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"Yes, I Think You'd
Be A Marvelous Princess,
Grace" |
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Directed by Alfred
Hitchcock - Written by
John Michael Hayes
Starring James Stewart,
Grace Kelly, Thelma
Ritter
Distributed by Paramount -
1954 - 112mins - Rated
PG |
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See It! If your nerves can stand it after "Psycho!" |
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Extremely creative and suspenseful, "Rear Window" is often Alfred
Hitchcock at his finest. An intriguing story, great performances, and
a very clever set up are all pluses, although I feel that it is a
little empty compared to other Hitchcock films like "Psycho" and "The
Birds."
James Stewart is very good as LB Jeffries, a famous photographer who
must spend two months confined to his apartment with a broken leg. He
passes the time by spying on the people in the apartment across from
him. He begins to treat them as a sort of second community...and then
he has reason to believe that one man has killed his wife.
An interesting character study for the first half, and a riveting
thriller for the second half, "Rear Window" should be seen by all of
Hitch's fans. The climax is a real nail-biter, and the cinematography
is gorgeous. Highly recommended. |
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© Written by Jacob Hall -
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TC Candler's Comment
My
favorite Hitchcock film... 'Rear Window' draws
you in and places you in the role of voyeur
watching the voyeur. The tension mounts
throughout until you can't stand it anymore.
This film is about so many things. It delves
into our natural voyeuristic tendencies. It
pierces our need to form obsessions. It
thematically raises our awareness of the right
to privacy, and simultaneously undermines and
supports that right. Other than all that... the
movie tells one hell of a good story. It is a
simple and deftly engaging murder mystery like
those that Hitchcock is so legendary for
creating.
Note the shape of the windows... It is almost as
if we get a peek of a dozen smaller movies while
following the main one. These neighbors all live
so close, but they have no idea what's happening
right next door. Hitchcock seems to be
condemning the isolation we all seem to cherish.
Rear Window has an added significance today. I
find it fascinating that our protagonist is
cooped up in a chair, gathering information
while browsing multiple windows... What are you
doing right now?
Click the camera, click the mouse.
Richard Propes' Comment
This film
is not quite in my "Top 100" for reasons I don't
quite understand. I just haven't put it there
yet...yet, I openly acknowledge it's a wonderful
film and perhaps my favorite of Alfred
Hitchcock's films. It features standout
performances by James Stewart, Grace Kelly and
Thelma Ritter. Raymond Burr also gives a strong
performance here...It's classically suspenseful,
which means it's safe viewing for just about
everyone. A rather comical side note for me
would be a performance by Ross Bagdasarian, most
noted as the writer and voice for the "Alvin and
the Chipmunks" series and songs. This is also
one of the first films to do a decent job with a
character in a wheelchair...go Hitchcock!
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