MORE
REAR WINDOW STILLS
1)Jeff:
Why would a man leave his house three times on a rainy night with a
suitcase and come back three times? Lisa:
Maybe he likes the way his wife welcomes him home. Currently
N/A
2)Lisa:
I'm not much on rear window ethics. Currently N/A
3)Lisa:
Jeff, if you could only see yourself? Jeff:
What's the matter? Lisa: Sitting around
looking out of the window to kill time is one thing but doing it the
way you are with binoculars and, and wild opinions about every little
thing you see is, is diseased! Currently N/A
Memorable
quotes:
1)
Jeff: What's interesting about a butcher knife and
a small saw wrapped in newspaper? Huh?Lisa: Nothing,
thank heaven. Jeff: Why hasn't he been in his wife's
bedroom all day? Lisa: I wouldn't dare answer that.
Jeff: Well, listen. I'll answer it, Lisa, there's
something terribly wrong. Lisa: And I'm afraid it's
with me. (Lisa leaves him to go to the couch and smoke a
cigarette.) Jeff: What do you think? Lisa:
Something too frightful to utter. Jeff: He went out
a few minutes ago in his undershirt. He hasn't come back yet. That would be a
terrible job to tackle. Just how would you start to cut up a human body? Lisa:
Jeff, I'll be honest with you. You're beginning to scare me a little.2)Neighbor:
Which one of you did it? Which one of you killed my dog? You don't know the meaning
of the word 'neighbor.' Neighbors like each other, speak to each other, care if
anybody lives or dies, but none of you do. But I couldn't imagine any of you bein'
so low that you'd kill a little helpless, friendly dog - the only thing in this
whole neighborhood who liked anybody. Did ya kill him because he liked ya? Just
because he liked ya?
3)Jeff:
Hurry up, get out of there! He's coming, hurry, escape, escape!
Review:
Rear
Window
is a brilliant visual study of obsessive human curiosity and voyeurism. When it
was released in 1954, Rear Window prompted a critic to complain that James
Stewart's character was nothing but a peeping Tom. Director Alfred Hitchcock responded:
"Sure, he's a snooper, but aren't we all?....I'll bet you that nine out of
ten people, if they see a woman across the courtyard undressing for bed, or even
a man puttering around in his room, will stay and look." Bored out of his
mind, Stewart’s character passes his days essentially spying on his neighbors.
Hitchcock (Psycho,
North by Northwest) shot the entire film (except for a small bit at
the end) from the inside of his apartment, not allowing the viewers to see the
people from any close shots. Rear Window was filmed on one enormous soundstage
at Paramount, which at the time was the biggest set they had ever built. Hitchcock
used this to get every shot lit precisely to his direction. The apartment buildings
and courtyard that we watch are obviously a set, but it's gives the film a awesome
surreal quality. In today's voyeuristic times ("The Real World," "Cops", “Survivor”),
this film seems more applicable then ever. Hitchcock's great thriller, received
only four Academy Award nominations (winning none!): Best Director, Best Screenplay,
Best Color Cinematography, and Best Sound Recording. Rear Window is an entertaining
and suspenseful masterpiece, a film of style and substance, and easily one of
the best films ever made. -Review by Aaron Caldwell
(Return
to Aaron's List- Click
Here)
Review:
Were all voyeurs when we watch the cinema and Hitchcock knew it all
to well. We peer into lives of others and become absorbed in the escape
from ourselves, it’s cathartic. The master of suspense pulls us along
in this wonderful jewel of a film. -Review by Mark Caldwell
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to Mark's List - Click
Here)
