Not Hitchcock's best......

Rating: 9/10 (31 March 2000)

Rear Window
DIRECTION 96% Supreme use of the camera to tell a story in confined places.
ACTING 93% Great acting by Stewart and others contribute to the atmosphere and tension (Grace Kelly) very realistically.
EDITING/SPECIAL EFFECTS 95% Clever editing to see into the lives of others while maintaining build-up of the central characters and their relationship. Tension and drama is built up upon successful editing rather than special effects.
PLOT 94% Complex interaction of many people's lives and the central character trying to avoid their private lives by spying on others. While this is going on, Kelly secretly holds out hope to win Stewart's heart by playing a role of a private journalist trying to solve a murder across the way to impress her wheel bound chair lover.
STRONG WORDS AND VIOLENCE ETC 46% Notions of violence and actual ones in the closing stages of the movie.
MUSIC 83% Good score.
SOUND 91% Suits the movie well. Notice how you can hardly hear what is going on from a distancea closer investigation is certainly needed!!!
HOOKABILITY 75% Not that strong until you see the slow motion kiss.
LASTABILITY 100% Incredibly tense and dramatic as the movie turns nasty.
OVERALL 91% Not Hitchcock's best, but a worthy contender of a great movie that gets tense as more time passes.