Rear Window

I like older movies, I like classic movies. There is something about a classic movie that is just lacking from
most modern movies. I love Hitchcock movies; his movies do so much with relatively little. There are
only two locations in the movie, Jefferies apartment and the neighboring building across the way.
Hitchcock had them both built on a single set. Because of this, this movie reminded me a bit of 12 Angry
Men, both being a one set play with escalating drama and tension.
Who else but Hitchcock could give something as simple as a murder mystery such tension? Who else
could make common birds so terrifying (The Birds), a chase movie so engrossing (North by Northwest) or
a romance movie so chilling (Vertigo).
Rear Window takes a page from old silent movies by forcing the camera to convey what Hitchcock wants
us to feel. A good example of this, in modern movies, is Pixars Wall-E which wrings so much emotion
out of the two silent characters . I think that are couple of things that Hitchcock does that makes this
movie standout. By keeping the main character trapped in his own apartment, Hitchcock conveys a
feeling of being trapped and helplessness, he extends this to only showing what could be seen from the
apartment. He blocks line of sight by use of walls, closed blinds, and corners. Because of this, we get a
vaguely creepy voyeuristic feel that is even pokes at its self, when Stella tells Jefferies that penalty for
being a peeping tom is six months in the work house. This feeling of being trapped is taken to a peak
later in the movie when Stella and Lisa go to dig up the flower bed and Lisa gets trapped in the killers
apartment. We, like Jefferies, can only watch helplessly as the scene plays out. Hitchcock subtlety
reinforces this feeling of what the camera sees by hinting that Jefferies was/is a war correspondent that
frequently gets assigned to dangerous places.
We get a feeling that we know and care about his neighbors. The activities of his neighbors form a sort
of B story by themselves. Yet, we never actually meet any of them. We are left with an uncertainty
about them. We only know what we see, filled out by Jefferies description of them. For all we really
know, they could be quite different from what Jefferies thinks he knows about them.
Even Hitchcocks casting has creepy effect to the movie; Stewart, in most of his other movies plays a
lighter, comic role. Such as the comedy western The Cheyenne Social Club which is one my favorite
movies. This is a much darker, more serious role. I couldnt help think but but Jimmy Stewart is
supposed to play a nice guy. I get the same feeling when I watch Once upon a time in the West with
Henry Fonda as the villain. The way that Lisa smothers Jefferies, wanting him to agree to marry her gives
the movie yet another layer of claustrophobia.
My understanding of Hitchcock, based on documentaries and books, is that Hitchcock could a difficult
director to work for as well as total perfectionist. He nearly gave Tippi Hedren a nervous breakdown
during the filming of The Birds. He went to local market and purchased one of each kind of fruit and
vegetable and recorded the sound it made when stabbed to get the right sound for the famous scene in
Psycho. Although based on I what Ive learned about him his supposed dislike of actors is overblown,. I
dont really get the impression that he was mean or egotistic. More along the lines of someone that
works hard and expects others to do the same, after all he is Brit from the pre-war generation (Born
1899 Died 1980)
Id really like to know what drugs the American Film Academy takes. Hitchcock was snubbed five times
for Best Director. 1941- Lost to John Ford, Grapes of Wrath over Rebecca, although Rebecca did
win Best Picture. 1945- Lost to Leo McCareys Lifeboat. 1946- Lost to Billy Wilders The Lost
Weekend over Spellbound (The bigger snub was to National Velvet). 1955- Lost to Elia Kazans On
the Water Front over Rear Window (Okay, I can see that one OtWF is a masterpiece). 1961- Lost to
Billy Wilders The Apartment over Psycho. Although the Academy did give Hitchcock a lifetime
achievement award in 1968. Maybe Ill do my research paper on how the academy can get it so wrong
so many times.
Anyway, Hitchcock is the true master of suspense movies.