Following on from last week's debut Hitchcock flick of the day, today's is another classic from the master of suspense. Perhaps his best work, Rear Window, is one of those rare films that is as good and as thrilling today as it was upon release.
A story so breathtakingly simple that it has been redone and ripped off innumerable times since the original, Rear Window is a classic of suspenseful film-making. Starring the ever reliable James Stewart as LB Jeffries, a dashing photojournalist who is layed up with a broken leg in his tiny courtyard apartment. Between visits from his nurse, a wonderful Thelma Ritter and his girlfriend Lisa played by a gorgeous Grace Kelly, he watches his neighbours idly. There is the young couple, the struggling musician, the siren, the depressed spinster and perhaps a murderer. Late one night, Jeffries witnesses what he thinks is the murder of a neighbour by her long suffering husband Thorwald, played by Raymond Burr. Of course he can't be sure, and as an audience we are sceptical but as Jeffries gets drawn into the chase and shares his obsession with the initially sceptical Lisa, the tension begins to mount. A thrilling finale ensues but not before some nail-biting drama.
Stewart and Kelly are perfectly cast as a couple with his world weary cynic Jeffries dove tailing with her young idealism. There is great chemistry between the pair and Grace Kelly never looked more radiant as in this film. The history of cinema is littered with famous beauties, but for my money she is the last word. There is wonderful interplay between the two.
Lisa: I wish I were creative.
Jeff: You are. You're great at creating difficult situations.
The various characters which populate the courtyard are perfectly drawn and avoid being mere ciphers to advance the plot. Indeed as the film trundles along, they each have their own small story which is tied up neatly at the end. All solid film-making so far then but what sets this apart? As usual it is Hitchcock's ability to gradually raise the tension over the course of the film, sucking the audience in so that when Lisa is in danger and a helpless Jeff looks on from his apartment, we are equally worried.
It is a very simple camera setup, with the vast majority of the film being seen from the window of Jeff's apartment or indeed in Jeff's apartment. Indeed it is only at the conclusion that we see a shot looking toward his apartment and it is momentarily jarring.In this way, Hitchcock limits what the audience can see to what Jeff sees. The audience becomes the voyeur. Like Jeff, we are immobilised and cannot intervene. It is an interesting study into why people look and perhaps indicates a normal universality to it.
Jeff: She wants me to marry her.
Stella: That's normal.
Jeff: I don't want to.
Stella: That's abnormal.
All in all, a wonderful film that perfectly blends thrilling tension with comic moments. Hitchock displays a lightness of touch not normally seen in modern Hollywood thrillers and this is satisfying even today. Technicolour gives the film that wonderful glow of 1950's modernity and Grace Kelly and James Stewart sparkle in their roles. Ultimately when the ending comes, we want to dive back in and spend more time with Jeff and his girlfriend and the happenings of the small apartment building. A classic.
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