Is this Hitchcock's most complete movie ?
Did the age gap between Stewart and Grace Kelly stop this becoming Hitchcock's best film? I couldn't find their relationship believeable.
share[deleted]
MovieChat Forums > Rear Window (1954) Discussion > Is this Hitchcock's most complete movie ...
never heard of trophy wives?!!
shareThis is among his worst films because of the lack of tension. Right up there with Lifeboat for sheer boredom.
share"Lack of tension"?! Lifeboat too?!! . . . . You're joking of course.
shareOf course we are not joking. Just think of the scene when Grace Kelly has broken into Burr's apartment. She finds a few things, and then suddenly Burr is at the door. They struggle for about 10 seconds, then the police save her.
Compare that to some of Hitchcock's good films. Where was the tension?
Why not show Burr slowly walking up the steps? Why not show him in the courtyard approaching her? Let the audience feel the dread as you know he is going to catch Grace. That is what Hitch is known for. It was sorely lacking in Rear Window. All of a sudden, Burr was there, with no build up.
And the the cops come and save her after a few seconds?? Why not have her struggle her way out or something?
I always come back to the truck scene in Frenzy. A guy is wrestling around with a sack of potatoes for 15 minutes, but Hitch managed to make it tense and entertaining and edge of your seat. He failed to do this in rear Window.
"Where was the tension?"
. . . In my stomach and throat.
To each his own, I suppose. Ten folks see a tomato. Nine of 'em see it as a tomato -- but, there's always one who sees it as a strawberry with a thyroid condition. . . The moment Lisa left for Thorwald's apartment, I slid to the edge of my seat. When Thorwald appeared in the hallway, my right hand began melting my Clark bar.
Okay,all I'm saying then is this... Remember how tense you felt when Thorwald appeared in the hallway? Imagine how much MORE tension you would have felt if we saw him creeping up toward the hallway. Or before that, if we saw him climbing the stairs. or before that, if we saw him in the alley leave the street and approach the stairs. Hitchcock had a chance to prolong the suspense, but instead he just had the villain show up. That was un-Hitchcock-like.
Well, as I mentioned -- to each his own. And, no, I don't think It could have been more suspenseful for me had Thorwald's presence been revealed sooner. I knew he was coming regardless. That, and my imagination provided the perspiration on my forehead. I'll just add, I wouldn't expect every Hitchcock picture to build suspense in exactly the same way. Besides, you'll have a hard time convincing me that a "Hitchcock picture" could be, somehow, "un-Hitchcock" in any case(?). . .
share[deleted]
Great analysis.
shareRear Window is considered Hitchcock's best by experts (and that's saying something considering all of his films). Get over it. No one cares about a supposed age difference between Jeff and Lisa. Some people are so picky they can't enjoy a damn movie.
shareTo the thread title question - if not his most complete (Psycho is in play here), than certainly for me his most balanced & concise. There's very little Hitch innuendo here to leave much to the imagination, & yet it works beautifully.
RW & Psycho are the only 2 of my top 50. I'm not a huge fan of the likes of Vertigo & other mindbenders.
...my essential 50 http://www.imdb.com/list/ls056413299/