11. Rear Window
I've seen Rear Window many times -- for a couple of classes and on my own, and I even have it on DVD. But the first time I saw it was back in high school or middle school. I got a copy of the movie from the library and watched it one evening with my parents. We watched it in the basement -- so it must have been middle school, before we got central air. It made quite an impression on me -- a murder in the backyard capped off by a dramatic stand-off at the end. And Raymond Burr as the stereotypical Swede -- Lars Thorwald.
Since going to college, I learned about how Rear Window works as a commentary on voyeurism. The film is all about Jeff's forced preoccupation with his neighbor's windows. And yet there is us, the movie watchers, watching the watchers watch the neighbors. There is some theorist -- Lacan, maybe? -- who has theories about the gaze. It's pretty interesting stuff, but somehow I do like enjoying the film as a film instead of an entity to be analyzed.
The plot of Rear Window is one of Alfred Hitchcock's best and it's probably my second favorite of his films. (North by Northwest is definitely my favorite. You can't go wrong with a good cross-country chase.) L. B. "Jeff" Jeffries (James Stewart) has been laid up with a broken leg in the heat of New York City. He doesn't have anything to do to entertain himself, so eventually Jeff resorts to watching his neighbors out the rear window. One night, as Jeff dozes in and out of sleep, he sees the salesman (Burr) acting suspiciously. The next morning, the salesman's wife is no where to be found. Jeff investigates the murder from his apartment with the assistance of his girlfriend Lisa (Grace Kelly) and his insurance nurse Stella (Thelma Ritter). Initially everyone is skeptical of Jeff's claims, but eventually Jeff manages to win everyone over to his side. Thorwald eventually finds out that Jeff is investigating him and the film ends with Thorwald entering Jeff's apartment and threatening him.
Rear Window is one of the great movies, and offers so much for analysis -- Jeff and Lisa's relationship, voyeurism and "the gaze," the various neighbors, the theatricality of the film with the raising of the curtain/window shades at the beginning and end, etc. It also holds up as a very suspenseful movie -- very classy compared to the thrillers put out now.
FILE UNDER: Classic Film ; 31 Films in 31 Days Challenge
Since going to college, I learned about how Rear Window works as a commentary on voyeurism. The film is all about Jeff's forced preoccupation with his neighbor's windows. And yet there is us, the movie watchers, watching the watchers watch the neighbors. There is some theorist -- Lacan, maybe? -- who has theories about the gaze. It's pretty interesting stuff, but somehow I do like enjoying the film as a film instead of an entity to be analyzed.
The plot of Rear Window is one of Alfred Hitchcock's best and it's probably my second favorite of his films. (North by Northwest is definitely my favorite. You can't go wrong with a good cross-country chase.) L. B. "Jeff" Jeffries (James Stewart) has been laid up with a broken leg in the heat of New York City. He doesn't have anything to do to entertain himself, so eventually Jeff resorts to watching his neighbors out the rear window. One night, as Jeff dozes in and out of sleep, he sees the salesman (Burr) acting suspiciously. The next morning, the salesman's wife is no where to be found. Jeff investigates the murder from his apartment with the assistance of his girlfriend Lisa (Grace Kelly) and his insurance nurse Stella (Thelma Ritter). Initially everyone is skeptical of Jeff's claims, but eventually Jeff manages to win everyone over to his side. Thorwald eventually finds out that Jeff is investigating him and the film ends with Thorwald entering Jeff's apartment and threatening him.
Rear Window is one of the great movies, and offers so much for analysis -- Jeff and Lisa's relationship, voyeurism and "the gaze," the various neighbors, the theatricality of the film with the raising of the curtain/window shades at the beginning and end, etc. It also holds up as a very suspenseful movie -- very classy compared to the thrillers put out now.
FILE UNDER: Classic Film ; 31 Films in 31 Days Challenge
posted by Rebecca at 7:31 AM
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