AFI 100: #42 Rear Window

This is a post I did on another site about Rear Window, back in 2007, when I first saw it. Since this post, I've actually taken a class on Hitchcock, but I figured, since this blog is for my first impressions, that I'd leave this post unedited. Rear Window was #42 on the 1998 AFI 100, #48 on the 2007 list, and #3 on the Top 10 Mysteries. 

For the hell of it, I put Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window on my Blockbuster que because I realized that while I knew the story ( I mean, who doesn't?) I had never actually seen it.

They just don't make them like this anymore. It has everything. It's so full of suspense and you're not sure whether the murder actually happened or if James Stewart is just going stir crazy. It also has some wonderful moments of humor.

The actors make this whole movie. 90% of the film is spoken. This is no blood & very little action. James Stewart is wonderful as L.B. Jefferies, a free-spirited photographer who travels all over the world, but at the moment is stuck in his apartment because of a broken leg. When the film opens, he's already been there for six weeks and he's going a little goofy. His insurance company provided nurse, Stella, provides most of the comic relief. He's visited daily by the positively enchanting Grace Kelly, whose trying to get him to marry her. However, he doesn't think she's tough enough to handle his lifestyle. There's a wonderful menagerie of characters that live in the building across the courtyard, and he's been spending his time watching them and making up stories to go along with their sometimes inexplicable actions. But when Mrs. Thorwall suddenly disappears and her husband starts acting strangely, the story involves a little murder. His friends, including dectective Doyle, tell him that it's just a story his frustrated mind is making up, but Jefferies knows better.

Amazing movie. Loved it. Hitchcock was a genius. If you haven't seen it, and you like smart, susupensful movies (or Grace Kelly!) go rent it. You won't be disappointed.