I have taught it alongside that great scene in Rosencratz & Guildenstern: "I had an actor once who was condemned to hang for stealing a sheep-or a lamb, I forget which-so I got permission to have him hanged in the middle of a play-had to change the plot a bit but I thought it would be effective, you know-and you wouldn't believe it, he just wasn't convincing! It was impossible to suspend one's, disbelief-and what with the audience jeering and throwing peanuts, the whole thing was a disaster!-he did nothing but cry all the time-right out of character-just stood there and cried... Never again."
Funny I also just rewatched this and adored it, the discourse around Hitchcock the director making a movie about Stewart the voyeur can feel played out, but it's central to the film and really to modern life. Stewart may be a bit of a perv, but in the end, he catches the murderer and gets the girl!
Loved this, Henry. Thank you. I’ve watched RW so many times, for pleasure and for studies. My favourite Hitchcock film, though I also love Rope as well.
Rear Window is so re-watchable - I've showed it to several people who don't think they like old movies and they've all loved it. The only thing which takes me out of it is the scene in which they're drinking brandy from those big snifters and the actors won't stop swirling their drinks to the point of distraction. Does anyone know why?
I think Rear Window and North by Northwest are the two Hitchcock films I enjoy most, and he is perhaps my favorite director. That said, Psycho and Vertigo are often cited as his most critically or artistically significant—so it’s worth watching those, too, before asking whether Rear Window is “the best film ever made”!
John Fawell offers an insightful commentary on Rear Window in one of the DVD editions (he also wrote a book on the film), and Edward White’s The Twelve Lives of Alfred Hitchcock (2021) is a fascinating thematic biography told in twelve chapters.
Yes I have seen them. I cannot stand NBNW. The second half of Vertigo is superb and it’s obviously hugely influential and innovative but I don’t enjoy repeat viewings very much.
Ooh—can't stand NBNW? May I ask why? I think its brilliance begins from the title sequence, and doesn't much let up from there. I also find it very funny.
As an aside, I found myself in a position of teaching Psycho, a Hitchcock film I didn't love, and now having watched and taught it repeatedly, I have come to really appreciate it, and I discover something new about it each time.
Wonderful commentary
Thank you!
It's a great film! Given Superman discourse I'll mention the fascinating 1998 remake, which helps explain by contrast why Hitchcock's version is so exceptional. https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/films/features/christopher-reeve-rear-window-b2638448.html
can I bring myself to watch the remake....?
I have taught it alongside that great scene in Rosencratz & Guildenstern: "I had an actor once who was condemned to hang for stealing a sheep-or a lamb, I forget which-so I got permission to have him hanged in the middle of a play-had to change the plot a bit but I thought it would be effective, you know-and you wouldn't believe it, he just wasn't convincing! It was impossible to suspend one's, disbelief-and what with the audience jeering and throwing peanuts, the whole thing was a disaster!-he did nothing but cry all the time-right out of character-just stood there and cried... Never again."
Funny I also just rewatched this and adored it, the discourse around Hitchcock the director making a movie about Stewart the voyeur can feel played out, but it's central to the film and really to modern life. Stewart may be a bit of a perv, but in the end, he catches the murderer and gets the girl!
Loved this, Henry. Thank you. I’ve watched RW so many times, for pleasure and for studies. My favourite Hitchcock film, though I also love Rope as well.
Thank you so much! I’m the same seen it so much. I don’t love Rope though
Fun write-up of a wonderful film!
Rear Window is so re-watchable - I've showed it to several people who don't think they like old movies and they've all loved it. The only thing which takes me out of it is the scene in which they're drinking brandy from those big snifters and the actors won't stop swirling their drinks to the point of distraction. Does anyone know why?
Just how you drink brandy!
Love this. Love the film.
Oh thanks! Same!
This was great
Thanks!!
Great piece!
thanks!!
I think Rear Window and North by Northwest are the two Hitchcock films I enjoy most, and he is perhaps my favorite director. That said, Psycho and Vertigo are often cited as his most critically or artistically significant—so it’s worth watching those, too, before asking whether Rear Window is “the best film ever made”!
John Fawell offers an insightful commentary on Rear Window in one of the DVD editions (he also wrote a book on the film), and Edward White’s The Twelve Lives of Alfred Hitchcock (2021) is a fascinating thematic biography told in twelve chapters.
Yes I have seen them. I cannot stand NBNW. The second half of Vertigo is superb and it’s obviously hugely influential and innovative but I don’t enjoy repeat viewings very much.
Ooh—can't stand NBNW? May I ask why? I think its brilliance begins from the title sequence, and doesn't much let up from there. I also find it very funny.
As an aside, I found myself in a position of teaching Psycho, a Hitchcock film I didn't love, and now having watched and taught it repeatedly, I have come to really appreciate it, and I discover something new about it each time.
I think it is melodramatic and overstated at every turn and crashingly dull the restaurant scene is good