When my sister broke her leg recently, the first message I sent her was an image of Jimmy Stewart in Rear Window. Leg in a cast, sleeping in his wheelchair. "Don't start accusing your neighbors of murder," I said. Hitchcock's 1954 classic has been referenced in numerous films and television shows (an excellent Castle episode comes to mind), and served as an inspiration for the 2007 movie Disturbia. Turner Classic Movies and Fathom Events brought the restored film to cinemas across the country March 22nd and 25th, celebrating its 60th anniversary last year. The film has held up remarkably well.
There are some things that don't make sense - caretaker Stella calls 56-year old Stewart a "young man" - and cameras have certainly changed, but suspense, nagging wives, torrid affairs, and being overly interested in the lives of others, has remained very much the same.
The trivia about the film is as interesting as the film itself. Hitchcock insisted on using a full-scale set, the largest of its time; Rear Window is the only film in which Grace Kelly can be seen smoking; There was so much lighting required to simulate daylight that Paramount Studios' sprinkler system was set off.
It's such a good, engaging, classic film that I can't find much to say about it! If you haven't seen it, you should; if you have, give it another watch, to savor the quality.
Notes:
- Other Hitchcock films with Jimmy Stewart: Rope, The Man Who Knew Too Much, and Vertigo
- Other Hitchcock films with Grace Kelly: Dial M for Murder, and To Catch a Thief
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