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Holistic Guidance - Rear Window
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List Price: $9.98
Our Price: $15.70
Availability: N/A
Manufacturer: Paramount Pictures
Starring: James Stewart, Grace Kelley
Directed By: Alfred Hitchcock
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 0096898471138
Format: Closed-captioned
Label: Paramount Pictures
Manufacturer: Paramount Pictures
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Paramount Pictures
Release Date: 2001-03-06
Running Time: 113
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Theatrical Release Date: 1954
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Editorial Reviews:
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Like the Greenwich Village courtyard view from its titular portal, Alfred Hitchcock's classic Rear Window is both confined and multileveled: both its story and visual perspective are dictated by its protagonist's imprisonment in his apartment, convalescing in a wheelchair, from which both he and the audience observe the lives of his neighbors. Cheerful voyeurism, as well as the behavior glimpsed among the various tenants, affords a droll comic atmosphere that gradually darkens when he sees clues to what may be a murder. Photographer L.B. "Jeff" Jeffries (James Stewart) is, in fact, a voyeur by trade, a professional photographer sidelined by an accident while on assignment. His immersion in the human drama (and comedy) visible from his window is a by-product of boredom, underlined by the disapproval of his girlfriend, Lisa (Grace Kelly), and a wisecracking visiting nurse (Thelma Ritter). Yet when the invalid wife of Lars Thorwald (Raymond Burr) disappears, Jeff enlists the two women to help him to determine whether she's really left town, as Thorwald insists, or been murdered. Hitchcock scholar Donald Spoto convincingly argues that the crime at the center of this mystery is the MacGuffin--a mere pretext--in a film that's more interested in the implications of Jeff's sentinel perspective. We actually learn more about the lives of the other neighbors (given generic names by Jeff, even as he's drawn into their lives) he, and we, watch undetected than we do the putative murderer and his victim. Jeff's evident fear of intimacy and commitment with the elegant, adoring Lisa provides the other vital thread to the script, one woven not only into the couple's own relationship, but reflected and even commented upon through the various neighbors' lives. At minimum, Hitchcock's skill at making us accomplices to Jeff's spying, coupled with an ingenious escalation of suspense as the teasingly vague evidence coalesces into ominous proof, deliver a superb thriller spiked with droll humor, right up to its nail-biting, nightmarish climax. At deeper levels, however, Rear Window plumbs issues of moral responsibility and emotional honesty, while offering further proof (were any needed) of the director's brilliance as a visual storyteller. --Sam Sutherland
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: A British eye spying on America
Comment: This film has become a cult film with time. Everything seems to be at that level though the situation and plot are rather light. What is important here is that Hitchcock transforms this back yard and garden surrounded by buildings all around and a highly voyeuristic microcosm into a complete vision of human society with all its dramas, and its pleasures and joys. To transform such a small microcosm entirely closed onto itself into a vision of the whole society we hardly get a couple of glimpses of through an alley opening onto the main street is marvelous and amazing. The second phenomenal fact is that the main actor is a wheelchair-ridden man with a severely broken leg in a cast. How can the whole world completely turn and whirl around that sole man? It is only possible because it is absolutely seen through the only eyes of this man or the eyes of the people standing next to him. There is only one instance when the point of vision is not his own eyes but a point outside in the yard-garden: at the end when he is being dropped from his window and then we get for a very short period of time the vision from the cops' eyes. This gives to that film such a personal dimension that it is nearly sickening: we have the impression of invading the privacy of that man. In fact what I have just said is false because he alternates what the man can see and close-up shots on him to show his personal reactions to what he has just seen. This constant alternating of voyeuristic sequences from the eyes of one man and close-up shots on his body language and language forces us into his own skin, body, bones. We are no longer voyeurs but ghosts in him seeing through his eyes. We are the direct witnesses of what he sees because we see it with him, through his own eyes and we start feeling the same emotions as he does. Of course everything is seen through the camera, but Hitchcock even uses some tools to emphasize the voyeuristic dimension and force us into it: a camera with a zooming lens that is so big that the camera becomes minuscule, or binoculars that are of course too big for the distance across the back yard and later the flash bulbs to force us not to see through the eyes of the murderer but to be seen through the eyes of the murderer. The last point I would like to insist on is that Hitchcock shows a murder but he is not interested in the murder per se but in the reactions of the witnesses, those who see everything and how they are blind to what they see. Then he builds up the slow recognition in their eyes, language and behavior, and then they become obsessive about it, to the point of becoming if not courageous at least unconscious of the risks they are taking or running. That too is remarkable and that nearly makes us get out of the simplistic voyeurism I have spoken of all along and climb into some kind of distantiation from the penned up impression of before, a distantiation that leads us to the idea that courage in a human society is often the result of a conviction that makes us blind to the danger or risk we are facing. Courage is the result of a lack of consciousness more than intensified consciousness. This is the human dimension Hitchcock always brought to his films. And that is kind of lost in our modern action films that do not have one single second now and then to just rest and digest what has happened before.
Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne & University Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines
Customer Rating:
Summary: Peeping James
Comment: You wouldn't think that a movie that takes place in one room, with a main cast of two people, couldn't be that exciting.
In fact, Alfred Hitchcock was in near-perfect form when he made "Rear Window," a stylish, minimalistic blend of mystery and dark comedy. This thriller explores "what you shouldn't see" in a slow-burning blaze of skillful suspense, with a few funny bits thrown in. And having a cast that includes Grace Kelly and James Stewart doesn't hurt either.
Photographer L.B. "Jeff" Jeffries (Stewart) got run over during a shoot, and is crankily waiting for his cast to come off. While he does so, he spies on his neighbors -- some sleep on balconies, some argue, some weep alone, and some ("Miss Torso") dance in spandex. To make things worse, Jeff is having intimacy problems with his wealthy girlfriend Lisa (Kelly), because he fears settling down.
But then Jeff's window-watching clues him in to something -- sickly Mrs. Thorwald vanishes, and her husband Lars (Raymond Burr) is seen acting suspiciously with a saw, rope and metal case. Jeff becomes convinced that Thorwald has murdered his wife. He manages to convince Lisa and his down-to-earth nurse Stella (Thelma Ritter), but detectives won't believe him. So without moving from the room, Jeff uses the rear window to watch Thorwald -- and find out what really happened.
Okay, reality check: peeping on your neighbors is not just creepy, it's also completely illegal.
But in the case of "Rear Window," that fact doesn't really matter. Watching the fellow tenants is as much fun as the mystery itself, whether it's the newlyweds, the pair that sleep on the balcony, the weepy Ms. Lonelyheart, or the buxom dancer Miss Torso and her guys. It makes the story even more chilling when you realize that one -- or maybe more than one -- of these seemingly harmless people is a murderer.
Hitchcock -- who appears as a musician -- kept his deft touch in a movie that could have sunk like a stone. All the action takes place in one room, but he keeps it from feeling confining. Instead, the minimalist set takes away all distractions, and makes the interplay between the characters even brighter. And much of the humor is provided by Ritter -- she's not a comic character, but her homespun wisdom is delivered with tart humor.
Jeff is likable as only James Stewart could make him -- this guy is bored, crabby and in denial about his feelings for Lisa, but he's an endearing despite his flaws. Kelly does an equally solid job as the "girl who is too good for him," who also proves that in a pinch she can rise beyond her uptown-girl roots. Back when many women were relegated to side roles, Lisa gets to be an equal detective to Stewart, as well as his legwoman.
The previous edition of this movie was rather bare-bones in its presentation -- so much so that I never got around to seeing the extra stuff, because it just didn't seem worth it. This time, they tossed in the same material, but beefed up the extras with another disc. That disc has more documentaries on Hitchcock, interviews with Hitchcock and a special one with the screenwriter, and an audio commentary. There's even going to be a rerelease trailer narrated by the late Stewart.
"Rear Window" gives a view into one of Hitchcock's best films, a taut thriller about how, if you watch other people, you might see something dangerous. A well-deserved classic, and a primo example of no-frills suspense.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Hitchcock classic in new 2-disc Special Edition due out October 7th, 2008!
Comment: Rear Window is considered by many Alfred Hitchcock's best movie. The story suited him well. A man confined to a wheelchair, watching things that may be innocent or murderous, a beautiful woman out of her element, in danger, with gradually building suspense that takes a potentially fatal turn as we watch helplessly with our immobilized protagonist, and a cliffhanger climax. The movie has been analyzed by very smart people looking for much more than that, deeper meanings and allusions, and some of their ideas are true, and some are fun. But it's the basic story elements, sharp dialogue, fine acting and the direction of a master that make it a great movie.
The immobilized man is "Jeff" Jeffries (James Stewart), a Life Magazine photographer who's laid up in his New York City apartment with a broken leg. Accustomed to an active life of adventure and world traveling, he's reduced to passing his time using binoculars and a telephoto lens to spy on the small world of neighbors across a small courtyard from his rear window. The beautiful woman is his girlfriend Lisa (Grace Kelly), a high society woman whom he is avoiding marrying on the excuse that she isn't cut out for his rambling life of action and danger, and he doesn't want to settle down. As events across the way take a potentially sinister turn, the tables are turned as Lisa shows her grit in risky investigations while Jeff must remain passive. Raymond Burr (of Perry Mason fame) plays the suspect neighbor who may or may not have killed someone. Thelma Ritter is Jeff's house-call nurse who also gets involved.
Most of the film is presented from Jeff's powerless perspective, giving the suspense an extra edge. There are allusions to impotence and, through the lives of the neighbors, a range of romantic and marriage relationships mirroring the fears of many men and women, including our protagonists. Much has been made of the theme of voyeurism, the window as a representation of the movie screen and so on, though I think it's easy to make too much of that. Screenwriter John Michael Hayes and Hitchcock work in the usual Hitchcock cameo and humor, including a dog who "knew too much" (a reference to another Hitchcock film).
The new 2-disc Special Edition DVD looks to be an excellent set. It will include new special features:
-- audio commentary by John Fawell, author of Hitchcock's Rear Window: The Well-Made Film
-- Pure Cinema: Through the Eyes of the Master
-- Hitchcock/Truffaut interview excerpts
-- Breaking Barriers: The Sound of Hitchcock
-- Alfred Hitchcock Presents Mr. Blanchard's Secret
-- original theatrical trailer
There will also be features carried over from the 2001 Collector's Edition:
-- Rear Window Ethics: An Original Documentary (55 minutes)
-- A Conversation with Screenwriter John Michael Hayes (13 minutes on the Collector's Edition)
-- 1983 re-release trailer for Vertigo, The Man Who Knew Too Much, The Trouble With Harry, Rope, and Rear Window, narrated by James Stewart (6 minutes)
-- production photographs
-- production notes
There's no mention in the press release of the screenplay feature that was on the older DVD. It allowed you, using a DVD-ROM drive, to read the script while watching the movie, or to print out the script. (The script is available online now.)
The picture will be in the original 1.66:1 widescreen format, anamorphic, with the original mono sound.
No announcement for a Blu-ray edition yet.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Hitchcock Perfection
Comment: I think that this is one of Hitchcock's most popular and entertaining films. I truly adore Jimmy Stewart, and his work with Hitchcock is just magical (Rope, Vertigo, and the Man Who Knew Too Much). Grace Kelly IS the Hitchcock blonde. Their dysfunctional relationship is believable and well acted. Thelma Ritter stands out, even among these two, to be a transcendent comic character.
The story itself is still so intriguing: a voyeur witnesses a crime, but has trouble convincing others because he is prying on his unsuspecting neighbors. I think reality t.v. proves just how much interest we all have in the lives of others. The timeless storyline is so well acted and cleverly presented; it is difficult NOT to like this film.
The DVD is quality, but it is obvious that the extensive reconstruction work used on Vertigo is not present here. All the extras make it a must have. For Hitchcock fans it is a must. So indulge your voyeuristic curiosities ... Highly recommended.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Fun and Entertaining Except For the DVD!
Comment: This movie is a great one to encapsulate what makes Hitchcock films great. His brand of storytelling is unique and for me very enjoyable. He always shows us the story from the subjective viewpoint of the actor and in this case, Jimmy Stewart, as the temporarily invalid photographer who out of boredom decides to take an interest in his neighbour's activities. In effect, he is watching many television screens aka windows outside his apartment that happen to be screening real-life soap operas.
I disagree that what he does amounts to voyeurism because he doesn't really watch continuously just to get gratuitous pleasure out of it but he really appears to be concerned about his neighbour's well-being. He tries to prevent the lonely one from committing suicide in addition to the main part of the story about his concern for the invalid woman who was killed by her husband. I thought the beautiful irony was that while everyone was critical of Stewart's character spying or peeping at his neighbours and yet his concern for them and his willingness to even put his life on the line to help them contrasts with that of the other neighbours who just didn't give a damn and who are supposed to be doing the right thing. The scene with the dead dog perfectly illustrates this as at one apartment, the party simply resumes as if nothing happened after the distraught owner's emotional outburst. I just loved the dramatic irony of how Stewart's character was really the good neighbour despite his peeping while the others were really bad neighbours minding their own business just like in the parable of the Good Samaritan.
The screenplay was very well written and the witty and comical dialogue especially between Stewart's character and the masseuse was very amusing indeed. The acting wasn't brilliant but was good enough and I enjoyed the theme about the differences between man and woman and how their motivations are driven by different things and yet both are really trying to arrive at the same thing: happiness in a life together. The final scene with Grace Kelly and the magazine was especially telling and amusing for me.
The special features are quite good and I especially like the documentary "Rear Window Ethics: Remembering and Restoring a Hitchcock Classic." The only problem is with the dvd which sound quality wise isn't great and the picture quality despite being restored is quite poor with many imperfections on too many frames. This suggests to me that the original master must be very poorly preserved if this is the best that they could do. Here's hoping that with the advent of Blu-ray they will take the opportunity to have another try at improving both the picture and sound quality. For the latter a Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround restored sound option would be much appreciated.
Not one of Hitchcock's absolute best but still a very good film; recommended but you may want to wait for a better restored version to be made available and to give this dvd version a miss.
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