"Vertigo" is the kind of movie that lends itself to any interpretation you want to throw at it. Its multi-layered narrative has all kinds of things to say about love, madness, and obsession — particularly of the male variety. But what makes the film especially noteworthy in comparison to Hitch's other work, is how he so boldly confronts what one reviewer called his own "thematic and personal sexual fixations."
Hitchcock is known for obsessing over every aspect of his films. But he saved...