Rear Window
1954, Mystery and thriller, 1h 52m
78 Reviews 100,000+ RatingsWhat to know
Hitchcock exerted full potential of suspense in this masterpiece. Read critic reviews
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Movie Info
Cast & Crew
L.B. "Jeff" Jefferies
Lisa Carol Fremont
Det. Lt. Thomas J. Doyle
Mr. Lars Thorwald
Stella
Miss Lonelyheart
News & Interviews for Rear Window
Critic Reviews for Rear Window
All Critics (78) | Top Critics (25) | Fresh (76) | Rotten (2)
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The story is told with tricks and intricate technique, but the mystery magician, Mr. Hitchcock, never forgets that what people want most is a spine-chilling climax. He gives it to them.
November 17, 2020 | Full Review… -
Rear Window has a situation which promises intricacy and then fails to provide it.
April 16, 2020 | Full Review… -
The boorish but fascinating pastime of peeking into other people's homes -- a thing that New York apartment dwellers have a slight disposition to do -- is used by Director Alfred Hitchcock to impel a tense and exciting exercise.
April 16, 2020 | Full Review… -
It's one of Alfred Hitchcock's inspired audience-participation films: watching it, you feel titillated, horrified, and, ultimately, purged.
March 5, 2012 | Full Review… -
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 | Rating: 94/100 | Full Review… -
Just possibly the second most entertaining picture (after The 39 Steps) ever made by Alfred Hitchcock.
April 20, 2009 | Full Review…
Audience Reviews for Rear Window
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Jul 28, 2018okay but too outmoded for my tasteEd K Super Reviewer
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Dec 04, 2017Hitchcock's nod to voyeurism has a very simple premise: a photographer (Jimmy Stewart) is laid up with a broken leg, and finds entertainment in looking out his second floor window at his neighbors. The plot device is that during a heat wave, these neighbors leave their curtains drawn or shades up at all times, well, with the exception of a pair of newlyweds, whose implied activity (and its frequency) is a little joke Hitch gives us early on. He also dials up some eye candy circa 1954 with a dancer who regularly prances about her apartment. Stewart (slash Hitchcock) is a bit of perv, and he's kidded about that by his tough little nurse (Thelma Ritter) and glamorous girlfriend (Grace Kelly). Things get serious when he notices one of the neighbors (Raymond Burr) leaving his apartment multiple times in the wee hours of the night, and that the guy's wife has mysteriously disappeared. From then on, there is a tension to the film, as we're not sure what's going on, or if anything at all is going on, as Stewart's detective friend (Wendell Corey) is skeptical and provides some alternate explanations. You might say, c'mon, we're pretty sure something's going on, this is a Hitchcock film after all, but consider the uncomfortable light Stewart's character is placed in: spying on neighbors with binoculars and a gigantic zoom lens, suggesting that his friend break the law by searching the guy's apartment without a warrant, and even (gasp) having Kelly over for a little sleepover, despite only having a single bed. It would have been interesting had Stewart's character been darker, e.g. taking pictures of his neighbors, but that may be implied when he breaks out slides showing pictures of a flower garden in the courtyard to try to understand if anything has changed. Tension ratchets up considerably when Ritter and Kelly investigate on their own, but I won't spoil it. The fact that the action for the entire movies takes place in Stewart's apartment or from its vantage point is a pretty phenomenal achievement. Stewart turns in a strong performance, and Ritter's blunt speculations are effective in spurring our imaginations. I loved the scene which ends with Burr's cigarette glowing in the dark, one of the best moments in the film. The little stories playing out in the various apartments, including a woman who is lonely and depressed, provide interesting subplots. Overall the film is a little too constrained for me to consider it Hitchcock's best, and I could have used a little more darkness in the characters or the plot, but it's certainly very good, and a brilliant example of suspense not requiring fast-paced action or gore.Antonius B Super Reviewer
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Mar 26, 2016Truly suspenseful and masterfully crafted, Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window is a masterpiece of thriller that is both parts witty and serious, clever and entertaining, and humor filled and fear inducing. James Stewart is amazing in the main role.Matthew M Super Reviewer
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Nov 22, 2015Pretty well made but I disliked the ending and how it was handled so much that this brings the movie down significantly for me.Kyle M Super Reviewer
Rear Window Quotes
| 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 |
| Lisa Carol Fremont: | I'd say she's doing a woman's hardest job: juggling wolves. |
| 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. |
| Stella the nurse: | I can hear you now: "Get out of my life, you wonderful woman. You're too good for me." |
| 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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