The perfect Hitchcock film if you............like spying on your neighbours and the sound of summer rain:
Rear Window, Alfred Hitchcock 1954
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Peeping James |
Rear Window. The voyeuristic film for voyeuristic film-watchers who pretend that they're not really voyeurs.
Not only is it an incredibly entertaining film which addresses voyeuristic morals (or what Lisa Fremont describes as "rear window ethics") and the relationships of communities, it's also the go-to film for teaching fundamental filmmaking at schools and universities the world over.
Hitchcock tightly controls the camera and fluidly tells a narrative filmed solely in one room without bringing on any feelings of claustrophobia. Utilising the
shot-reverse-shot method, sequences are able to depict narrative development with very little dialogue. A mid-shot of the main character looking off at a distance; another shot shows the subject of their gaze; then we see the main character's reaction. It shifts from the subject, to the object, back to the subject's reaction. Simple, fundamental filmmaking, yet Hitchcock makes it so much more.
Photojournalist L. B. Jefferies (James Stewart) sits in a wheelchair in his apartment for 6 weeks after breaking his leg on an assignment. Bored by his physical confinement and unable to escape the heat of a New York summer, Jefferies spends much of his days and nights with his window blinds open, watching the goings-on of his colourful neighbours in the apartments on his block. When he believes he has witnessed a neighbour murder his wife, he and his girlfriend Lisa (Grace Kelly) try to gather evidence to help the investigation.
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Grace Kelly makes a stunning entrance |
Hitchcock enlisted the art department to create a huge set which contained several surrounding apartments to Jefferies', which was able to depict 5 differently-lit times of day. The cast members who inhabited the surrounding apartments wore earpieces to hear directorial instructions, due to the scale of the set.
For me, I think the film depicts a humid, balmy summer perfectly and the restlessness that it stirs. The mise-en-scene is without fault, and probably the most detailed piece of set design in film history, and every time I view the film I notice something new that goes on amidst this bustling living block.
Long, balmy summer days filled with the sounds of the city, the occasional nighttime rain shower and jazz floating over the rooftops. Bliss.
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Thelma Ritter and James Stewart |
Thelma Ritter, as Nurse Stella, is fantastic as in all the roles I've seen her in. I find myself celebrating every time she enters a scene as her charisma and comedic timing is always well-delivered. Pity she was always cast in supporting roles.