Critic’s Pick: ‘Vertigo,’ showing in Westwood on Sunday, still thrills and chills

A chance to see “Vertigo,” the Alfred Hitchcock film that’s had an unprecedented trajectory, should not be passed up, especially at a vintage theater like the Crest in Westwood. Dismissed on its original 1958 release, “Vertigo” has steadily risen in critical estimation, to the point that it displaced “Citizen Kane” as the best motion picture of all time in Sight & Sound’s most recent poll of film critics worldwide.

“Vertigo’s” view of San Francisco might be the mostly elegantly spooky vision of an American city ever put on film. More than that, the film showcases Hitchcock’s ability to take two of the biggest stars of his day, James Stewart and Kim Novak, and use them to create as dark and deeply personal a scenario as anything that’s appeared at Sundance. Playing at 5 p.m. Sunday at the Crest, 1262 Westwood Blvd., Westwood.