Rear Window

Rear Window (1954) is a motion picture directed by Alfred Hitchcock, based on Cornell Woolrich's short story "It Had to Be Murder" (1942). It is considered by critics, scholars, and film historians to be one of Hitchcock's best and most thrilling pictures.

Description

Stewart plays the part of L.B. Jeffries, a professional photographer who has been confined to his bedroom after an accident left him with his leg in a cast. Suffering from boredom, he takes to looking out the window and spying on his neighbors. Over time, he comes to believe that a murder has taken place, though his friends and his girlfriend Lisa (Kelly) think his beliefs are imagined due to his idle behaviour.

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The entire movie occurs in Jeffries' bedroom, and for most of the film, almost all point of view (POV) shots are Jeffries'. In other words, we generally see and hear only what Jeffries sees and hears. However, at key points in the movie this pattern is broken, (usually as a dual or triple POV shot, but also the single POV shots of Doyle, Stella, and Lisa). This trend increases throughout the film until the final sequence, when Jeffries' POV is nearly subverted.

Related Topics:
Point of view - Sequence

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The character of Lars Thorwald (Raymond Burr) isn't seen in close-up, and he doesn't speak, until the climax of the movie when he appears in Jeffries' room.

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