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Rear Window

  • 1954
  • PG
  • 1h 52m
IMDb RATING
8.5/10
546K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,508
20
Grace Kelly, James Stewart, Georgine Darcy, Judith Evelyn, and Harry Landers in Rear Window (1954)
A wheelchair-bound photographer spies on his neighbors from his Greenwich Village courtyard apartment window, and becomes convinced one of them has committed murder, despite the skepticism of his fashion-model girlfriend.
Play trailer2:39
2 Videos
99+ Photos
Psychological ThrillerSuspense MysteryDramaMysteryThriller

A bored photographer recovering from a broken leg passes the time by watching his neighbors and begins to suspect one of them of murder.A bored photographer recovering from a broken leg passes the time by watching his neighbors and begins to suspect one of them of murder.A bored photographer recovering from a broken leg passes the time by watching his neighbors and begins to suspect one of them of murder.

  • Director
    • Alfred Hitchcock
  • Writers
    • John Michael Hayes
    • Cornell Woolrich
  • Stars
    • James Stewart
    • Grace Kelly
    • Wendell Corey
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    8.5/10
    546K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    1,508
    20
    • Director
      • Alfred Hitchcock
    • Writers
      • John Michael Hayes
      • Cornell Woolrich
    • Stars
      • James Stewart
      • Grace Kelly
      • Wendell Corey
    • 1KUser reviews
    • 205Critic reviews
    • 100Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Top rated movie #51
    • Nominated for 4 Oscars
      • 7 wins & 14 nominations total

    Videos2

    Trailer
    Trailer 2:39
    Trailer
    A Guide to the Films of Alfred Hitchcock
    Clip 2:27
    A Guide to the Films of Alfred Hitchcock
    A Guide to the Films of Alfred Hitchcock
    Clip 2:27
    A Guide to the Films of Alfred Hitchcock

    Photos366

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    Top cast44

    Edit
    James Stewart
    James Stewart
    • L.B. Jefferies
    Grace Kelly
    Grace Kelly
    • Lisa Fremont
    Wendell Corey
    Wendell Corey
    • Tom Doyle
    Thelma Ritter
    Thelma Ritter
    • Stella
    Raymond Burr
    Raymond Burr
    • Lars Thorwald
    Judith Evelyn
    Judith Evelyn
    • Miss Lonelyhearts
    Ross Bagdasarian
    Ross Bagdasarian
    • Songwriter
    Georgine Darcy
    Georgine Darcy
    • Miss Torso
    Sara Berner
    Sara Berner
    • Woman on Fire Escape
    Frank Cady
    Frank Cady
    • Man on Fire Escape
    Jesslyn Fax
    Jesslyn Fax
    • Miss Hearing Aid
    Rand Harper
    • Newlywed
    Irene Winston
    Irene Winston
    • Emma Thorwald
    Havis Davenport
    • Newlywed
    Jerry Antes
    Jerry Antes
    • Dancer with Miss Torso
    • (uncredited)
    Barbara Bailey
    Barbara Bailey
    • Choreographer with Miss Torso
    • (uncredited)
    Benny Bartlett
    Benny Bartlett
    • Man with Miss Torso
    • (uncredited)
    Nick Borgani
    Nick Borgani
    • Minor Role
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Alfred Hitchcock
    • Writers
      • John Michael Hayes
      • Cornell Woolrich
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews1K

    8.5546.3K
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    Summary

    Reviewers say 'Rear Window' is acclaimed for its suspense, visual storytelling, and exploration of voyeurism. Hitchcock's direction is lauded for its craftsmanship and tense atmosphere. The film's ethical commentary and complex relationships add depth. Performances by Stewart, Kelly, and Ritter are compelling. Limited settings and camera angles effectively build suspense. Timeless themes and Hitchcock's style make it a classic.
    AI-generated from the text of user reviews

    Featured reviews

    10FlickJunkie-2

    Another Hitchcock masterpiece

    Alfred Hitchcock is considered by most to be the master of suspense. I believe he was also a master of understanding human nature. He intuitively understood that human beings are voyeurs by nature, not in the perverted sense, but in the curious sense. We are a species that slows down to look at accident scenes and steals furtive glances at lovers in the park who are oblivious to everything but each other. A major appeal of cinema and television is that they offer us an opportunity for guilt free voyeurism. When we watch a film, aren't we in essence looking through a window and watching people who behave as if they don't realize we are there?

    Hitchcock realized this and took voyeurism to the next level, allowing us to watch a voyeur as he watched others. While `Rear Window' as a whole is probably not quite at a level with `Vertigo' (which was far more suspenseful and mysterious with a powerful musical score) as a cinematic accomplishment, it is more seductive because it strikes closer to our human obsessions. Hitchcock's mastery is most evident in his subtle use of reaction scenes by the various characters. We watch an event that Jeff (James Stewart) is watching and then Hitchcock immediately cuts to his reaction. This is done repeatedly in various layers even with the other tenants as they interact with one another. For instance, in the scene with Miss Lonelyheart (Judith Evelyn), we see her throw out the man who made a pass at her and then we see her reaction after she slams the door, followed by the reaction of Jeff and Lisa (Grace Kelly). In another scene, Detective Doyle (Wendell Corey) sees Lisa's nightclothes and presumes she will be staying the night. Hitchcock shows the suitcase, then Doyle's reaction, and then he goes to Jeff who points his finger at him and says `Be Careful, Tom'. This elegant scene takes a few seconds and speaks volumes with little dialogue. Such technique gets the viewer fully involved, because if we were there this is exactly what we would be doing, watching the unfolding events and then seeing how others around us responded. In essence, it puts us in the room with them.

    Hitchcock was a stickler for detail. For instance, he aimed the open windows so they would show subtle reflections of places in the apartment we couldn't see directly. However, there were certain details included or excluded that were inexplicable. Would Thorwold really be scrubbing the walls with the blinds open? Would Lisa be conspicuously waving at Jeff while Stella (Thelma Ritter) was digging up the garden? Moreover, wouldn't Lisa have taken off her high heels before climbing a wall and then a fire escape? This film had numerous small incongruities that are normally absent from Hitchcock films. Though these are picayune criticisms, they are painfully obvious in the film of a director known to be a compulsive perfectionist.

    The acting is superb in this film. Jimmy Stewart is unabashedly obsessed as the lead character. Photographers have an innate visual perceptiveness and the ability to tell a story with an image and Stewart adopts this mindset perfectly. Grace Kelly has often been accused of being the `Ice Maiden' in her films, yet in this film she is assertive and even reckless. Though cool at times, she is often playful and rambunctious. I always enjoy Thelma Ritter's performances for their honesty and earthiness and this is another example of a character actor at her best. Raymond Burr often doesn't get the recognition he deserves for this role, which is mostly shot at a distance with very few lines. Yet, he imbues Thurwold with a looming nefariousness using predominantly physical acting.

    This film was rated number 42 on AFI's top 100 of the century sandwiched between `Psycho' (#18) and `Vertigo' (#61). I personally think more highly of `Vertigo' but it is a minor distinction, because I rated them both 10/10. `Rear Window' is a classic, a masterpiece of filmmaking technique from a director who was a true pioneer of suspense.
    10dxia

    Our Obsession with Voyeurism

    After viewing 'Rear Window' again, I've come to realize that Alfred Hitchcock was not only a great moviemaker but also a great moviewatcher. In the making of 'Rear Window,' he knew exactly what it is about movies that makes them so captivating. It is the illusion of voyeurism that holds our attention just as it held Hitchcock's. The ability to see without being seen has a spellbinding effect. Why else is it so uncommon to have characters in movies look directly into the camera? It just isn't as fun to watch someone when they know you're there. When we watch movies, we are participating in looking into another world and seeing the images of which we have no right to see and listening to the conversations that we should not hear. 'Rear Window' and Powell's 'Peeping Tom' are some of the best movies that aren't afraid to admit this human trait. We are all voyeurs.

    When watching 'Rear Window,' it is better to imagine Alfred Hitchcock sitting in that wheelchair rather than Jimmy Stewart. When the camera is using longshots to watch the neighborhood, it is really Hitchcock watching, not Stewart. Hitchcock's love of voyeurism is at the center of this movie, along with his fascination with crime and his adoration of the Madonna ideal.

    In many of Hitchcock's movies, 'Rear Window,' 'Vertigo,' 'Psycho,' 'The Birds,' etc, the blonde actresses are objects. Notice how rarely they get close with the male leads. In 'Vertigo,' Stewart's character falls in love with the image of Madeleine; in 'Psycho,' we see the voyeur in Hitchcock peeking out of Norman Bates at Marion; and in 'Rear Window,' Jeff would rather stare out of his window than to hold the beautiful Lisa by his side. For Hitchcock, these women are ideals that should be admired rather than touched.

    However, the story of 'Rear Window' isn't about the image of women, as it is in 'Vertigo.' 'Rear Window' focuses more on seduction of crime, not in committing it but in the act of discovering it. At one point in the story, Jeff's friend convinces him that there was no murder, and Jeff is disappointed, not because someone wasn't dead but because he could no longer indulge into his fantasy that someone was. Think how popular crime shows are on television, and noir films at the movies. People do not want to commit crimes; they want to see other people commit them.

    'Rear Window' is one of the most retrospective movies I've ever seen. In a span of two hours, it examines some of the most recurrent themes in film. When we watch 'Rear Window,' it is really us watching someone watch someone else. And all the while, Hitchcock is sitting on the balcony and seeing our reaction. It is an act of voyeurism layered on top of itself, and it allows us to examine our own behavior as we are spellbound in Hitchcock's world. The only thing that I feel is missing in the movie is a scene of Jeff using his binoculars and seeing himself in a mirror. Why did Hitchcock leave it out? Maybe because it would have been too obvious what he was doing. Or maybe he was afraid that the audience would see themselves in the reflection of the lens.
    9telegonus

    The Master In Control

    Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window, wittily written by John Michael Hayes, is one of his many films I think of as much of a technical exercise as anything else. It is in this sense like his silent The Lodger, the static, confined Lifeboat, and the cut-less, one set Rope. Considered in this light it is a cold masterpiece, playing more with the audience's thoughts and fears than with its softer, more personal emotions. As such, it is a very cerebral and satisfying piece of work. The plot is deceptively simple: a photographer (James Stewart) is stuck indoors with his leg in a cast during a hot New York summer. His socialite girl-friend (Grace Kelly) is eager to marry him but Stewart has his doubts, since he lives a wandering life and is from a different social class. He spends most of his time idling about and playing with his camera. In time he becomes a voyeur (which he probably already is, to a degree) and begins to observe his neighbors' private lives, as he views them through his lens in the courtyard. He develops attitudes toward each of them, ranging from mild amusement to empathy to sexual interest, depending on who he's looking at. Without realizing it he is really looking at different aspects of either himself or his relationship with Kelly. The courtyard is a kind of mirror of his soul. These people and their predicaments represent different sides of his (and to a lesser extent Miss Kelly's) personality, offering glimpses of potential past, present and future selves; and it is not always a flattering picture. The newlyweds are continually having sex; Miss Torso is a beautiful young woman who entertains many suitors; there is a childless, somewhat pathetic-seeming middle-aged couple who dote over a pet dog; Miss Lonelyhearts is a depressed, aging spinster with no apparent friends; and the young, bachelor song-writer, when he isn't trying to compose songs, is either throwing parties or fits. Then there are the Thorwalds, a squabbling couple across the way. Stewart is at first only slightly interested in them until Mrs. Thorwald disappears and her husband starts going out at night carrying paper parcels that look like they came from a butcher shop. Soon Stewart is, understandably, suspicious. He convinces Kelly that something is amiss, but has trouble with his detective friend. His nurse Stella agrees that something is wrong across the courtyard, and the threesome become amateur detectives. Rear Window is great fun. It's a thriller, a romance, a mystery, and at times a comedy of manners. The actors all give superb, unflashy performances. Hitchcock had been making movies for three decades by the time he undertook this one, and he knew exactly what he was doing; everything happens as it should, on time, with no fuss or bother. The courtyard set is magnificently designed and photographed; it looks both artificial and realistic, and seems almost to change at times, as circumstances dictate. This is, after Dial M For Murder, Hitchcock's first truly 'fifties' film, which is to say it is a far cry from the genteel romances and spy stuff he'd been doing before. There's less use of atmosphere here, as a new, more independent director was emerging, decidedly post-Selznick, often using color. Hitchcock is playing a sort game of cinematic chess, moving people and things around here and there, changing camera angles slyly, never showing his hand. The film lacks only warmth. All sorts of learned books and articles have been written about this picture, some of them quite silly; all at least partly right. This is at times a profound film, but it also aims to entertain, it has a light touch, and it can be scary, it's romantic about couples and cynical about people. There's a little bit of everything in it,--it's a work of art.
    9bLuR-7

    First-rate thriller

    Having watched it for the second time recently, I was struck by how razor-sharp the film's script actually was. Sure, it didn't have a big Agatha Christie-type mystery reveal; but the banter and repartee between the main characters was just so well-written. Of course, the film's framing and camerawork is legendary (for good reason) and Grace Kelly has a luminous screen presence. Suspenseful, intriguing, and a film that shows off a master at the peak of his craft.
    Aidan McGuinness

    Excellent. Sharp, clever, funny, inventive, with great values all round.

    Ah it's a movie that's in IMDB's Top 20, and it has good reason to be. For starter's let's look at the simple premise - James Stewart is L. B. Jeffries, a photographer who is currently recovering from an injury on assignment. With his broken leg he's stuck in his apartment, with nothing better to do than spy on his neighbours and be visited by his girlfriend, Lisa Carol Fremont (Grace Kelly), his officer friend Wendell, and his nurse, Stella. Jeffries observes the coming and goings of the various apartments he can observe (from his rear apartment window) and it is one of these - a Raymond Burr - who draws his attention because. could it be that the man has committed some heinous crime? Let's find out.

    One of the beautiful things about the movie is its superb use of location. The whole movie, bar a couple of brief scenes, is set in the apartment. This would seem claustrophobic but Hitchcock never inhibits us like this - he lets us escape through Jeffries binoculars and camera lenses, and his roving camera swoops down to let us see what the characters see (but never, thankfully, anything more than that - this is how you do suspense!). The set design is wonderful - the apartment is just the right size and is nicely laid out. However the real praise is for all the other apartments visible to Jeffries - an actual habitable set with multiple stories where characters can be observed only as they pass by their own windows (yeah, they don't care much for curtains). There's a sense of individuality gone in to each home, despite the fact we can only see barely elements of each. This is helped by a nice, differing range of characters inhabiting each and going about their daily lives - there's a mini soap-opera contained in the movie, all observed at a distance. Excellent stuff.

    Acting? It's great here. There's some nice depth to the characters here, with them feeling like actual real people rather than slick one-dimensional tags. Stewart is very proficient in this type of role - he was born to it - and Kelly proves she is more than just a pretty face, managing to effuse her character with both grace (*groan*) and steel. Even supporting characters like Stella are good (she has a wickedly black sense of thinking that's hilarious). What's so incredible is that the characters we observe from a distance in the other apartments (and with whom we never actually interact with) have as much depth as most main characters in movies nowadays. Excellent script and acting in this movie.

    I've already praised Hitchcock's set location and camera work, so I won't prattle on about him much more. He does a stellar job here and, in my opinion, this is the best piece of work he's done (that I've seen). It's virtually flawless and you're never let down (or bored). Well done. It's a shame he lost out on an Oscar (although he did have tough competition that year with `On the Waterfront').

    `Rear Window' is a great example of how you can successfully have sharp acting, script, and directing and not feel the need for a slew of swear words and gratuitous violence. Regarded as a classic, and deservedly so. 9.1/10

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    Rear Window

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The film negative was damaged considerably as a result of color dye fading as early as the 1960s. Nearly all of the yellow image dyes had faded. Despite fears that the film had been irrevocably damaged, preservation experts were able to restore the film nearly to its original coloration.
    • Goofs
      The helicopter seen near the start is obviously a composite, as there is camera shake in the copter footage.
    • Quotes

      Stella: How much do we need to bail Lisa from jail?

      L.B. Jefferies: Well, this is first offense burglary, that's about $250. I have $127.

      Stella: Lisa's handbag. Uh... 50 cents. I got $20 or so in my purse.

      L.B. Jefferies: And what about the rest?

      Stella: When those cops at the station see Lisa, they'll even contribute.

    • Crazy credits
      The film is bookended with the opening and closing of window blinds across Jeff's rear window.

      The opening titles appear on the former, and the Paramount logo appears on the latter.
    • Alternate versions
      The film has been fully restored from original negatives in 1998. A new negative has been created that resembles the original color scheme of the film, but he first kissing scene had to be restored digitally because the source elements were in bad condition.
    • Connections
      Edited into Alfred Hitchcock: The Art of Making Movies (1990)
    • Soundtracks
      Excerpt from 'Fancy Free'
      (1944) (uncredited)

      Ballet Music by Leonard Bernstein

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 1, 1954 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • La ventana indiscreta
    • Filming locations
      • Stage 18, Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA(Exterior court yard apartment complex)
    • Production company
      • Alfred J. Hitchcock Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    • Budget
      • $1,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $37,622,343
    • Gross worldwide
      • $37,905,475
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 52 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1(original ratio)
      • 1.66 : 1

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