Films will come and films will go, but a classic can never be killed

Rating: 8/10 (4 December 2009)

..We like to think that if a film is from a certain era, it is going to be slow and boring. I am writing to you as someone who previously owned this mindset. I really had to put my ADD aside when watching this film. It seems that I, like many of us, have grown accustomed to unpredictable plot twists with large explosions and clean special effects. If that is what you need to enjoy a film, then please look elsewhere; but if you enjoy great acting, suspense, and women who actual have curves; then this is the movie for you. I must say that Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly were magnificent. It is rare now days to find actors with such unique characteristics that made them an icon. The love between these two was very evident and I was glad to see Grace stick by her man through it all. This movie was filmed entirely on a single set which can make for a feeling of claustrophobia, but at the same time it allows you to relate to Jimmy Stewart's character as being confined inside his home with a broken leg. The beginning of this film was drawn out and took some real refocusing on my part to keep me moving along, but just as I was drifting off there would be a shot of a hot neighbor girl dancing in her 50s bikini to draw me back in. Once you get past the first 30 minutes or so, you really begin to feel for Stewart's character. You see the paranoia take hold as he begins to see the events of a possible murder unfold. You can feel his frustration when the people who are supposed trust him refuse to believe what he is saying. One scene that particularly stands out is when Grace Kelly's character enters the home of the killer to gather more evidence when she is caught and confronted by the killer. I was on the edge of my seat and felt almost as if I were the one watching helplessly as my future wife was manhandled by this brute. This movie is a roller-coaster of emotion and that is why it is a classic. Horror should give you the chills and good horror should freak you out, this does both. This is captured perfectly in the scene when the neighbor's dog is killed. The killer' room is dark and Stewart's character can see nothing, but he knows the killer is there. The suspense builds culminating in the strike of a match and the glimpse of the killer sitting alone is his room watching and waiting. There is so much this movie has to offer, it is fear on the simplest level and done very well. Hitchcock's use of shadow and cinematography is legendary and he holds nothing back in this wonderful film. Love him or hate him, this is a must see in the Hitchcock collection, granite you can get past the first 30 minutes or so.