This paper calls for a psychoanalytic study of art focusing on form, and on its impact upon the spectator's experience, and not only on contents. It explores the way the visual images of a film, in interaction with the spectator's personal history both as an individual and as a film viewer (past cinematic experiences), arouse the deep identifications which can make film viewing such a powerful affective experience. The central example is Hitchcock's “Vertigo”, and this film's personal (“transferential”) meanings for the author are discussed. The substantial experiential differences between various ways of viewing films (movie theater vs. DVD at home) are also explored.