stunning,suspenseful, and full of mystery

Rating: 9/10 (29 February 2004)

Not your typical Alfred Hitchcock movie. Or Is it? People who have not seen many Hitchcock Movies, don't know, that he does more than horror movies, but he does mysteries too.	Alfred Hitchcock does a careful job at selecting the perfect cast for this movie. James Stewart as L.B. Jeffries, Grace Kelly as Lisa Carol Freemont. He especially does a great job of casting Raymond Burr as Lars Thorwald. Raymond was in his thirties when this movie was made, but they made him look twenty five years older. Throughout this movie, Jeffries is stuck in his apartment with a broken leg. He is not left alone though. Stella (Thelma Ritter) comes in every day in the morning to take care of him, and Lisa (Grace Kelly) visits him at night. Being stuck in his apartment all day has him bored to death. He has nothing better to do than to look out the rear window at others, either walking around, or across the court yard. Jeffries has a suspicion that Lars Thorwald (across the courtyard) has murdered his wife. Both Stella and Lisa thought he was just going nuts from being cooped up so long in that apartment. But they started to believe him.
There are a few differences in this movie compared to psycho. This movie is in color, not black and white. It is a mystery, not a horror film. The back ground music in this movie is either a radio, somebody singing or playing a musical instrument. Not Dissonant string arrangements.
It doesn't matter what anyone says, this is without a doubt one of his best movies. If you don't like horror movies, but you are interested in Hitchcock, then you should rent this movie. Even though this is not a horror movie, Alfred Hitchcock still keeps his word at holding all of us in suspense.
As I watched the movie, I was literally riveted to my seat. At the beginning, I was inclined to feel the same way as Lisa and Stella. It was apparent that Jeffries had become too involved with the lives of his neighbors and it was this involvement which initially turned Lisa and Stella off. However, as they became concerned about his interest in the neighbors, they started noticing that Lars Thorwald's wife was no longer around. This movie is filled with suspense. I found myself becoming interested in the lives of Jeffries neighbors even though I knew they were just fictional characters. Just as I was drawn in to their lives, I found myself following Thorwald's actions. When Thorwald realized he was being watched and it became apparent that he was going to come after Jeffries, I found myself becoming anxious because I knew that Jeffries was alone and because of his injury, he could not escape Thorwald. Did Thorwald Murder his wife? Find out by watching this suspenseful thriller!