Rear Window
If you’re looking for something great to watch, sometimes it’s best to look to the classics. There are plenty of top-notch movies being made these days, but few promise to withstand the test of time. Fortunately, a number of really terrific films just dropped on Netflix and one of these in particular qualifies as one of the most brilliant thrillers of all time.
Rear Window is often considered Alfred Hitchcock’s best movie, though it ranks second in terms of Rotten Tomatoes scores, behind the much less-known Shadow Of A Doubt from 1943, one of the storied director’s earliest films and Hitchcock’s personal favorite.
As far as I’m concerned, the 1954 thriller is the best of the bunch – up there with Vertigo and North By Northwest – a tightly-paced, incredibly intense movie that would work just as well as a theatrical production as a film thanks to its confined set and small cast. Few films reach this level of suspense, though it’s far from the type of action-thrillers most modern audiences are accustomed to these days.
The story follows photojournalist L.B. “Jeff” Jefferies, played by James Stewart, as he recuperates with a broken leg in his Greenwich Village apartment. Jeff is a bit of a voyeur or peeping Tom, though not in a perverted way. There’s an oppressive summer heat wave and he’s confined to his apartment, with the occasional visit of his middle-aged nurse, Stella (Thelma Ritter) and his pretty socialite girlfriend, Lisa (Grace Kelly). He’s bored with nothing to do, so he watches his neighbors go about their lives.
The neighbors are entertaining enough. One is a professional dancer. Another is a songwriter with writer’s block. An old spinster puts on elaborately staged, and entirely fake, date nights with her pretend suitors. He refers to her as Miss Lonely-Hearts. But one couple in particular stands out: A traveling costume jewelry salesman, Lars Thorwald, and his nagging, bedridden wife. One night, Jeff hears a woman scream and notices some very suspicious activity in the Thorwald apartment.
When Mrs. Thorwald is mysteriously missing the next day, Jeff begins to suspect foul play. With the help of Stella, he begins investigating the woman’s disappearance. I won’t spoil it any further. Suffice to say, what follows is a masterclass in filmmaking and the art of suspense, not to mention a brilliant study of voyeurism and our own morbid curiosity.
The screenplay by John Michael Hayes was based on the 1942 short story It Had To Be Murder by Cornell Woolrich. The film was shot at stage 17 at Paramount Studios, with a massive set created to replicate the Greenwich Village courtyard and building. Despite the relatively limited setting, this was the largest set of its kind at Paramount at the time. The set designers even included a complex drainage system to accommodate the rain scenes. The lighting design was set up to portray an entire day and night cycle.
The film uses primarily diegetic music – music characters can hear in the film also – rather than a traditional score. Jeff hears music drifting in from other apartments, including the piano from the songwriter’s apartment and songs by Nat King Cole, Dean Martin and Leonard Bernstein.
Anyone interested in filmmaking or who just wants to enjoy an intense, suspenseful drama with some of the greatest actors of the era, should absolutely check this one out on Netflix as soon as possible. It’s the perfect summer thriller. Even better, several other Alfred Hitchcock movies have also just landed on the streaming service, including Vertigo and The Birds.
For all the new TV shows, movies and Netflix Original landing on Netflix in June, check out my streaming guide right here.
