Vertigo: The Joan Harrison Cut


Updated: 27th April 2024

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Faneditor: recordwrangler95  
Fanedit Type: FanFix
Fanedit Release Date: 1st August 2022
Fanedit Runtime: 2h:4m:0s
Time Cut: 0h:4m:0s
Time Added: 0h:0m:0s
Genre: Thriller
Original Title: Vertigo (1958)   
Original Release Date: 1st January 1958
Original Runtime: 2h:8m:0s
Original Links:

Certificate:
Format: Digital
Resolution:
Sound Mix:
Language:
Subtitles: No
 

Synopsis:

I've removed the “flashback scene” from Vertigo to align with a) the source novel “D’entre Les Morts” and b) Alfred Hitchcock’s longtime screenwriter/uncredited collaborator Joan Harrison’s insistence that the movie worked better without this scene, which gives away a major plot twist nearly half an hour before the film's climax. Prior to its theatrical release, Harrison arranged for a screening of her cut for Hitchcock and his wife Alma, James and Gloria Stewart and the film’s producer Herbert Coleman, which ended with a divided audience. Ultimately the film’s producer and distributors swayed Hitchcock to their side and the scene stayed in, with Hitchcock later stating that he preferred suspense to surprise.


Intentions:

I wanted to recreate the edit seen in the private screening organized by Joan Harrison so viewers can judge for themselves which version is superior.


Change List:

Used "cut-on-sound" technique to bridge the two scenes using the sound of a door closing as Scotty leaves the apartment. The DVD commentary track featuring the film's associate producer Herbert Coleman and the restoration team of Robert A. Harris and James C. Katz, as well as the interview book "Hitchcock/Truffaut" were invaluable research on the pre-release background of this edit.


Additional Notes:

- Deleted the scene of Judy writing her confessional letter to Scotty about her involvement in Madeleine's murder.


Other Sources:




Special Thanks:

Thanks to DigModification and Spicediver for extraordinary assistance.


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