Rear Window Reviews

Rear Window review

Posted : 1 year, 5 months ago on 27 November 2011 04:58

Brilliant & suspenseful as ever Alfred Hitchcock film "Rear WIndow" hangs on an unhealthy but irresistible voyeurism, by jimmy Stewart stars as an adventurous magazine photographer stuck in his apartment with a broken leg. To pass the time between visits from his nurse (Thelma Ritter) and his fashion model girlfriend Lisa (Grace Kelly), the binocular-wielding Jeffries stares through the rear window of his apartment at the goings-on in the other apartments around his courtyard.

Rear Window is among Hitchcock’s finest films. Not to be missed by any fan of classic movies. A must for Hitchcock's fans and suspense lovers.

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Hitchcock, Stewart & Kelly = awesome classic!

Posted : 2 years, 1 month ago on 26 March 2011 07:38

Rear Window was actually the first Alfred Hitchcock film that I saw and I absolutely loved it but now after seeing the majority of Hitchcock's films, Rear Window is vintage Hitchcock with gripping suspense, a story within great depth, engaging and strong chemistry between characters and a very solid script. Amazingly Rear Window could have received an R/15 rating due to its suspenseful dialogue and regarding the investigation of the mystery but Hitchcock has definitely made it into something that could perhaps be viewed by young people. I mean, if there is anything that Hitchcock and most of the other film that he has done has shown us, it is that suspense and thrills aren't always about violence like we see in some thrillers today. I mean, look at Psycho 6 years after Rear Window! That doesn't have any violence (well you see on their face but don't see it actually happen) and that proves itself as a great thriller also.


Alfred Hitchcock has proven himself to be one of the best directors of all time and that there never has been or never will be a director who can create films like this for however cinema lasts. It is unique how well a film can be written, filmed and as hugely successful especially when the film is based on either a very short story (which Rear Window is), loosely based on a poem or riddle or just a novel in general and Hitchcock is the one director who demonstrates that perfectly. I mean, the fact that the film involves murder and some possible murder attempts as you will see watching it, Hitchcock totally fits the PG rating of Rear Window perfectly.


In New York, the daring photographer L. B. Jefferies has been confined to his small apartment for five weeks in a wheelchair with one broken leg. He snoops his neighbors from his rear window to kill time and he is aware of the personal dramas of some of them. His fancy girlfriend Lisa Carol Fremont is pressing him to marry her but he believes she will not fit and feel comfortable with his brash lifestyle. When the invalid wife of the salesman Lars Thorwald vanishes, Jeff believes the man might have killed his wife. He tells his concerns to Lisa and to his nurse Stella and the women agree with his observations, but his friend Detective Thomas J. Doyle finds reasonable explanation for each remark. However, Lisa decides to go further in her investigation, getting closer to the suspect.


James Stewart already was a legendary actor before he starred in Rear Window and now after working alongside the great Alfred Hitchcock, he certainly delivers once again that he was and still is a legendary actor. After Stewart's first film Rope alongside Hitchcock was an extremely underrated motion picture and Rear Window was the one they did together that caught the audience's attention the most and at the very highest. Some perhaps prefer their work together in Vertigo but here's the punch line: if they failed in Rear Window, would we have a very successful Vertigo with? Hmmm… I think not. Jimmy Stewart is more or less an actor who will and did portray almost any kind of character you can think of and you can certainly find that out by reading his filmography or better yet, watch his films. He had a great career and I honestly think that his performance in Rear Window is definitely his most underrated performance ever.


You know what else made the film not only more interesting but made it hotter and more pleasurable to watch? Seeing the gorgeous and extremely talented Grace Kelly on the screen! She already made her famous mark alongside Alfred Hitchcock in the exact same year with her role in Dial M For Murder so her performance in Rear Window clearly wasn't going to be a disappointment. Seeing as Hitchcock had already worked with both Stewart and Kelly previously, he automatically knew that they were going to work perfectly alongside each other. Hitchcock normally tends to cast actors who has worked with before and, quite frankly, most directors are like that. Anyway, Grace Kelly's performance on-screen with Jimmy Stewart wasn't only cute, heartfelt, quite humorous on occasions but it was also quite arousing so that goes to show how much of a sex symbol she really was back in the 50s and became like a real opponent for Marilyn Monroe.


Thelma Ritter's performance was pretty good too as nurse and carer of Jeffries: Stella. As for Raymond Burr's performance as Lars Thorwald, it is definitely an underrated performance despite that we don't really see him talk during the film but his performance and from some actors that we have seen in the past, it goes to show that acting isn't just words. He bought out a great message to the Lars Thorwald. Well, great as in, like a good point in terms of a warning. As we saw at the start of the film, we analyzed the neighbours in the neighbourhood and observed that it does look a very peaceful area but when Jeffries begins to get suspicious, we don't see that innocence. That is exactly what Rear Window does show and unfortunately, not that many people who are selective enough to watch and read into it, notice it. So, basically it tells you that nowhere in the world is safe and you can't ever tell who is innocent and who isn't so it is sad but true.


Overall, Rear Window is another great accomplishment from Hitchcock that perhaps is in some people's opinions, the most overrated film he has ever done. As for me, a Hitchcock film underrated? There's no such thing! He does what he does best perfectly and has never failed throughout his entire career. I perhaps prefer Psycho and Rebecca over Rear Window but despite that, it still is a masterpiece that truly does show what thrillers are all about by the perfect man to show you.

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Rear Window review

Posted : 2 years, 2 months ago on 7 March 2011 09:32

Hitchcock's masterpiece (and one of the finest films) on the cinema (and its relationship with the viewer) and in human nature set against a dammed people attending the lives of neighbors and a murder suspect. Without violence, without severe persecution, without imagination is artfully directed by master of suspense created an incredible climate of anxiety and delivers courses ingenious, original and inventive cinema. Attentive at all levels, thanks to ART and unique emotional performance of the neighborhood and the other characters. Brilliant script, great that Stewart and Grace Kelly is gorgeous come to give their touch in this movie stations of the world cinema.


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Rear Window review

Posted : 2 years, 9 months ago on 7 August 2010 05:18

Yksi Hitchcockin mestariteoksista. Noin kymmenes katselukerta ei himmentänyt tunnelmaa ja jännitystä. Tällä kertaa kiinnitin erityishuomion lavasteeseen ja sen käyttöön. Loistava elokuva!

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The window of opportunity.

Posted : 3 years, 5 months ago on 9 December 2009 08:02

''Intelligence. Nothing has caused the human race so much trouble as intelligence.''

Through his rear window and the eye of his powerful camera he watched a great city tell on itself, expose its cheating ways...and Murder!

James Stewart: L. B. 'Jeff' Jefferies

Rear Window is Alfred Hitchcock's analytical approach of setting a story in a confined place. Rear Window is famous for it's technical approach and camera usage; it had a giant set, occupying the biggest studio on the lot, with and extra level excavated to provide a life-sized, four-story set. Hitchcock also uses many more cuts compared with previous projects, using the shot-reaction-shot technique with L.B. Jeffries (Jimmy Stewart) as he uses cameras and binoculars to observe the goings on outside the rear widow of his apartment.



The main theme of Rear Window is privacy; how far those standards extend, and what individuals do when they think they are secure in the privacy of their own space. Jeffries, a magazine photographer trapped in his apartment with a broken leg, turns to the view out his window to while away the hours until his cast comes off. His only contact with the outside world arrives in the form of his nurse, Stella (Thelma Ritter), and female friend Lisa Fremont (Grace Kelly); a rich socialite who has a romantic interest with Jeffries.
Hitchcock played with audiences by having them play the role of voyeur along with Jeffries; he knew that human nature compels us to keep staring, even when polite society tells us to look away and mind our own business. By capturing our interest with a variety of characters and a portion of their lives; Miss Lonelyhearts, Miss Torso, etc. Hitchcock creates an interesting character study as well as his usual thriller routine. We are only allowed to see what Jeffries views, bits and pieces presented out of context, and we are left to make our own theories about what these segments entail in the overall lives of these characters.

The main focus of the story is Jeffries suspicion of Lars Thorwald, who occupies a second-story apartment across from Jeffries'. He notices Thorwald's strained relationship with his wife, then her sudden disappearance. A number of events that could be related follows. As he pries more and more into Thorvald's life, he gets closer and closer to the man himself; climaxing in Lisa's entry into Thorwald's home to search for clues, and the mano-a-mano confrontation between the Jeffries and Thorwald at the film's end.
The film is not a typical study of voyeurism, because of Hitchcock's choice of Stewart to play the photographer Jefferies. Stewart is the decent and normal everyman; not a twisted and perverse peeping tom. If the photographer was played by Robert Mitchum or William Holden; men who have played darker, more morally ambiguous characters in their career, maybe the film would have resulting in having a different meaning. With Jimmy Stewart however, we can be assured that Jefferies is studying his environment and not becoming gratified with what he's viewing. That being said, his viewing becomes close to an obsession when he believes a murder has occurred; but not quite to the unhealthy degree as the obsession he portrayed in another Hitchcock classic, Vertigo.
Obviously Rear Window is a classic, and it is still relevant to today. The lack of air conditioning during the film's heat wave forces people to leave their windows and blinds open; where as today they would most likely be out of view. The relevance is in the relationship between the 24/7 cable news, 'Americas Most Wanted', video and photo obsessed society of today, that voyeurism and the public's desire to provide breaking news is applicable. In this era; we are all like 'Jeff' Jefferies, and that is what makes Rear Window more than merely a quaint period drama.

By the movie's conclusion, resolution has been achieved for most of the characters in the film; the truth about Thorwald is revealed, Miss Torso's husband arrives back from war, the couple that sleeps outside is training a new puppy, Miss Lonelyhearts and the musician with the studio apartment have linked up romantically. Even pessimistic Jeffries; bound yet again in his apartment with two broken legs, has found resolution, finally accepting Lisa as an equal. As Rear Window closes, the shutters on the window are drawn; he doesn't need them anymore because Jeffries knows everyone including him, the neighbours and us the audience, has a happy ending.

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Hitchcock's greatest masterpiece...

Posted : 4 years, 9 months ago on 31 July 2008 03:40

"We've become a race of Peeping Toms. What people ought to do is get outside their own house and look in for a change. Yes sir. How's that for a bit of homespun philosophy?"

Rear Window is an undemanding lesson in accomplishing perfection from simplicity. This classic film was the creation of Alfred Hitchcock during one of his last grand creative spells. In the years to follow, the all-time master of suspense produced such classics as Vertigo and Psycho.
Rear Window is Hitchcock's supreme cinematic creation, his crowning triumph and the feather in his cap. With this particular production, the director influenced thrillers and their formulas still decades following its release. Rear Window is a film that invents the clichés. Preceding Hitchcock's masterpiece, said clichés didn't exist. The certain formula didn't exist either. Ergo, a modern audience labelling the film as "clichéd" or "predictable" is both unjust and unfair. Taking the film's age into account, this is a faultless production that unfortunately gave birth to millions of subsequent reproductions. The film is a multi-faceted production enriched and permeated with screenplay integrity, realism, credibility and originality. On top of this, Hitchcock's competently entrancing direction is capable of keeping an audience enthralled from start to finish.

Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece, Rear Window, is a riveting thriller pervaded with tension and a spellbinding atmosphere. It's truly a gem and a half! Everyone has at least heard of this production. If one hasn't seen it, they're probably sick of the hype, praise and acclaim. Be that as it may, there is a reason why Rear Window is held in high regard over 50 years since its initial release. The crux of its perfection is within its straightforwardness. It's probable to argue that the film is supported by an exceedingly boring concept, as the film's events concern one person in one room. Mind you, that one person is actor James Stewart...and that one room is an intricate creation augmented with authenticity and absorbing panorama. Moreover, this is Alfred Hitchcock we're discussing. That director has forever been regarded as the master of suspense. Although countless have endeavoured, no other directors can competently tackle the genre like Mr. Hitchcock. His filmmaking allure lies in his ability to keep an audience captivated and interested. This is achieved by employing attention-grabbing camera movements and a succession of proceedings grounded in gripping realism.

This simple story is set in the apartment of successful, professional globe-trotting photographer L.B. "Jeff" Jefferies (James Stewart). After an unfortunate incident during an assignment, Jeff becomes confined to a wheelchair in his boring apartment. Jeff is faced with sheer boredom and, with nothing else to do, he begins spying on his neighbours. With the occasional visit of his nurse (Ritter) and beautiful girlfriend Carol (Kelly), there's plenty of time for Jeff to become consumed in the private dramas of his neighbours. One night his voyeuristic activities pay off when Jeff believes that he witnesses a murder. Salesman Lars Thorwald (Burr), living in the neighbouring apartment building, begins acting suspiciously after the unexplained disappearance of his nagging wife. Gradually, Jeff builds his investigation and he becomes increasingly convinced that the salesman is guilty of murder. While he steadily gathers evidence, Jeff draws others to his intrigue.

Witty, enthralling, poignant, comical and prudent - Rear Window challenges an audience with its connivance in the stories witnessed. Hitchcock also works up the film to one of cinema's greatest hero-and-killer confrontations. This confrontation is particularly memorable for Thorwald's acquiescent perplexity that a stranger would be interested in his certain life, let alone keen to expose his secrets. Flawless...essential.
Hitchcock's camera remains in one apartment, with very few exceptions. Despite sounding quite boring as we remain in one location for the film's entirety, Rear Window is an absorbing film crammed with limitless suspense. Hitchcock is of course the master of suspense, so you'll find many moments here when it's difficult to draw a breath. The director keeps his audience enthralled and engrossed until the unforgettable climax. The classic touches from a classic director are truly hard to beat. He can raise a clever grin occasionally while keeping an audience riveted and on the edge of their seat.

The single location is also an extremely fascinating one. Cleverly, the focus isn't directly on the murder plot. The characters are occasionally entangled in the dramas unfolding in other apartments. We are introduced to a cavalcade of people, and the short character development is effective despite being brief. The script is always taut and there is never a wasted frame. Hitchcock always uses his visuals to tell his story with further intrigue and suspense without relying solely on music. Silence, in fact, provides some of the film's most terrifying moments. Even better, the focus is on the protagonist and his story. The ending may seem rushed as the explanation is revealed very quickly, but this is one of the best decisions on Hitchcock's part in my opinion. It reminds the audience that we're following Jeff, and only a few moments of pure exposition were necessary. It also shows the build up of tension in Thorwald that eventually bursts open forcefully...he becomes ready to confess. This is a rare film that flaunts excellence and perfection in just about every aspect.

James Stewart's performance was absolutely essential. As we're spending the duration of the film in a single location with a chief protagonist, it was a necessity for Stewart to exude charm and charisma to keep the audience enthralled. Stewart has always been one of the screen's greatest performers. Partner him with Alfred Hitchcock and you simply cannot go wrong. For every shot...every frame...Stewart never strikes a false note. He's also fascinating and he possesses a particularly engaging voice. The eminence of his performance is demonstrated in the nuances, and none are superior to the expression of reprieve as he relieves the itches caused by the plaster cast. Stewart is simply so darned excellent in any role he tackles! Alongside Stewart, the beautiful Grace Kelly appears as the love interest that becomes entangled and obsessed with uncovering evidence to prove a man guilty of murder. At the time of release, Grace Kelly was one of the screen's greatest beauties and she abundantly reminds us of this. Thelma Ritter brings a delightful comedic sense to her role as Jeff's nurse. Across the entire film, there is an evident ring of excellence around the entire cast (no, not the cast on Jeff's leg).

Not only is Hitchcock a master of the thriller genre, he's also one of the greatest directors of all time. In his career he directed several memorable masterpieces such as North by Northwest, Psycho, Rebecca, Vertigo and several others. No-one then or now could match Hitchcock's large quantity of quality masterpieces. They say it's impossible for a director to helm more than 2 or 3 masterpieces in his career. Hitchcock transcends this expectation. Rear Window is his best film in my opinion. Everything about the film is pure perfection. If there was a rating higher than 5/5 or 10/10, then Rear Window would undoubtedly wear that rating with aplomb.

Several film buffs and cinema enthusiasts would concur that there's no such thing as a perfect movie. In my opinion, that statement is highly incorrect. This is a masterpiece of the highest order: a faultless marriage of tension, romance, drama and mystery with undertones of intrigue. Cunningly manipulative in optimum Hitchcock elegance, as well as managing to offer us with a complete gamut of human emotions and intrinsic idiosyncrasies all from the vantage point of just the one room: there is good reason why Rear Window is regarded as a classic masterpiece. With an impeccably selected cast, a virtuoso script courtesy of John Michael Hayes and a man who was probably the most creative director to ever draw breath...it simply lacks nothing. The best aspect is in its ability to build effectively until you abruptly realise that you're completely engrossed in this cinematic universe and you don't want the film to end. You cannot afford to miss this one.

10/10

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Rear Window

Posted : 5 years, 3 months ago on 23 January 2008 03:45

How many Masterpieces can one artist concieve in a lifetime? One? Two? Three if much? To most that's about it. But in one time or another, comes one that can turn everything he touches into gold. Shakespeare was like that, Da Vinci was like that, Chaplin was like that, just to name a few.

Another person that had this gift was Alfred Hitchcock. He's the kind of movie maker that knew exactly what he was doing and what he wanted.

He could turn a story about birds who attack people without any reason in a great thriller, and he did the same with the story of a man in a wheelchair, who can't walk or leave his room.

Rear Window is the story of L.B. Jeffries (James Stewart) a photographer who broke his leg in an automobile accident and now has to stay never ending weeks inside his appartment, in the company of his girlfriend Lisa (Grace Kelly), his maid Stella (Thelma Ritter) and his camera.

So to ease the boredom, Jeffries begins peeking at his neighbors. What seems like an innocent hobby, turns into a police investigation when he believes that he's the witness of a murder.

A typical Hitchcock movie, it's loaded with suspense and plot twists.

It's difficult to say if this is Hitchcock's finest, because of all the other films he did, but Rear Window deserves all the recognition and fame it has.

It will work for the audience 50 years from now as well as it did 50 years ago.

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A compact movie

Posted : 5 years, 4 months ago on 19 January 2008 04:11

Rear View Window is about a world-class photographer who was injured in the line of duty and bound to a wheelchair and a cast on his leg. So, for entertainment of being stuck indoor, he begun to be an observer of his neighbours' daily activities through his window. In one of the occasion, he believed that one of his neighbour had murdered his wife and so began to do a stake-out on the guy and his movements for proof that the murder was real.

This movie has joined my list of all time favourite movies because of the suspense I felt throughout the movie and the way the plot is arranged is so interesting. You know there are some movies where you can predict what is going to happen in the end. Well, in this movie, you know what will happen but you are not confident if it will really happen the way as expected.

For a movie done in 1954, this is a very good one especially the set apart from the entertaining performances of the James Stewart and Grace Kelly. Through watching the movie, you will know that it is a set but that is one freaking huge set as tall as 3 or 4 storeys high.. and having 5 blocks of apartment building was mind-blowing of the scale used.

A movie that is a must to watch!

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Great classic Hitchcock

Posted : 6 years, 4 months ago on 10 January 2007 07:10

Just saw this recently: it's slow paced but thats the beauty of it. Since the main character is wheelchair-bound and has nothing to do all day but to stare at his neighbors lives, the viewer also becomes a peepin' tom, and since you can't hear what any of the neighbors are saying, this movie just draws you right in and forces you to participate by trying to imagine whats going on in all their lives. And when one man's wife goes missing and the husband looks suspicious, the viewer is fully engrossed along with the main character trying to figure out if he killed or if she just moved out of town. The dialogue is snappy and the chemistry between Jimmy and Grace is adorable, with many of their scenes almost making this feel more like a romantic film rather than a murder-mystery.

Only drawback why I didnt give it a 10/10 is the ending is extremely rushed, with everything neatly being resolved and fully explained all in the last 2 or 3 minutes. I guess it was typical of films back in the day, but I almost wished this movie had an unresolved ending or a big twist or something more typically found in today's films.

Anyways, I highly recommend this classic. This film has it all; suspense, comedy, romance, and even a bit of action at the end.

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