It has been a little while since we have reached into the upper echelon of film history. Since some internal posting issues forced me to skip June, I figured now was the time to revisit a stone cold classic. Also, it does not hurt that this film came up in discussions in a meeting I had today. It is always fun to look back on one of the greatest filmmakers of all time and review what is, in my opinion, his greatest work: Rear Window (1954, dir. Alfred Hitchcock).
Photographer L.B. “Jeff” Jeffries (James Stewart) has suffered a broken leg, leaving him temporarily wheelchair bound. Because of his profession and this injury, he spends much of his time photographing out of the rear window of his apartment, out of which he can see a courtyard and the rear windows of neighboring apartments. Much of what he sees is fairly mundane, though one night, he believes he witnesses follow-up activity to a murder. What follows is first considered far-fetched – a symptom of his boredom combined with the summer heat – until more suspicious activity occurs, leading to the amateur sleuthing of Jeffries, his girlfriend Lisa Fremont (the always luminous Grace Kelly), and his caretaker Stella (Thelma Ritter). Did his neighbor murder his wife? Or has Jeff’s imagination gotten the better of him?
Hitchcock is often called the master of suspense. Rear Window is exhibit A in the argument for him holding that title. The build up from nothing to the alleged murder is paced perfectly. The investigatory phase that follows picks up the pace enough to keep the film from dragging, but it never overshoots its mark. Finally, the thrilling conclusion delivers on the promise of the film while also adding unique elements of suspense in the final few moments. You will note in the rankings below one of only three category scores of 99 on my entire list. (The other two both belong to Citizen Kane.)
The performances are everything you would hope for from this stellar cast. Stewart was film’s first “everyman.” In this film, he plays that up to expert precision in this role. Nothing he does feels heroic or impossible. He simply responds to each situation as you might expect yourself to do. Unfortunately, as most Hitchcock leading ladies are asked to do very little, very little is asked of Grace Kelly – though she does it all perfectly. Ritter, a common sight in Hitchcock films, brings her customary comic timing to complete the curious trio.
One frequent problem of older films in the suspense or horror genre is the many copycats that come afterwards making it seem like you know all the tricks before they happen. Somehow, that is not the case with Rear Window. Even though plenty of films have borrowed from the concepts, no other attempts (except, of course, the remake) have come close to capturing that delicate balance of suspense building, believable characters, and a thrilling conclusion. Hitchcock does it with ease, which is why I list Rear Window as his masterpiece. (Before you Psycho fans go ballistic, I have it two spots behind Rear Window on my overall list. Both are brilliant. We are splitting hairs to get them where they are.)
I recommend you watch this film as films were intended. Wait until it is dark. Turn out all the lights in the room. Get some popcorn. Cozy up with a loved one or a blanket (or both). And give yourself fully over to the master.
FUN FACT – The film is classic in so many ways but unique in one: there is virtually no score. The film opens with a small amount of score, but after the first few minutes, all music, sound effects, background noise, etc. comes from within the world of the film. This is uncommon but particularly for Hitchcock, who famously used music to heighten suspense in effective ways. Here he does the opposite – using silence or muffled noise to heighten the suspense.
Just Watch says that Rear Window is currently streaming on WatchTCM (with a subscription). It is also available for rent/purchase on Apple TV, Amazon Prime, and many other services.
SCORES
As a reminder, you can read the original post that details the scores and weighting system HERE.