Rear Window

You know this might be one film that never fails to impress me. Every rewatch it just gets better and better. The thriller is truly here. It works so well. There's very much themes of paranoia present in this. We see Jeff and Lisa be paranoid about what has happened in that one apartment flat. Whereas they are also paranoid that they are very much incorrect about what they see through the rear window, when detective Doyle discourages them. In this film, I feel like the actual protagonist, Jeff, in a sense, is an audience viewer. Which is why he is so relatable and why one can actually identify with him because like us he is also watching these people live their lives out. Each of the apartment flats would have their own interesting story. For example the romanticism of the piano guy. The melodrama of miss lonelyhearts, the sexuality of miss torso, the comic nature of miss hearing aid and the idk normal nature of the couple above the Thorwalds. There's a lot of male gaze in this film too, with the sexuality and sensuality of Miss Torso whom a lot of the men desire. There's quite a commentary on gender dynamics. Jeff does not believe that Lisa could live a lifestyle that a photographer who travels around the world could. Eating things unusual to a westerner or having to go through trying weathers. But she stands firm that she could. He even refuses to marry her, even though she quite literally is perfect. We even see her be brave and actually do the things that typically a man would do, but Jeff cannot do this. The scene where she breaks into the apartment was tense and insane. The theme of curiosity is something that is obviously so prevalent in this film. Even morbid curiosity, Stella, is often very interested about what's burried beneath the flowers. Or how the murderer had killed his wife. The main characters often so question what indeed did happen to his wife. Why did he do it? How did he do it? Even at the end things are unclear, we don't really know why he did it. There's much voyeuristic tendencies too and there's even debates about whether spying on people is ethical or not, even if it's about murder. It's fascinating to see people live their lives, I do it myself sometimes but only for a second until I think omg wow this is weird. Frequently in the film, Stella condemns Jeff's voyeuristic habits. Also the use of a limited setting added so much. Like a sense of claustrophobia. The fact that it would be impossible to save yourself when you're all alone in the dark, like the climatic scene, which actually has to be a very scary scene which is remarkable because honestly old Hollywood scary isn't scary, but that climax doesn't fail to scare me. I don't think the film ever shifts location too, which furthermore creates the isolated feeling as Jeff is temporarily an invalid with his legs In a cast. The climatic scene has got to be one of the most tense scenes ever. I do have to mention quite a lot about it, without actually revealing much. The sound of the footsteps which gradually grow louder and louder actually was so ominous. The lack of music in that scene too, and the sound of breathing made it really intense, I can only say that Hitchcock is a genius. Hitchcock is a genius, indeed. This has to be the finest film of his. One that includes a lot of trademarks. A big bad villain, his famous cameo, a relatable everyman, a blonde heroine, confined and cramped rooms. He helps actually maximising fear and anxiety in the audience. I only wish I could have actually experienced his films in their prime. Would they have actually been more scarier back then? God knows. In this film, Hitchcock even involves the audience so, which makes it all the more enjoyable for the viewer. The cinematography was wonderful and fantastic, it truly elevated the film. The screenplay was fantastic too. Wendell Correy was a great cynical detective in this. Raymond Burr perfected his role. Thelma Ritter was so Great and injected so much humour. I love that woman and will never understand why she was just a supporting actress when this woman should have been leading her owk films. She was incredible. Grace Kelly actually was great. Like I said I don't have any resentment towards her, I just don't think she was much obviously due to her short career. But I think she's very believable and actually at times great in this, I've appreciated her retrospectively. James Stewart is obviously fantastic. I think doubting this, well there's no point. He's great, he's a legend. He's often comical but you can also see in his facial expressions that he truly is curious and wants to find out what the hell has happened in that house. I think definitely my favourite of his roles. I seriously don't doubt that he was a major star. This is Hitchcock's magnum opus in my opinion, arguablu his greatest film. Any acclaim of it, is really deserved and I love it a lot.