs 9 min) stars James Stewart as Scottie Ferguson, a retired detective haunted by a crippling fear of heights, acrophobia, and the related condition of vertigo (a sensation of spinning or dizziness caused by his fear of heights) as the core psychological issues driving the plot. The film also stars Kim Novak in a mesmerising dual role that blurs the boundaries between reality, desire, and illusion while illustrating the unpredictability of Cupid and his bow.

Frequently cited as one of the greatest films ever made, Vertigo is both a psychological thriller and a hypnotic descent into the labyrinth of the human psyche/unconscious.

Beneath its suspenseful surface, the film opens a space for exploring profound Jungian themes: the power of idealisation and projection, the seductive pull of the contrasexual energies within the psyches of both men and women, the tension between the Persona and the repressed Shadow, and the dangerous compulsion, driven by desire, to reshape another person into the mould of an inner image. Scottie’s unravelling becomes a mirror for the danger of mistaking inner figures for outer realities – and the cost of doing so.

Vertigo is not just a mystery but a cinematic dreamscape about yearning, identity, loss, and the perilous beauty of our own internal images.

Join us for the screening and an engaging post-film discussion as we unravel the psychological depths of this unforgettable classic.