UNITED STATES: Alfred Hitchcock’s all-time thriller classic “Vertigo” holds a huge place in the hearts of multitudes of cinephiles, even today. Now, Hitchcock’s highly popular psychological thriller has some big news for the fans.
Vertigo is all set for a remake, or to be precise, a modern reboot has been planned for the classic feature. Besides this, a prominent Hollywood actor is also set to star in a lead role in the upcoming remake.
Alfred Hitchcock’s directorial Vertigo marked its release in the 1958 with a slow burn touch of twist and turns for audience. Based on the French novel D’entre les morts (From Among the Dead), it continues to engage the viewers till date.
According to media reports, Paramount Pictures recently bagged the remake rights of Vertigo. Earlier, the production house distributed the 1958 film, and now it has plans for a modern reboot.
On top of that, Robert Downey Jr. will bankroll the movie along with his wife Susan Downey under their production banner, Team Downy. He will also collab with John Davis and John Fox’s Davis Entertainment on the film’s production.
If everything unfolds as planned, reports claim that Robert Downey Jr. will potentially play the lead role in the film. For now, no confirmation has been announced by the actor.
The remake’s script will be penned by Steven Knight, who worked on the Cillian Murphy starrer hits series “Peaky Blinders”. Currently, he is working on a new Star Wars film under the house of mouse, Disney.
Vertigo’s remake: Hit or miss case for Hollywood
Talking about Hitchcock’s original 1958 feature, it received mixed reviews from critics at the time of its release because of its lengthy runtime. As the years passed, the movie became widely popular for its slow-burn thriller ending, which even today shocks many.
In 2012, leading critics acknowledged Vertigo, and the British Film Institute’s Sight and Sound magazine named it the best movie of all time.
In addition to Hitchcock being a man in the director’s chair, which is the greatest aspect of the 1958 film, the movie had a gem of a star cast. James Stewart and Kim Novak starred in the lead.
The plot revolved around a cop (Stewart) who suffers from acrophobia (fear of heights). The film focused on a series of events in his life, which unfold in a twisting way. As per reports, Robert Downey Jr., who was last seen in the 2020 film Dolittle, may star in James Stewart’s role.
According to Hollywood’s track record with remakes and reboots under a modern label, only a few films work, and the rest suffer horrible treatment from their makers. For example, The Thing (2011), Nightmare on the Elm Street (2010), and many more are failed adaptations of classics.
The original film not only excelled in the areas of direction, story, and acting, but it also advanced in the technical department. It became the first movie of its time to utilized dolly zoom, an in-camera gadget that warps perspective in order to confuse viewers. It proved helpful for Hitchcock in showcasing the protagonist’s fear of heights to the audiences.
The upcoming remake of Vertigo will undergo various comparisons to the original, and it will have a huge hurdle to overcome or match the level of the original. However, with the presence of Downey, the film holds high expectations among moviegoers. Fans have been anticipating the upcoming film since the news broke.
Movie trivia: Vertigo was adapted into the Tamil-language thriller Kalangarai Vilakkam in 1965. The film was so successful that it inspired Brian de Palma’s 1976 film Obsession.
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