Rear Window

UK Release Date. 15 November 1954
Certification. PG
Running Time. 1 hour 52 mins
Director. Alfred Hitchcock
Cast. Raymond Burr, Wendell Corey, Grace Kelly, Thelma Ritter, James Stewart.
Rating. 88%

Review.

Others may be considered more iconic, but few, if any, of Alfred Hitchcock films are better than Rear Window.

James Stewart plays photojournalist L.B. Jefferies, confined to a wheelchair with a broken leg in his upper-storey apartment in Greenwich Village. Jefferies whiles away the hours each day spying on his neighbours, building innocuous narratives from the glimpses he catches into their lives, until he becomes convinced that one of his neighbours has murdered his wife.

Rear Window was Hitchcock's first film for Paramount Pictures after leaving Warner Brothers, and over the next decade, whilst with Paramount Pictures, Hitchcock produced some of his most impressive work - To Catch A Thief (1955), Vertigo (1958), North By Northwest (1959) and Psycho (1960). 

Based on a short story written by Cornell Woolrich, John Michael Hayes' intricate screenplay provides Hitchcock with a solid basis for suspense. The idea of a casual voyeur witnessing a murder is neither new nor unique, but the manner in which Hitchcock presents his study of voyeurism is a masterclass in audience manipulation, turning all of us into a bunch of Peeping Toms. The film has been imitated over the years, but nothing rivals it.

James Stewart's portrayal of L.B. Jefferies is, perhaps, one of his most impressive performances because of the limitations placed upon him. More than any of his other films, Stewart acts with his eyes, his mannerisms and his voice. His frustration at being cooped up is palpable from the very first frame. 

Grace Kelly assumes the role of the archetypal Hitchcock blonde. As with so many of the female leads in Hitchcock's films, her character, Lisa Fremont is not especially well-developed, but like a ray of sunshine, the luminous Kelly lights up every scene she's in. 

Technically, the production is near perfection; from the camera positions employed by director of photography, Robert Burks to the spectacular set design of Hal Pereira and Joseph MacMillan Johnson. Virtually the entire film is presented from Jefferies' apartment in another of the director's single-setting masterclasses. The camera stays with him, trapped within the confines of the room, never venturing outside. For the most part, the audience sees only what Jefferies sees, and events that occur outside of the window's frame happen off-screen. In addition, the multi-layered soundtrack employs virtually no composed music, instead the soundtrack is incidental, as if heard across a courtyard. And the incredibly forensic sound editing, not only adds to the story, but makes silence one of the most powerful elements in escalating the tension.

Rear Window is undoubtedly the work of a filmmaker completely at ease with the filmmaking process, placing the audience in the shoes of the main characters, adding intrigue, humour and sexuality to the mix as if it were the most natural thing in the world. A slow-burn with a compelling storyline, interest seldom wavers during the film's 112 minutes run time. And 70 years after the film's original theatrical release, Rear Window very much still has the power to thrill.