Alec Baldwin, Guild Hall Host 'Vertigo' Screening
Alec Baldwin, a supporter of both Guild Hall and the Hamptons International Film Festival, will host a screening of Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo this Saturday in Guild Hall’s John Drew Theater.
Baldwin will have a post-screening discussion of the 1958 film with HIFF artistic director David Nugent and the audience.
Though the film festival takes place every October, throughout the year HIFF has a number of special events. The Vertigo screening is part of the winter classics series, which Baldwin has has a hand in since it began in 2010.
Two years ago Vertigo, starring Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak, unseated Citizen Kane as the top of the British film journal Sight & Sound‘s Greatest Films of All Time poll.
Set in San Francisco, Vertigo is the story of police detective John “Scottie” Ferguson (Stewart), who is forced into retirement due to a debilitating fear of heights. Soon hired by an acquaintance as a private investigator, Scottie begins to trail the man’s wife, a mysterious blonde (Novak) named Madeleine. What follows is a psychological thrill ride, as Scottie is drawn into a world of paranoia, deception, obsession, and, of course, dramatic heights, all set against a visually stunning Bay Area backdrop. Hitchcock introduced new techniques in camerawork—including the dolly zoom—used to dizzying effect to unsettle the audience.
The event begins at 7:30 p.m. February 22 at Guild Hall, 158 Main Street, East Hampton. Tickets are $22 for general admission and $20 for members. Purchase tickets at guildhall.org.