Rear Window

Film, 1954, dir. Alfred Hitchcock

I feel like this is one in a string of random things I've been reviewing that are not current, so this by way of explanation: I think this movie ended up on the old Netflix (soon to be Qwikster? Noooo!) queue because it's on the AFI top 100 movies list and I had never seen it before.  Not to say I've seen all the other ones, but you gotta start somewhere, right?

Loved it.  See it if you haven't.  Now, for the rest of the review.

Someone forgot to color in part of Ms. Kelly

Rear Window is about temporarily-wheelchair-bound Jeff (Jimmy Stewart) staring out the, um, rear window of his apartment all day.  He lives in this group of apartment buildings whose backs all face each other across a courtyard-type area, so he gets to spy on people all day long, because apparently no one ever closes their blinds.  One day he notices that one of his neighbors is missing and her bed is all packed up, but her husband is still there.  He becomes slightly obsessed with this anomaly--an obsession which proves to be contagious, because soon his girlfriend (Grace Kelly), his policeman friend, and his nurse are trying to solve the mystery too.

It's fascinating that Hitchcock can create a mystery full of clues without anyone ever doing anything except watching across the courtyard.  That means every clue must be only visual and has to be observed by one of the characters.  That aspect really brings the movie viewer along for the ride, because we're in the exact same position as Jeff--just watching.  This is one point among many that one could make that proves Rear Window is a well-considered Film (yeah, capital F Film--you know, with good cinematography and music and lighting and stuff.)  I'm not about to go all academic on you in this post, so if you want something dissertation-y, email me.

But still, some highlights:

Example of awesome dress.

• I haven't seen too many other Hitchcock films, so I wasn't sure how suspenseful it was going to be on a scale of Dial M for Murder to The Birds.  Most of the movie was just a slow build of curiosity, but the end had a few genuinely nail-biting moments.  Excellent payoff there.
• I greatly enjoyed the supporting characters who lived in the other apartments.  There's a scantily-clad dancer, a lonely single woman, a talented musician, some newlyweds, etc.  It's fun to meet all of them, however briefly.
• Grace Kelly has some awesome dresses.

Any other Hitchcock favorites I should see?  Probably Psycho...Vertigo...North by Northwest...Jamie says they're in the old AFI top 100 too.