March 15th: REAR WINDOW (Alfred Hitchcock, 1954)

A photographer temporarily confined to a wheelchair spies on his neighbors, and begins to suspect that one of them may have committed a murder.



Rear Window is one of director Alfred Hitchcock's most formal exercises, and somehow also manages to be one of his most suspenseful and entertaining films in the process. Adapted from a short story by Cornell Woolrich (who had over 30 films based on his works), Hitchcock turns what could have been a gimmicky thriller into something much more complex psychologically and thematically.



Starring in the film are James Stewart and Grace Kelly (who had both worked previously with Hitchcock, and would again). Supporting roles are played by Thelma Ritter, Raymond Burr, and Wendell Corey. The entire film was shot on a single Paramount soundstage, the largest the studio had ever built. To assist in making the set appear as realistic as possible, very little music was used, instead relying mainly on background ambience and sound effects.



In a triumph of logistics, Hitchcock's camera rarely leaves the apartment of Stewart's character, yet still manages to suggest much of what lies beyond the window. That the viewer is only able to see what Stewart himself can strengthens the theory of many critics that the film itself is a meditation on the act of movie-watching itself, and that the audience is equally implicated in the voyeurism that drives the plot forward. In addition, there is a pointed critique on the disconnection found in big-city apartment living, and Hitchcock's typical play with sexual politics.



Rear Window received Academy Award nominations for Hitchcock's directing, as well as its cinematography, screenplay, and sound recording. Kelly would win the Best Actress Oscar for The Country Girl, but her appearances in two Hitchcock films the same year likely ensured her the award. The film was a critical and commercial success and is considered to be one of Hitchcock's most accomplished and influential works, having inspired many others with similar plots.



Running time is approx. 110 minutes.