Discuss Rear Window
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Favorite Hitchcock film
posted by bestdayeverSTAFFMOD on March 6, 2017 at 6:40 PM
First saw this maybe 8 years ago and remember really liking it at the time. Had the opportunity to see the movie again yesterday as part of flashback cinema at a local theater. It looked so great on the big screen! And it was just as funny, suspenseful, and clever as I remembered. Grace Kelly and James Stewart's dialogue is so well written and also well acted. Their banter made me both laugh and cringe at the same time. His character was so cold towards her! But at the same time you can relate to his point of view because at first she comes off sheltered and kind of snooty. I love how they come to terms at the end, after she impressed him and proved she could get into an adventure and even a little danger. Also, what I wouldn't give to have even one of Grace Kelly's dresses! She was truly beautiful. The nurse is hilarious too. What a great film, so much to take away from it. Anyone that has lived in an apartment can relate to being a little too close to your neighbors, overhearing or seeing things you'd rather not, etc. Not exactly on the same level as murder but arguments and things like that. They have tried to remake this film a few times now and nothing can compare to the original.
Reply by bluersun
on March 6, 2017 at 7:04 PM
Hi again! Yes, I'd say it's between this and Vertigo for my favourite Hitchcock film, but I love the quirkyness of Rear Window and the colour used in the film... Same reason Bell, Book and Candle is one of my all time favourites. Both were released decades before I was born, but I have watched BBAC many times since I was very young and only came back to RW recently.
Reply by tmdb53400018
on March 6, 2017 at 7:17 PM
Sounds great, bestdayever. Rear Window is one of my faves, too. For a long time, Lifeboat was my #1 by Hitch. Today, R.W., Psycho, Rope, and Vertigo all vie for my top position.
Reply by bestdayever
on March 6, 2017 at 7:35 PM
For me it's Rear Window, Psycho, Dial M For Murder, and The Birds. Haven't seen Vertigo yet but it's on my list :)
Reply by bluersun
on March 6, 2017 at 8:10 PM
Kim Novak in Vertigo was so hauntingly good, my absolute favourite actress.
Reply by catmydogs
on March 6, 2017 at 11:21 PM
Vertigo is my favorite. Rear Window is right up there too. I also enjoy Rebecca, to catch a thief, north by northwest.
Reply by Papshmir
on March 7, 2017 at 2:43 AM
For me it's also Vertigo, although I haven't seen all of his movies.
Reply by DoubleUK
on March 7, 2017 at 5:07 AM
I'm also a great fan of Rear Window as well. Living in an apartment, overlooking other apartments from my rear window myself, it is a very relatable story.
I remember seeing the remake with Cristopher Reeves (when he already was paraplegic).
Although this should've been a very realistic and accurate portrayal, it somehow took me out of the movie.
Because in every scene I was only thinking about the actor Christopher Reeves (not the character he was playing) and his fate.
Strange how sometimes it is better to have an actor playing someone who is disabled, than an actual disabled person playing the part.
Reply by genplant29
on November 10, 2019 at 9:49 AM
I'm a definite fan of this movie, and thoroughly enjoy it, though my personal fave Hitchcock film easily is Strangers on a Train. My second fave Hitch film is I Confess (though I've never at all cared for Anne Baxter in it).
I didn't realize, until counting in recent hours, how many Hitchcock movies I own on DVD: The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1927), The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934), The 39 Steps (1935), Young and Innocent (1937), The Lady Vanishes (1938), Rebecca (1940), Strangers on a Train (1951), I Confess (1953), Rear Window (1954), and Psycho (1960). I had thought I have only four or so!
Reply by bratface
on November 10, 2019 at 8:42 PM
In no particular order:
Rebecca
Suspicion
Spellbound
Notorious
Dial M for Murder
To Catch a Thief
Mr. & Mrs. Smith
Reply by merryapril
on June 17, 2020 at 2:23 PM
Same here. I even have a very large diptych etching that depicts neighborhood voyeurism, as Rear Window made quite an indelible impression on me when I first saw it as a child! There's a Hopper-esque quality (think of his iconic work, "Nighthawks") to the set/view from the photographer's Greenwich Village window. The character didn't need TV or the internet to indulge his voyeurism, it was right there, effortlessly, before his eyes.
For a long time, it was one of the Hitchcock films unavailable to the public because the Hitchcock estate had the copyright and didn't allow its re-release.
Hitchcock is among my all-time favorite directors. The man was a master, and was/is nearly peerless in knowing how to visually (and stylishly) tell a story. No narration and very few special effects were required. I've also enjoyed his TV anthology series.