Do you want to see ‘Rear Window’?

Rear Window (1954)

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100

Average Rating: 8.9/10
Reviews Counted: 61
Fresh: 61 | Rotten: 0

Hitchcock exerted full potential of suspense in this masterpiece.

100

Average Rating: 8.7/10
Critic Reviews: 17
Fresh: 17 | Rotten: 0

Hitchcock exerted full potential of suspense in this masterpiece.

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Average Rating: 4.2/5
User Ratings: 122,656

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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

PG, 1 hr. 55 min.

Drama, Mystery & Suspense, Classics

Directed By: Alfred Hitchcock

Written By: John Michael Hayes

In Theaters: Sep 1, 1954 Wide

On DVD: Mar 6, 2001

Paramount Pictures

Rear Window Trailer & Photos

More Photos (2)

Cast

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
Eddie Parker
Ralph Smiley
Carl the Waiter
Anthony Warde
Detective
James Cornell
Man
Jerry Antes
Dancer
Ross Bagdasarian Sr.
Songwriter
Dick Simmons

Critic Reviews for Rear Window

All Critics (63) | Top Critics (17) | Fresh (66) | Rotten (0) | DVD (23)

Just possibly the second most entertaining picture (after The 39 Steps) ever made by Alfred Hitchcock.

April 20, 2009 Full Review Source: TIME Magazine

| Comment

TIME Magazine

Top Critic

The deliciousness of watching the film as it's intended to be seen is that the big screen gives Rear Window back its claustrophobia.

July 21, 2005 Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle

| Comment

Jeff Millar

Houston Chronicle

Top Critic

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.

May 28, 2004 Comment

Glenn Lovell

San Jose Mercury News

Top Critic

Surely one of Alfred Hitchcock's best entertainments.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Salon.com

| Comment

Charles Taylor

Salon.com

Top Critic

Belatedly, I'm nominating a film from 1954 as the best picture of 2000.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Sacramento Bee

| Comment

Joe Baltake

Sacramento Bee

Top Critic

In an impressive oeuvre, Rear Window is arguably the most exquisitely handcrafted feature, because Hitchcock mastered the spatial as well as behavioral coordinates of his chosen universe inch by inch.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader

| Comment

Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

Top Critic

Hitchcock masterpiece stars peeping Jimmy Stewart.

December 15, 2010 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media

| Comment

Charles Cassady

Common Sense Media

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.

May 29, 2010 Full Review Source: AskMen.com

| Comment

Radheyan Simonpillai

AskMen.com

As close to 'perfect' as a film is likely to get.

September 2, 2009 Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

| Comment

Ken Hanke

Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

a taut and (verbally) jaunty thriller

August 8, 2009 Full Review Source: Cinemania

| Comment

Dan Jardine

Cinemania

...the film surely remains one of the most memorable and downright essential examples of the slow-burn thriller genre.

July 29, 2008 Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews

| Comment

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

Essential and unmissable.

May 27, 2008 Full Review Source: Film4

| Comment

Film4

Hitchcock classic.

August 22, 2006 Full Review Source: Classic Film and Television

| Comment

Michael E. Grost

Classic Film and Television

Of all Hitchcock's films, this is the one which most reveals the man.

February 9, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out

| Comment

Geoff Andrew

Time Out

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.

October 10, 2005 Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com

| Comment

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com Source: EmanuelLevy.Com

Alfred Hitchcock's answer to why he makes films and perhaps his darkest one, both as a romance and as a thriller.

July 3, 2005 Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews

| Comment

Dennis Schwartz

Ozus' World Movie Reviews

hitchcock perfection

April 18, 2005 Comment

Rich Cline

Shadows on the Wall

In the hands of a lesser talent, this might have become a self-conscious stunt, but in Hitchcock's it has the tightly wound perfection of a flawless sonnet or sonata.

April 2, 2003 Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor

| Comment

David Sterritt

Christian Science Monitor

More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Rear Window

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Classic Hitchcock thriller about a man with too much time on his hands, peeping at the neighborhood through his rear window. The film cleverly makes the audience his accomplice, sticking mostly to his point of view, with the adorable backyard making a very limited but special setting. The film takes its time

June 14, 2006

Jens S.

Super Reviewer

As close to "a perfect film" as you can get. In Hitchcock's greatest effort, everything comes together. Spectacular set design, amazing performances and ofcourse Hitchcock's trademark pitch perfect suspense.

November 13, 2011

Graham Jones

Super Reviewer

Rear Window Quotes

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1. Stella the nurse: I can hear you now, 'Get out of my life, you wonderful woman. You're too good for me.'
– Submitted by Lucas M (5 months ago)
1. Lisa Carol Fremont: Why would Thorwald want to kill a little dog? Because it knew too much?
– Submitted by Lucas M (5 months ago)
1. Lisa Carol Fremont: Where does a man get inspiration to write a song like that?
2. L.B. Jeffries (Jeff): He gets it from the landlady once a month.
– Submitted by Laura M (7 months ago)
1. Stella the nurse: Intelligence. Nothing has caused the human race so much trouble as intelligence.
– Submitted by Laura M (7 months ago)
1. Lisa Carol Fremont: A murderer would never parade his crime in front of an open window.
– Submitted by Laura M (7 months ago)