Film Studies
Rear Window – A Viewing Guide
We've become a race of Peeping Toms. What people ought to do is get outside their own house and look in for a change. Yes sir. How's that for a bit of homespun philosophy?
~ “Stella”/Rear Window
We are all voyeurs to some extent.
~ Francois Truffaut
Rear Window (1954 Universal)
Producer/Director Alfred Hitchcock
Screenplay John Michael Hayes
Cinematography Robert Burks
Editing George Tomasini
Music Franz Waxman
Genre Mystery/Thriller
Cast
L.B. “Jeff” Jefferies James Stewart
Lisa Fremont Grace Kelly
Lt. Tom Doyle Wendell Corey
Stella Thelma Ritter
Lars Thorwald Raymond Burr
Mrs. Anna Thorwald Irene Winston
Miss Lonelyheart Judith Evelyn
Songwriter Ross Bagdasarian
Miss Torso Georgine Darcy
Woman on Firescape Sara Berner
Man on Firescape Frank Cady
Sculptress Jesslyn Fax
Newlywed Man Rand Harper
Newlywed Woman Havis Davenport
Technical Aspects:
1. Point of View
· Note the use of point-of-view shots. From whose perspective does the movie take place? Notice any point-of-view shifts. How does Hitchcock alter Jefferies’ perspective? Why?
2. Narrative Structure/Dialogue
· Note the economy of dialogue. How does Hitchcock develop plot and character? For example, characterize L.B. Jefferies in the opening sequence. What do you learn about him? What do we “learn” about Lisa when she first appears on screen? About Stella?
3. The MacGuffin
What is the MacGuffin in Rear Window and how is it used?
4. Use of Suspense
· Hitchcock’s “Master of Suspense” moniker is an apt one. How does the filmmaker create suspense? Note and describe two or three particularly suspenseful scenes.
5. Camera Shots and Camera Movement
· Note an example of three types of shots.
· List three examples of camera movement
6. Editing
· List three different examples of editing.
7. Sound
· Note three moments when sound impacts the audience.
Thematic Elements
Hitchcock’s films have recurring psychological themes.
8. Voyeurism, for example, appears in Rear Window (before it appeared in Psycho, actually). Note the various types of “viewing.” What are implications of watching rather than doing? How does Hitchcock make the audience accomplices to Jefferies’ “crime”?
9. Relationships are another thematic aspect of Hitchcock films. Consider the multitude of relationships depicted in Rear Window, beginning with the relationship with Jefferies and Lisa. What do they represent? What do they have in common with Jeff and Lisa?
10. As in Psycho, Hitchcock explores another unconventional topic fraught with sexual overtones: impotence/powerlessness. How does Hitchcock illustrate Jefferies’ impotence – physically and sexually? Is Hitchcock making a statement about men and women?
11. Hitchcock often blurs the line between the guilty and the innocent. Why does he try to make the innocent look guilty and the guilty look innocent?
Other Important Questions
12. From whose perspective is the courtyard scene? Why? What is the effect?
13. Notice the characterization of Miss Lonleyhearts and Miss Torso, particularly the color and music associated with each character.
14. Hitchcock is making a comment on the dynamic between the film and the audience. Listen for references about the “going to the movies.”
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