I've, over the last few months become slightly obsessed with the film Vertigo and especially Kim Novaks performance as Madeline Elster. The look of the character reminds me very much of Sharon Stone's look as Catherine Tramell in Basic Instinct. Who I've also been known to be rather obsessed with, Basic Instinct paid homage to Vertigo through the character, I feel.
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| IN B&W, KIM NOVAK STUNS |
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| SHARON STONE IS PURE LOOKING AS CATHERINE |
Not only are Madeline and Catherine's outfit identical in everything but colour. Their hair and make-up is similar.
Madeline wears a lot of black and white. I presume Hitchcock wanted to convey her two toned character's personality, and also the infamous grey suit that Novak wears, not only makes her appear ghostly (Hitchcock chose grey because it can make blondes look washed out.) It also is significant with her character. Her character is neither black nor white but torn down the middle with her love for Scottie (James Stewart. ) And Scottie is in love with a ghost in a sense.
The other likeness between them,especially in the interrogation scene with Stone's character, is the almost identical (if only for colour) outfit both character's wear. Both wear a turtle-neck ensemble with stiletto heels and a long white coat. They both look stunning, sexy, and extremely classic. Stone's white outfit gives the false and brazen impression of innocence. Novak's black and white outfit gives the twisted morality of her character, and her characters duality.
The make-up is minimal on both women, showing off their natural beauty. Both have flawless skin and both wear a very pale, natural, lip colour. Both have their eyebrows dark to extenuate the eyes which have minimal make-up Novaks are pencilled in, while Stone's are shaped. And of course, both women wear their hair back in a bun. In Vertigo, this is done with a distinct purpose and that's why I feel Basic Instinct is paying homage to it. In every other scene in Basic Instinct, Stone is shown with her hair down or in a very loose bun, with strands falling down. She is sexy and free, most of the time, while Madeline is reserved and lady-like. That's why it seems interesting the would choose the Novak look for the interrogation scene. The scene is now infamous, with Sharon Stone's character turning the tables on the hoard of police-man interrogating her. Perhaps this is why she chooses to look so 'lady-like' and innocent (in white) in this scene. The men are mesmerized by her femininity, and so this this is when she can take best advantage of them. As Madeline can do the same with Scottie.
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| HAIR UP WITH THE BROWS DARKENED |
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| STONE WEARS MINIMAL MAKE-UP |
I think both films are excellent. Both are mutually about a San Francisco cop who becomes obsessed with a beautiful woman. Though in Vertigo Madeline is sexually unavailable with her clothes covering nearly everything but her legs and face. Where as in Basic Instinct, Tramell uses sex as a weapon to control Douglas's character and the other characters around her. Both are femme fatales but in very different ways. Novak plays a very traditional and introspective character, while as Stone plays Catherine as tough and manipulative, However, they both have great fashion taste and every femme-fatale should be seen dressed to kill.
I prefer the ending to Basic Instinct, the end of Vertigo seems patched on, though the rest of Vertigo is a masterpiece, both films are brilliant in my opinion and both women play their parts brilliantly.
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| KIM NOVAK AS THE HAUNTINGLY BEAUTIFUL - MADELINE |
