Did you watch the clip above? Did you notice in the video the stain glass window, the walls and even the chairs in the restaurant are red? If you didn't, watch the video. Notice the red and green stripes on Scottie's tie, and the red and green in the flower arrangements. Madeleine, played by actress Kim Novak, is of course dressed in green. The audience is immediately drawn to her green dress, and she is in perfect contrast with the red room. The green vs red imagery continues throughout the movie, but there is no simple way to explain Hitchcock's motives for using these colors.
What do the colors mean?
On clothing, cars, flowers, room decorations, jewelry, lighting, Hitchcock is constantly showing different combinations of green and red. While watching Vertigo, one can not help but wonder what Hitchcock's purpose was in creating this obvious contrast. When Scottie first sees Madeleine in the restaurant, she is wearing green. The green stands out against the red wallpapered room, and the viewer is immediately drawn to Madeleine. But, the importance of her green outfit goes much further than just aesthetic contrast. On SparkNotes, they discuss the color green as a motif in the movie representing, "eerie or uncanny images" (sparknotes.com). Sparknotes argues, that when Judy (pretending to be Madeleine) is first seen in the restaurant, "she stands out vividly from everyone else in the room because of her dramatic green stole, giving her a startling and somewhat unsettling appearance" (sparknotes.com). When Scottie sees Judy on the street after Madeleine's "death," she is wearing green. I believe that the green in this scene is a sign to Scottie and the audience that this woman is either Madeleine or her ghost. Also, when Judy transforms back to Madeleine in her hotel room, the green light from the hotel sign fills the room. This shot of Judy as Madeline emerging from the bathroom with the neon light shining on her, she "looks even more like the specter of the dead Madeleine" (sparknotes.com).
Unfortunately, Sparknotes does not mention once the significance of green vs. red, neither did other sources I tried. So, I have formulated my own hypothesis. The red versus green imagery is Hitchcock's method of communicating appearance vs. reality. Judy is wearing green in the restaurant because she is acting, and therefore is not her true self (appearance). In the same scene, Scottie is wearing a red and green striped tie. I believe Hitchcock is communicating that Scottie is half Scottie, half detective. He has not fully committed to pursuing Madeleine as a detective, and he is not acting quite yet. And, in the scene where Judy transforms back to Madeline, the green light is shining on her to represent that she is again playing the character of Madeleine (watch the clip below). But, in the clip "What Happened?" my hypothesis is visibly falsified. Judy is wearing red, while still in character playing Madeleine. This makes me think that red and green could represent emotions of the characters. But also, in this scene Scottie is wearing green as he is becoming more dedicated to his role as detective. I have no idea what Hitchcock meant by contrasting these colors. But, I know he meant something by it, and maybe one day I will figure it out.
What do the colors mean?
On clothing, cars, flowers, room decorations, jewelry, lighting, Hitchcock is constantly showing different combinations of green and red. While watching Vertigo, one can not help but wonder what Hitchcock's purpose was in creating this obvious contrast. When Scottie first sees Madeleine in the restaurant, she is wearing green. The green stands out against the red wallpapered room, and the viewer is immediately drawn to Madeleine. But, the importance of her green outfit goes much further than just aesthetic contrast. On SparkNotes, they discuss the color green as a motif in the movie representing, "eerie or uncanny images" (sparknotes.com). Sparknotes argues, that when Judy (pretending to be Madeleine) is first seen in the restaurant, "she stands out vividly from everyone else in the room because of her dramatic green stole, giving her a startling and somewhat unsettling appearance" (sparknotes.com). When Scottie sees Judy on the street after Madeleine's "death," she is wearing green. I believe that the green in this scene is a sign to Scottie and the audience that this woman is either Madeleine or her ghost. Also, when Judy transforms back to Madeleine in her hotel room, the green light from the hotel sign fills the room. This shot of Judy as Madeline emerging from the bathroom with the neon light shining on her, she "looks even more like the specter of the dead Madeleine" (sparknotes.com).
Unfortunately, Sparknotes does not mention once the significance of green vs. red, neither did other sources I tried. So, I have formulated my own hypothesis. The red versus green imagery is Hitchcock's method of communicating appearance vs. reality. Judy is wearing green in the restaurant because she is acting, and therefore is not her true self (appearance). In the same scene, Scottie is wearing a red and green striped tie. I believe Hitchcock is communicating that Scottie is half Scottie, half detective. He has not fully committed to pursuing Madeleine as a detective, and he is not acting quite yet. And, in the scene where Judy transforms back to Madeline, the green light is shining on her to represent that she is again playing the character of Madeleine (watch the clip below). But, in the clip "What Happened?" my hypothesis is visibly falsified. Judy is wearing red, while still in character playing Madeleine. This makes me think that red and green could represent emotions of the characters. But also, in this scene Scottie is wearing green as he is becoming more dedicated to his role as detective. I have no idea what Hitchcock meant by contrasting these colors. But, I know he meant something by it, and maybe one day I will figure it out.