The "Vertigo shot"

The "Vertigo shot" and
the oneiric frame

The "Vertigo shot" was created by simultaneously zooming in and tracking backward; the result is that the foreground remains stable while the background expands backwards. The shot was done using a model of the tower stairs laid horizontally on its side. The Vertigo shot has been widely imitated , including in Jaws, Goodfellas, and the first Lord of the Rings movie.

Is it all a dream?

How does Scottie get down from his dangling position at the start of the story? One critical theory, originating with Robin Wood, is that he doesn't, that the entire movie is a hallucination, an oneiric narrative. Vertigo ends as it begins, with Scottie staring down helplessly from a great height--though with his vertigo cured.

Hitchcock shot an additional scene for Vertigo, never used, which would change the frame. See discussion of this and other possible changes to the movie.