The original Big Brother.

Rating: 10/10 (30 August 2011)

Rear Window was the first Hitchcock film I saw. It packed a tense punch then, and still packs a tense punch now. Whilst I don't think it has the emotional depth that say, Vertigo does, it still remains the greatest example of Hitchcock's ability to take a simple plot and turn it into something much, much deeper.
Rear Window is set in a small New York apartment, where L.B. Jeffries (James Stewart) has broken his leg and is wheelchair bound. He is also a totally dedicated photographer, a man willing to further than his competitors for any photo (as is seen in the film on numerous occasions). Having been stuck in his wheelchair for some time, he has taken to watching his neighbours during their daily lives. He is warned by his nurse, Stella (Themla Ritter) that there will be trouble if he continues to watch, and that he should instead focus on his girlfriend, Lisa "Grace Kelly). Sure enough, he doesn't listen and he's soon drawn into what may or may not be a murder, leading to a hugely tense climax towards the end.
Rear Window strikes me as two things. Firstly, it's a very early example of Big Brother, or another reality TV show that's like it. The neighbourhood is the show, L.B. Jeffries and we are the audience. Together, we sit and watch the neighbourhood, the neighbours. We see the newly married couple and wonder what is happening behind the closed curtains. We see the musician attempting to create a piece of music that will ignite his career. We see the sculptor. We see the beautiful dancer and want more. We see the lonely woman who desperately wants someone in her life - and we enjoy every second of watching these people as Hitchcock carefully sets us up, just as L.B. Jeffries has been set up, to be witnesses to what may or may not be a crime depending how we choose to view the evidence. And then, when we sure a crime has been committed, we can do as much as any man with a broken leg can do - nothing.
Seondly, Read Window is an example of how the power of suggestion can be used to manipulate an audience. Hitchcock is very careful never to show anything - this film is based on suggestion. We know there is a married couple, but we're not sure how their relationship is progressing. We know there is a musician, but we know little of his career. We know there is a lonely women, but we don't know why. We think there has been a murder, but there is no real proof. Hitchcock never shows us anything. He merely uses the power of suggestion.
This truly is a magnificent thriller, and is one of Hitchcock's finest examples. Hitchcock slowly builds the tension right from the start and teases us with glimpses of something horrific. We think something has happened, but we have no proof. We want to know more, but can't because we are as useless as L.B. Jeffries. When the action scenes come, they are some of the most tense in the history of film, yet they are so simply.
To compliment Hitchcock's directing, there is also the hugely talented cast. James Stewart is in every scene of this film, and it's a credit to him that he's able to so effectively pull off this level of acting. In turn, he is supported by the enchanting Grace Kelly and the entertaining Thelma Ritter.
One of the finest examples of thriller, that uses only the power of suggestion and the idea of Big Brother to create so much tension. This shows why Hitchcock was truly the master of suspense - he uses only suggestion to create and idea. We're the ones who then take that idea and expand upon it. If only modern slasher thrillers built up suspense like this does.
For those who enjoy this film, I'd also recommend Hitchcock's "Rope", which could be viewed as a twin of this - except it's set in the murderer's apartment instead.