Rear Window (1954)

I am a Hitchcock fanatic.  Alfred the Great (as I call him) died four days after I was born, but I doubt he has a bigger fan than I am.  I own nearly every single film he made once he came across the pond from England to America, and two from his English period.  He was the Master of Suspense, able to create and tease out the tension of a story to unbelievable levels.

I either love or highly appreciate all his movies.  He knew his craft deeply, and was constantly on the cutting edge of technological advancements in filmmaking.  He also created many of the techneques used today in film, most notably the "vertigo effect."  All his films showcase superb craftsmanship; as a director he remains unparalleled.

And of all his films I love Rear Window best.  It isn't his most exciting (that award goes to North by Northwest), nor his most artistic (Vertigo), nor his scariest (Psycho), nor his highest award winning (Rebecca won best picture), or most iconic (The Birds).  It simply is his movie where everything works together so beautifully that I can't help but love it. 

Rear Window is the story of  "Jeff" Jefferies (Jimmy Stewart), a magazine photographer who loves to live out of a suitcase and travel the world.  His problem is that in getting his last award-winning photograph he was hit by a crashing race car, ending up in a full leg cast and nothing to do but stare out the rear window of his apartment.  This he does with increasing interest as he gets to know his neighbor's habits and quirks, giving them little names of his own -Miss Lonely Hearts, Miss Torso (his favorite, the dancer with the stunning figure), and so on.  Then one night Jeff notices the salesman who lives across the way leave several times in the middle of the night with a case.  This odd behavior, along with several  other small things, leads Jeff to wonder if his neighbor has murdered his wife.

Joining Jimmy Stewart is the incomparably fantastic Grace Kelly (great actress, great beauty, and future princess of Monaco) as Jeff's girlfriend Lisa Fremont.  Lisa is entirely the opposite of Jeff -she is stylish and rich, a true lady's lady, and a bigwig in the fashion world of New York City.  If Jeff likes to live out of a suitcase, Lisa would only buy a suitcase if it matched her new shoes.  And this relationship forms the real basis of the movie's conflict.  You see, Rear Window isn't really about a guy who may or may not have killed his wife.  It's about the question of marriage -what is the give and take, how do two different people live one life, is such a relationship really beneficial to humanity, and is it possible to be happily married long term?  These are the questions discussed by Jeff and Lisa, even if on the surface they are simply arguing about his desire to travel verses her desire that he set up a studio in the city. 
Is a relationship with a member of the opposite sex necessary for happiness?  Miss Lonley Hearts sure seems to think so, and almost does something desperate because of that belief.
Is marriage the door to happiness we seem to think it will be at first?  Ask the newliweds who move in who seem so happy, but then the nagging seems to start. 
What about Miss Torso?  Is she happy as the social butterfly, juggling all the wolfish looks of the men she entertains?  Or does she desire something deeper?
And ultimately, ask Lars Thorwald, our neighbor across the way.  Did he kill his wife?  Why, if marriage is such the great thing that Lisa seems to think?  Or is there more going on?

Aside from the boy/girl stuff, Rear Window is a great place to start a discussion about our voyeuristic society.  As Jeff asks, is it a good thing to spy on a neighbor, even if you prove he didn't kill his wife?  Where are the boundaries of privacy, and why should we respect them, and when should we cross them?  What are the rules of Rear Window ethics?  Hitchcock gives us a taste of an answer, particularly in the final shot, but ultimately the issue still exists to be resolved today.

Now if you are getting the idea that this is not an action packed movie, you are right.  It takes place exclusively in one set, and has all of about 5-6 actual speaking roles.  That being said, it is Hitchcock, and by the end you care about the characters and the tesion builds to boiling.

Of course, it does do two things imperfectly.  Hitchcock loved to try new things, which meant not everything he tried worked, and a few things just don't age well.  In Rear Window there are two flaws.  First, Hitchcock wanted the audience to experience what a flash of light in a dark room does to the character, but the color effect he added distracts, rather than adds to the tension.  Also, at one point Hitchcock speeds the film up rapidly, making everything happen much faster but also lending a noticable awkwardness to the movement.  Both these flaws take place within a minute of each other.

Aside from that, Rear Window is among my favorite films.  The music, the acting, the script, the fun, everything comes together to create a true masterpiece.  Highly Recommended!

Entertainment: 8/10
Artistic value: 8/10
Technical merit: 8/10

Overall rating: 9/10  (this is a case where the whole is better than the individual parts.)