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Rear Window

1954 American mystery thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and written by John Michael Hayes Website

Approval Rate: 90%

90%Approval ratio

Reviews 43

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  • by

    tina1224

    Mon Mar 29 2010

    Rear Window is a classic American suspense film directed by Alfred Hitchcock. In the film L.B. Jefferies “Jeff” (James Stewart) is an adventure-loving professional photographer who gets injured on a dangerous photo assignment. Jeff ends up in a wheel chair confined to his apartment with nothing to do but look out his rear window into his neighbor’s apartments. With all his snooping into other people’s personal lives, Jeff spies Lars Thorwald (Raymond Burr) making several late night trips with a large suitcase. The next day Jeff notices that Lars’s wife is missing and Lars is cleaning some large knifes. After keeping an eye on Lars, Jeff starts to believe that Lars has murdered his wife. Jeff, his girlfriend Lisa Carol Fremont (Grace Kelly), and his nurse Stella (Thelma Ritter) all try to convince Jeff’s friend and police detective Thomas Doyle (Wendell Corey) of the murder that took place just across the courtyard in Lars apartment. Rear Window is the kind of movie that keeps you on t... Read more

  • by

    louiethe20th

    Wed Jul 22 2009

    Alfred Hitchcock and Jimmy Stewart went together like a hand and a glove and this fantastic film was no exception. One of my favorite Hitchcock films.

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    twansalem

    Fri Apr 10 2009

    I actually just saw Rear Window for the first time a couple months ago. Mrs. Twan and I were just sitting around the apartment one afternoon flipping through the channels, and we stumbled on some Jimmy Stewart movie. For some reason we got sucked in, and after a few minutes I realized it was Rear Window. Even though there really isn't much action, and the lines really aren't that great, the suspense keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole time.

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    cablejockey

    Thu Mar 19 2009

    I've watched this movie several times over the years and it never gets boring. Since the story is confined mostly to Stewart's apartment and his view from the window, its amazing how much they put into it. Suspense, mystery and even a little romance and humour. Highly recommend it.

  • by

    binnietheblood_ybooh

    Mon Jun 30 2008

    My favorite Hitchcock.

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    canadasucks

    Tue Nov 06 2007

    Unique film. . .a little dated, but still a very watchable film by Alfie. . .I'm not a Stewart fan but he's great as the wheelchair-bound peeping tom. . .

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    georges11

    Tue Nov 06 2007

    Rear Window is one of the best movies that ever came out of Hollywood. The acting was superb. And it has one of the best kissing scene in cinematic history between James Stewart and Grace Kelly. Hitchcock knew what he was doing. Camera angles and scenes are gorgeous, as well as Grace Kelly.

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    spike65

    Fri Aug 24 2007

    In the top third of Hitchcock's films. Top notch production values, an interesting premise, Big name actors, beautiful photography, and Grace Kelly was gorgeous in this. For some reason as much as I enjoy Jimmy Stewart, I think he was just a little bit too old for the character in this story. I also agree with other reviewers that mention that the killer would have been more cautious about the window curtains if his act were premeditated. Still and enjoyable Hitch movie and wish I could have seen it in a theater.

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    mystikmadame

    Wed Jul 18 2007

    This is one of my favorite Hitchcock movies!!  I like how it shows you that you do things never knowing if someone is watching and how people can misinperpret what they see and what they don't see.  Grace Kelly was Hitchcock's leading lady and you can see this in her character, its a real shame that these two didn't make many more movies together before she became a princess.

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    teflonjim

    Mon Apr 02 2007

    I found it really dumb. I find it far fetched that people would do criminal acts in front of a Open Window & hard to believe Grace Kelly would scale the wall & break in. In the real world she would have been arrested for breaking & entering, if she was not beaten up & or raped before the Police came in. I also think the other blonde in the Movie with no lines was more attractive than Grace.

  • by

    kathy377

    Sun Feb 11 2007

    Hitchcock at his best. Who would have guessed that Rear Window is as modern as ever in todays voyeuristic time. After all how many people watch trashy soaps regulary? The camera angles mixed with Hotchcock's calculation of his audiences reactions to his film makes Rear Window a firm classic and an entertaining film to all audiences. I, reviewing as a 14 year old girl, was surprised how enjoyable the film was and I firmly recomend to all with taste.

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    objectiverevie_w

    Wed Jan 17 2007

    one of my favorite hitchcocks! grace kelly is just so wonderful in this one, and there is the most beautiful shot of her. My favorite scene is when she climbs up the fire escape in her dress. The set is really great too.

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    willow569

    Tue Jun 20 2006

    My favorite Hitchcock movie. I never get tired of watching this one!

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    paintfullyours

    Sat Jan 21 2006

    Indeed one of my favorite Hitchcock movies, right next to "the Birds". Stewart and Kelly are lovely opposite one another, and rewatching it after a few years, the film was still as suspenseful and intriguing as I first remembered it. When you can revisit a film after a couple of years, to find it as fresh and exciting as you did initially shows the films true quality!

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    genghisthehun

    Mon Aug 29 2005

    Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly in a Hitchcock movie! What could be better. Raymond Burr plays a great villain. Jimmy Stewart sees a murder out of the rear window of his room where he is laid up with a broken leg or was it a murder? Raymond Burr plays the heavy.

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    jjm1965

    Wed Dec 01 2004

    My 2nd favorite Hitchcock move, after North By Northwest. This movie is the very definition of suspense in my opinion.

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    mrdangerous

    Thu Aug 19 2004

    Awesome movie in every aspect. Wonderful suspense, i love the camera flashing at the end!!! AHHH

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    boonta23

    Sat Apr 03 2004

    Very well made by Hitchcock. He really tackled the challenge of filming an entire movie from one spot. Hitchcock lives up to his master of suspense title in this movie.

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    jaywilton

    Mon Mar 08 2004

    Perry Mason(Raymond Burr) is better as a bad guy.

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    irishgit

    Sun Feb 29 2004

    One of Hitchcocks best, a claustrophobic thriller with a great performance by Jimmy Stewart. Hitchcock forces the viewer into the role of peeping Tom, and makes them feel simultaneously intrigued and dirty.

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    enkidu

    Tue Dec 16 2003

    One of my very favorite Hitchcocks. Metaphorically, it is about the dangers of peering too closely into the dark spaces in others, or indeed into ourselves. Stifling: between the small room, the feeling of being crippled, and the awful muggy summer heat, it makes you sweat like the protagonist, and the buildup to the climax is amazing.

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    marjorieb

    Fri Oct 17 2003

    I liked this movie because Jimmy Stewart was in it. But it's not one of my faves from Hitchcock.

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    president_x_d

    Fri Oct 17 2003

    A brilliant film. Hitchcock takes a simple story and brings a depth to it. The style alone rivets you to the screen.

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    jbiscuit1

    Sat Aug 02 2003

    Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly are excellent in this Classic film. Almost the entire film utilizes one set, and the suspense is excellent. Grace Kelly's beauty cannot be denied. Recommended to anyone who likes hitchcock and suspense.

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    mistweave

    Sun Jul 20 2003

    This is definitely my favorite Hitchcock movie. It effectively capitalizes on people's desires to watch others. I was always wondering what Jimmy Stewarts' character would see in his neighbor's windows next. Then it became increasingly dark and suspenseful when he suspected one of his neighbors of murder. The buildup of suspense in this movie was masterful and showcased what made Hitchcock such a great director!

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    ewatkins25

    Thu Jun 19 2003

    This has to be my all time favorite. It is a wonderful film.

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    ozzymaniac

    Tue Jun 17 2003

    A classic suspense film. Among Alfred Hitchcock's best, and that's saying a lot!

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    topher

    Sun Sep 22 2002

    this movie is so cool. it's awesome to see a movie where it all takes place in one room

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    jumping_jack_flash

    Wed Jul 17 2002

    My personal favorite Hitchcock film. It's so well written, acted, and directed that as the suspence builds slowly up, you become more and more engrossed until the film sucks you in and you forget where you are. Also, the entire film is done in one place, and that's cool. It shows Hitch's real sense of the film when he could make it where it was so entertaining with only one set. Many of today's directors would be so creative.

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    solenoid_dh

    Thu May 23 2002

    There are all kinds of logical reasons why I shouldn't like this movie. It's taken me quite a while to figure out why I DO enjoy it so much. There are only 3 reasons, but all of them are big ones: Alfred Hitchcock, James Stewart, and Grace Kelly.

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    loadf19d

    Thu May 23 2002

    "Rear Window" is one of Alfred Hitchcock's greatest achievements. A tour de force on the asthetics of why we watch, whether it be movies or anything else. He's like an artist, painting a picture that is so realistic, you'd swear it was an actual photograph. That's how good he was, and that's how good "Rear Window" is. Hitchcock should have received an Oscar for his work on the film, because it, along with "Vertigo," is the ultimate "artist's masterpiece."

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    antondatree

    Thu Apr 25 2002

    Man I have seen a lot of take-offs of this. Shows how absolutely great, inspirational and essential it is - - not to mention suspenseful, chilling, and brilliant. When I watched it the first time I didn't know if the neighbour was guilty or innocent, it was all a big mystery. This is an absolute masterpiece, one of Hitchcock's greatest, and simply not to be missed. Hasn't aged one bit. Summary: AN ESSENTIAL, BRILLIANT, CHILLING MASTERPIECE.

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    errol4e1

    Fri Feb 22 2002

    Of all the Hitchcock movies that James Stewart was in, I like this one best. And like most Hichcock movies, it is built on suspense, not violence. This one is not a "shocker" like Psycho but is still great in it's own way.

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    h_dawkins

    Tue Jan 22 2002

    this provocative, thought inspiring, classic hitchcock sees james stewart at his best and grace kelly as lovely as ever

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    markono

    Sat Dec 22 2001

    An Alfred Hitchock classic - great performances from James Stewart and Grace Kelly. One of the most suspenseful scenes on film when the Kelly character goes to snoop in the apartment across the way whne its owner( Raymond Burr) returns unexpectedly.

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    lord_of_the_waves

    Mon Oct 29 2001

    hitchcock's best film ever. Photographer gets injured, spies on neighbor while neighbor kills his wife and removes her from house. Neighbor finds out and attacks him, gets caught everyone else lives happily ever after. The movie is much more powerful than its summary.

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    medgarevers

    Tue Sep 18 2001

    Sure, it had some good suspense, and it was interesting to watch the plot develop, but all of Stewart's hushed chatter really got to me. I had heard so many good things about it, but it was tedious at times. I've seen it twice, and don't have any desire to watch it again for a long while.

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    stefi36a

    Sat Jun 30 2001

    Hitch is the best. With a little story, he can make a great picture! Just with his technics!

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    joeawaz

    Fri Apr 27 2001

    This remains my all-time favorite movie! I can never get tired of watching it. Of course, it's an excellent movie. Anything Hitchcock puts his hands on is a sure-fire masterpiece!

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    lbooth

    Thu Oct 19 2000

    One of my favorite Hitchcock flicks, Rear Window is about a man with a broken leg in one room, with one window only, doing one thing. The amazing thing about it is that despite the fact there's an obvious lack of action, Hitchcock makes it feel as though the action never stops. Great suspense. Jimmy Stewart was much better than Christopher Reeves.

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    rb4b10318om

    Thu Aug 31 2000

    This Hitchcock thriller is amazing. Jimmie Stewarrt at his finest makes this popular classic an eternal hit. If you only see one Hitchcock film, make it the Rear Window.

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    pooroldedgarde_rby

    Mon Jun 05 2000

    Great film! I love catching this one on the television on some random night, it's the best way to see it. That Grace Kelly..Ouch! Hurt me! What's Jimmy doing looking out the window so much for when he's got her hanging around?!?!

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    ecli1020om

    Tue Nov 09 1999

    The all time best Hitchcock movie