Rear Window [Blu-ray]

"REAR WINDOW" (1954) This is director Alfred Hitchcock’s classic thriller! Even professional reviewers often fail to realize that a movie's box office success is largely determined by the moviegoer’s subconscious thoughts and feelings rather than objective logical reasons. And promoters of movies and products use subliminal devices to influence consumer response and sales. (For example, I once bought a pair of forest green pants, and later I realized the reason was because they reminded me of the pants worn by the legendary hero Robin Hood in the classic movie!) In Rear Window, the hulk-like Canadian actor Raymond Burr (Perry Mason) portrays the sullen Lars Thorwald. The salesman’s suspected guilt of a hideous murder infuses the movie with an electrifying atmosphere of eerie suspense. And leaving the graphic details of the murder to the imagination of the audience made it infinitely more gruesome. The resulting involuntary chills of terror have been traveling up the spines of moviegoers for decades, and have made this movie a memorable horror classic. The salesman’s ill-fated wife and the unlucky little dog served as props for that purpose. The other inhabitants in the building were mere distractions. But neither the delightful Thelma Ritter nor the universal love for Jimmy Stewart and the Princess of Monaco would be enough to save this film from boredom, were it not for the sinister vibes of Raymond Burr’s malevolent Thorwald. This clearly illustrates how good CASTING can be even more important than good writing, acting, and directing. And if you doubt this, try visualizing Don Knotts as the evil menacing heavy :) And a final bit of trivia…Notice the reference to THOR, the angry Norse god of thunder, hidden in the name of the story’s villain, “Lars Thorwald”. This character’s name added a subliminal aura of the supernatural and alien darkness to the already unsavory salesman.

I was blown away by how great this classic looks on 4K Ultra HD. The picture quality is spectacular, with sharper details and richer contrast that really brings Hitchcock’s legendary sense of suspense to life. The shadows and lighting feel more natural and immersive than previous transfers I’ve seen, which makes every scene more engaging and cinematic. The audio is clean and faithful to the original mix, so the tension builds beautifully without distraction. This edition is a fantastic way to own one of the greatest thrillers ever made, and it’s absolutely worth having in your collection if you love classic cinema or just great filmmaking.

194us Rear window (Alfred Hitchcock, 1954, 112') Written by John Michael Hayes (with whom there is a delightful interview in the features of the dvd, and who won a 1955 Edgar Award for Best Motion Picture), based on Cornell Woolrich's 1942 short story "It Had to Be Murder". Originally released by Paramount Pictures, the film stars James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendell Corey, Thelma Ritter and Raymond Burr. It was screened at the 1954 Venice Film Festival. The film is considered by many filmgoers, critics and scholars to be one of Hitchcock's best. After breaking his leg during a dangerous assignment, professional photographer L B "Jeff" Jeffries (Stewart) is confined in his Greenwich Village apartment, using a wheelchair while he recuperates. His rear window looks out onto a small courtyard and several other apartments. During a summer heat wave, he passes the time by watching his neighbors, who keep their windows open to stay cool. They include a dancer ("Miss Torso", played by Georgine Darcy), a lonely woman ("Miss Lonelyheart"), a songwriter, several married couples, a middle-aged sculptor, and Lars Thorwald (Burr), a wholesale jewelry salesman with a bedridden wife. Jeff discusses his observations with his wealthy socialite girlfriend Lisa Fremont (Kelly) and his insurance company home-care nurse Stella (Ritter), and becomes obsessed with their theory that Thorwald murdered his wife. He explains their theory to his friend Tom Doyle (Corey), a New York City Police detective, who looks into the situation but finds nothing suspicious. A few days later, the heat has lifted. The lonely neighbor woman chats with the songwriter in his apartment, the dancer's lover returns home from the army, the couple whose dog was killed have a new dog, and the newly married couple are bickering. In the last scene of the film, Lisa reclines beside Jeff, appearing to read a book on foreign travel in order to please him, but as soon as he is asleep, she puts the book down and happily opens a fashion magazine. The film received overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics and is considered one of Hitchcock's finest films. Time called it "just possibly the second most entertaining picture (after The 39 Steps) ever made by Alfred Hitchcock" and a film in which there is "never an instant ... when Director Hitchcock is not in minute and masterly control of his material." The same review did note "occasional studied lapses of taste and, more important, the eerie sense a Hitchcock audience has of reacting in a manner so carefully foreseen as to seem practically foreordained." François Truffaut in the Cahiers du cinéma in 1954 centers on the relationship between Jeff and the other side of the apartment block, seeing it as a symbolic relationship between spectator and screen. Film theorist Mary Ann Doane has made the argument that Jeff, representing the audience, becomes obsessed with the screen, where a collection of storylines are played out. This line of analysis has often followed a feminist approach to interpreting the film. In his book, Alfred Hitchcock's "Rear Window", John Belton addresses the underlying issues of voyeurism, scopophilia, patriarchy and feminism that are evident in the film. He quotes "Rear Window's story is "about" spectacle; it explores the fascination with looking and the attraction of that which is being looked at." Generally, Belton's book asserts that there is more to Hitchcock's thriller than what initially meets the eye. These issues that society faces today are all more than just present in the film, they are emphasized and strengthened. Hitchcock uses sound to convey the thematic elements behind Jeff's behavior and the audience's relationship to his subjective point of view. The music in Rear Window is entirely diegetic, and therefore every character in the courtyard hears the sound and acts based on what they hear. Hitchcock is less interested in reality than in how reality is perceived. Thus his use of entirely diegetic sound illustrates the idea that what we see as the audience is real. 194us - Rear window (Alfred Hitchcock, 1954, 112') -Rare view - 10/10/2012

A guy stuck in his apartment with nowhere to go. What trouble could he get into? I watched this again the other night. Watch Stewart's eyes. His performance is virtually perfect. Grace Kelly looks fantastic and does very well as a spoiled rich girl trying to convince her would be lover that she has the right stuff to fit into his world. Strong supporting roles, an amazing set, and Kelly's wardrobe (that isn't too dated unlike many '50s film that turn attractive women into period stereotypes) make this a joy to watch. The Blue Ray features many extras and a fairly easy to navigate menu.

For my taste, the best of the Hitchcock movies with North by Northwest and Dial M for Murder close seconds. Great cast and outstanding execution. Refreshing to see a great movie without ridiculous computer-generated stunts that defy the laws of physics. 4K blu ray performance is good considering when the film was made. However, this movie doesn't rely as much on stunning visual scenes and plays well in standard def.

Llegó en excelentes condiciones

Good product and received earlier than expected

Great item!

Es toda una sensación este hermoso clásico de Alfred Hitchcock, está bien tratado en una versión sensacional que incluye subtítulos en español.

co todo y que es una pelicula ya muy vieja no deja de ser interesante en ningun momento,la direccion del maestro hitchkok excelente como siempre, se nota su genialidad en las actuaciones, non se van a arrepentir, para mi es una de sus mejores peliculas.