Rear Window (1954)
Average Rating: 8.9/10
Reviews Counted: 62
Fresh: 62 | Rotten: 0
Hitchcock exerted full potential of suspense in this masterpiece.
Average Rating: 8.6/10
Critic Reviews: 19
Fresh: 19 | Rotten: 0
Hitchcock exerted full potential of suspense in this masterpiece.
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Average Rating: 4.2/5
User Ratings: 122,656
My Rating
Movie Info
Laid up with a broken leg, photojournalist L.B. Jeffries (James Stewart) is confined to his tiny, sweltering courtyard apartment. To pass the time between visits from his nurse (Thelma Ritter) and his fashion model girlfriend Lisa (Grace Kelly), the binocular-wielding Jeffries stares through the rear window of his apartment at the goings-on in the other apartments around his courtyard. As he watches his neighbors, he assigns them such roles and character names as "Miss Torso" (Georgine Darcy), a
Sep 1, 1954 Wide
Mar 6, 2001
Paramount Pictures
Watch It Now
Cast
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James Stewart
L.B. Jeffries (Jeff) -
Grace Kelly
Lisa Carol Fremont -
Wendell Corey
Thomas J. Doyle detecti... -
Thelma Ritter
Stella the nurse -
Raymond Burr
Lars Thorwald -
Judith Evelyn
Miss Lonely Heart -
Georgine Darcy
Miss Torso the dancer -
Sara Berner
Fire Escape Woman -
Frank Cady
Fire Escape Man -
Rand Harper
Honeymooner -
Jesslyn Fax
Miss Hearing Aid -
Irene Winston
Mrs. Thorwald -
Havis Davenport
Newlywed -
Bennie Bartlett
Miss Torso's Friend -
Iphigenie Castiglioni
Bird Woman -
Kathryn Grant
Party Girl (uncredited) -
Marla English
Party Girl (uncredited) -
Bess Flowers
Woman with Poodle -
Fred Graham
Stunt Detective (uncred... -
Len Hendry
Policeman -
Harry Landers
Young Man -
Alan Lee
Landlord -
Mike Mahoney
Policeman -
-
Ralph Smiley
Carl the Waiter -
Anthony Warde
Detective -
James Cornell
Man -
Jerry Antes
Dancer -
Ross Bagdasarian Sr.
Songwriter -
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All Critics (66) | Top Critics (21) | Fresh (67) | Rotten (0) | DVD (23)
It's one of Alfred Hitchcock's inspired audience-participation films: watching it, you feel titillated, horrified, and, ultimately, purged.
Just possibly the second most entertaining picture (after The 39 Steps) ever made by Alfred Hitchcock.
Top CriticOf all Hitchcock's films, this is the one which most reveals the man.
The deliciousness of watching the film as it's intended to be seen is that the big screen gives Rear Window back its claustrophobia.
Don't resist the urge -- steal a peek at it now, and be reminded why Hitchcock is still without equal in the clammy thrills department.
Belatedly, I'm nominating a film from 1954 as the best picture of 2000.
Hitchcock masterpiece stars peeping Jimmy Stewart.
In this brilliant movie about watching the neighbors, Alfred Hitchcock turns the lens on his audience. "We have become a race of Peeping Toms," notes one character not only commenting on Jeff's obsessive voyeurism but also that of the cinematic spectator.
As close to 'perfect' as a film is likely to get.
a taut and (verbally) jaunty thriller
...the film surely remains one of the most memorable and downright essential examples of the slow-burn thriller genre.
Essential and unmissable.
Hitchcock classic.
An early ad summed up one of the film's enduring appeals: If you don't experience delicious terror, then pinch yourself--you're most probably dead.
Alfred Hitchcock's answer to why he makes films and perhaps his darkest one, both as a romance and as a thriller.
hitchcock perfection
Audience Reviews for Rear Window
"We've become a race of Peeping Toms" - Readers Digest, April 1939.
Watching people when they feel they're safe, alone, in the comforts of their home, where they can be themselves. It's a perverted concept. It's also a darn intriguing one. "Mind your own business" doesn't really work too well against the curiosity of human nature, especially when the concept has essentially been flipped on its head in today's world of oversharing every little aspect of your life. Imagine someone looking at a Facebook feed for hours on end every day. Oh, wait...
One scene later in the film when Ms. Lonely Heart enters her apartment with a new man, and Stewart and Kelly look on cheerfully, happy for the company she's received after her nights alone. She draws the blinds, a thought that occurred to her *just* in case someone might see the naughty direction the night was going on. They keep watching, and their happiness is shattered when the young man turns aggressive and is kicked out, leading to an even sadder Ms. LH. They take a moment to ponder what right they have to peer into the private moments of people, and are even considering laying off the case until we [oh yes, we're all part of it] hear that blood-curdling scream, sucked back in.
Compare all this to the external, public perception Grace Kelly's Lisa puts forward to win over Jeffries, all the way to what becomes an extremely sad end in my eyes; Lisa pretending to read a book on foreign travel, believing that Jeffries is awake, and switching over to Bazaar when she sees him dosing off. My mind went instantly to the public face everyone puts on every day, for increasing minutes, to appease the social networks that consume us.
All this and I haven't even talked about the utter charm of Jimmy Stewart, beauty of Grace Kelly, and mentioned once again the pace and direction of Hitchcock. We're all instantly part of the lives of everyone in that apartment facing the rear window, as the camera swoops and pans, giving us a snapshot across the day.
I enjoyed the little stories I was seeing, grew suspicious as Jeffries did, and had my hand covering my mouth, reeling back in my chair, cursing Jeffries for putting Lisa, Stella and ultimately himself in that situation.
Lucky we don't need to look outside a window when we're bored now. We have a million to look into from what you're reading this on.
Super Reviewer
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- L.B. Jeffries (Jeff): She's like a queen bee with her pick of the drones.
- Lisa Carol Fremont: I'd say she's doing a woman's hardest job: juggling wolves.
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- L.B. Jeffries (Jeff): Who says I'm getting rid of it.
-
- Stella the nurse: He better get that trunk out of there before it starts to leak.
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- Stella the nurse: I can hear you now, 'Get out of my life, you wonderful woman. You're too good for me.'
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- Lisa Carol Fremont: Why would Thorwald want to kill a little dog? Because it knew too much?
-
- Lisa Carol Fremont: Where does a man get inspiration to write a song like that?
- L.B. Jeffries (Jeff): He gets it from the landlady once a month.
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Foreign Titles
- Das Fenster zum Hof (DE)
- Rear Window (1954) (CA)
Unfortunately, a lot of thrillers and horror films fall victim to audience's expectations: "When're the scares coming?"; "When's it gonna get exciting?". I feel bad for the directors; directors want to render an engaging film with character-building and narrative producing sequences, but because of these expectations, their films are quickly dismissed and concluded to be another failure. "Rear Window" is a blatant exception; this is a taut, near perfect film. Everything's directed with such finesse and precision from the intentional gradual build-up until the heart-pumping, tea kettle hissing, finale. Though it is a mystery and suspense film at heart, Hitchcock also delivers a character-driven, narrative-engaging thriller due to its ridiculously witty and razor sharp script. And because of its writing, no matter what may be happening in a scene, the film has a buttery-smooth flow that never dips. And once the climax hits, the tensions hitting all cylinders to bring an extremely immersive/claustrophobic experience. In other words, "Rear Window" is a love letter to suspense genre nerds.
All the way through, "Rear Window" is an engaging masterpiece that's filled with symbolism, an engaging narrative, precise editing, beautiful cinematography, and tension-brimming scenes. There's no doubt in my mind that Hitchcock has earned his title as "The Master of Suspense" due to movies like this. Almost hitting 60 years old, "Rear Window" is the perfect example of how a well-crafted narrative never shows its age.