Sophisticated Hitchcock, with a wonderful performance from James Stewart!

Rating: 10/10 (22 June 2009)

Rear Window is a one of the more sophisticated Hitchcock films, and I will always consider it a masterpiece. It has tension, suspense, humour, has a strong voyeuristic tone to it and moves along at a good pace. The cinematography was truly excellent, dark in some scenes and beautiful in another. The script is fantastic and genuinely memorable(Thelma Ritter's wisecracks especially), likewise with the story, about a man who is convinced that his neighbour has killed his wife. I have always considered Rear Window's main merit to be the performance of James Stewart, he was perfect as Jeff, the man who is in a wheelchair, due to a broken leg. The other performances go without fault either, especially from the beautiful Grace Kelly as Lisa and Raymond Burr in a chilling performance as "the villain of the piece," Mr Thorwold. The music was expressive and atmospheric courtesy of Franz Waxman, and the climax was possibly the highlight of the film, after Stewart's performance. The 1954 version of Rear Window will always be a classic, not the inferior TV remake with Christopher Reeve. All in all, a must see for those who are fans of Hitchcock. 10/10 Bethany Cox.