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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

    8.5546.4K
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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

    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.
    10Smells_Like_Cheese

    Well of course when you've got nothing better to do with a broken leg you will accuse your neighbor of murder!

    Finally, I watched "Rear Window" by famous Alfred Hitchcock. First off, I saw this movie on the top 250, and it's #14 on top of that! I mean, it's gotta be great or a classic, right? Also, I'm a fan of the Simpsons, and I got the 6th season where Bart breaks his leg and has to watch the kids outside and accuses Flanders of murdering his wife, Maude. I watched it with commentary and the writers said this was taken from the movie "Rear Window", I had to see this movie! I know it sounds silly that I was more inspired by a show, but it's a good reference if it's from The Simpsons.

    "Rear Window" is an excellent movie and a great classic that should never be forgotten! After 51 years, this is still a well talked about movie and I can see why. Jimmy Stewart, he's just so great as L.B., I loved his madness and his dark comical role. He doesn't even try, but you can't help but laugh at a lot of his lines, the way he looks, and the way he presents every scene. He didn't have a lot of movement, he is confined to a wheel chair, but he is so effective and perfect. No one could have replaced him as L.B., he's a terrific actor! Grace Kelly, what a beauty! Beauty and talent, what a great combination and she had it. Playing Liza, I loved her character so much. She started out as this extremely feminine lovely woman who is struggling with L.B., because he is having doubts about marrying her, and you can tell she loves him so much and is willing to do anything for him and to make their lives work, despite his adventurous side as a photographer and her being an indoor kitten. When L.B. talks of the murder to Liza, she is doubtful but never dismisses that it could be a possibility, and stays with him into the end. She finally goes into danger and grabs it by the you know what and wins L.B.'s heart.

    I loved the ending, to me it was just one more good laugh with L.B. and Liza. I won't tell, you'll just have to trust me, it was a brilliant way to breath and smile again after all the suspense and drama. "Rear Window" is a true classic and I'm extremely grateful to the reviewers of IMDb who saw this movie and gave it great reviews, and the writers of The Simpsons! If it were not for you guys, I nor other members of my generation would probably not view it! Let's keep this classic alive!

    10/10
    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.
    10yocarlosvarelapr

    Rear Window is 64

    I must say, no signs of aging. Embedded in its day and yet totally relevant. Perhaps the most entertaining of all of Hitchcock's films. Marriage is the theme and murder is the hook. James Stewart is as perfect as he's ever been. He uses the contradictions of his character to create someone immediately familiar. Thelma Ritter's practicality includes a rant about the destructive effect of intelligence. Grace Kelly enters the scene like a character in a dream. She remains a sort of dream that's why to see her climb the killer's balcony is one of my most cherished film memories. If you haven't seen the film you may think I'm rambling but if you have, you know exactly what I mean, don't you?
    Snow Leopard

    A Deep & Entertaining Classic

    One of Hitchcock's greatest masterpieces, "Rear Window" is a deep and entertaining classic with many strengths, and a little bit of everything. A fine suspense story is combined with romantic tension in the main plot, and there are numerous sub-plots, some humorous and some moving, all with many psychological overtones. The main characters are wonderfully portrayed and full of life. The apparently simple setting in an apartment complex is developed into a world filled with intriguing and sometimes unsettling possibilities, and this apparently average neighborhood comes to life with a wealth of lavish visual detail and interesting minor characters. It is the kind of film-making that (like many of Hitchcock's greatest movies) is very flattering to the viewer. The director assumes that his audience will pay close enough attention to appreciate the many subtleties with which he has filled the movie. It rewards both careful attention and repeated viewings, since there is much more here than merely a suspense plot, as good as that story is in itself.

    For the first 30 minutes or so, we simply get to know the characters. Jimmy Stewart gives one of his best performances as a photographer recuperating from an injury, forced to spend several weeks staring out his apartment window at the minor dramas in the lives of his neighbors. Grace Kelly is ideal in the role of his perfect girlfriend, who can never find a way to break down Stewart's reserve. The study of their relationship would have made a good movie by itself. Almost every action and every word between them is filled with meaning, and what they see in the lives of others is an interesting reflection of the tensions and possibilities in their own present and future. Thelma Ritter is wonderful as a colorful, no-nonsense nurse who constantly sheds some light - sometimes unwanted - on what is happening between them. The action and suspense that occur later serves in large part as a catalyst that resolves some of the important issues between the two.

    After we get to know the characters and their world, things start to happen, as Stewart becomes engrossed in some of the things he has seen. The ethical and moral concerns of meddling in others' affairs become intertwined with more urgent questions about what may have happened in those other apartments, and from then on the tension builds steadily. It leads up to a riveting climactic sequence filled with suspense, and made even more meaningful by our awareness of its deeper significance to the main characters.

    There is much more that could be said, but you should see this for yourself. It is a classic that will be enjoyed not only by thriller fans, but by anyone who appreciates carefully crafted movies with a lot of depth.

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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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    FAQ28

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    • What is 'Rear Window' about?

    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

    Edit
    • 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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