Rear Window (Collector's Edition) |  | Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Actors: James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Thelma Ritter, Raymond Burr, Wendell Corey
Studio: Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Category: DVD
List Price: $19.98
Buy New: $12.28
as of 9/9/2010 07:55 CDT details
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New (35) Used (21) Collectible (2) from $9.98
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Rating:  345 reviews
Sales Rank: 1,794
Format: Color, Collector's Edition, Widescreen
Languages: English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), English (Original Language), French (Dubbed)
Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Region: 1
Discs: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
Running Time: 115 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: 025192039522
ISBN: 0783237391
UPC: 025192039522
EAN: 9780783237398
ASIN: B00003CXC7
Theatrical Release Date: 1954
Release Date: March 6, 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Stewart, a photographer with a broken leg, takes up spying and suspects that his neighbor has murdered his invalid wife and buried her in the flower g
Amazon.com
Like the Greenwich Village courtyard view from its titular portal, Alfred Hitchcock's classic Rear Window is both confined and multileveled: both its story and visual perspective are dictated by its protagonist's imprisonment in his apartment, convalescing in a wheelchair, from which both he and the audience observe the lives of his neighbors. Cheerful voyeurism, as well as the behavior glimpsed among the various tenants, affords a droll comic atmosphere that gradually darkens when he sees clues to what may be a murder. Photographer L.B. "Jeff" Jeffries (James Stewart) is, in fact, a voyeur by trade, a professional photographer sidelined by an accident while on assignment. His immersion in the human drama (and comedy) visible from his window is a by-product of boredom, underlined by the disapproval of his girlfriend, Lisa (Grace Kelly), and a wisecracking visiting nurse (Thelma Ritter). Yet when the invalid wife of Lars Thorwald (Raymond Burr) disappears, Jeff enlists the two women to help him to determine whether she's really left town, as Thorwald insists, or been murdered. Hitchcock scholar Donald Spoto convincingly argues that the crime at the center of this mystery is the MacGuffin--a mere pretext--in a film that's more interested in the implications of Jeff's sentinel perspective. We actually learn more about the lives of the other neighbors (given generic names by Jeff, even as he's drawn into their lives) he, and we, watch undetected than we do the putative murderer and his victim. Jeff's evident fear of intimacy and commitment with the elegant, adoring Lisa provides the other vital thread to the script, one woven not only into the couple's own relationship, but reflected and even commented upon through the various neighbors' lives. At minimum, Hitchcock's skill at making us accomplices to Jeff's spying, coupled with an ingenious escalation of suspense as the teasingly vague evidence coalesces into ominous proof, deliver a superb thriller spiked with droll humor, right up to its nail-biting, nightmarish climax. At deeper levels, however, Rear Window plumbs issues of moral responsibility and emotional honesty, while offering further proof (were any needed) of the director's brilliance as a visual storyteller. --Sam Sutherland
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 345
 A Hitchcock classic revisited July 11, 2010
Linda Linguvic (New York City)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This 1954 Alfred Hitchcock classic was nominated for four Academy awards. I remember seeing it years ago and loving it. Seeing it again, I'm reminded of the way things used to be, and it is certainly worthwhile as a retro experience. It's interesting to see the clothing styles and the dial telephones. There's also a mystery that kept me interested.
Jimmy Stewart is cast in the role of a photographer with a broken leg. He's confined to his apartment which is supposed to be in New York's Greenwich village. From his window, he observes his neighbors. And the apartment house across the street just happens to be designed in a way that he can look into the windows of all the apartments and get a bird's eye view into the lives other people's lives. Every day a nurse, played by Thelma Ritter, comes to look in on him. She shares his interest in his neighbors and she counsels him about his love life. It seems his girlfriend, played by Grace Kelly, wants to marry him but he holds back because she is a society girl and he doubts if she can fit into his life of international travel to a wide variety of war-torn and isolated places. But as the film progresses, she gets more and more involved in what he suspects is a murder in the apartment across the courtyard. She's beautiful, of course, with an unnaturally tiny waistline which was the style in those days, and she plays her part well. Raymond Burr is cast in the role of the supposed murderer. Did he or did he not kill his wife? This is the storyline that keeps the audience guessing.
The plot moves swiftly and it certainly captured my interest. And Hitchcock had a way of capturing suspense that is unique. It is successful as a film in most ways. But it's 2010 now I'm a bit jaded. That why, in spite of my giving this film a high recommendation, I'm not exactly sure that it has stood the test of time.
Fun, Entertaining Two Hours July 5, 2010
R. Swanson (New Mexico)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This isn't as tense and scary as a lot of Hitchcock films. It's much more main-stream, American, 50's era, middle of the road. That's not entirely bad. The cast is great. James Stewart is charming and likable as usual, Grace Kelly is exquisite, as usual in her gorgeous Edith Head created wardrobe, Thelma Ritter is endearingly wise-cracking as usual.
The story is clever enough featuring a photographer who approaches life through the safe distance of a lens. I didn't see a lot of chemistry between Kelly and Stewart; he seemed much older than she was, which strained the credibility of her adoration and patience. There were other things that didn't really make sense, but overall the film pulls you along pleasantly.
Hitchcock fans will go gaga over it, uncritically, because it is, after all, Hitchcock. But if you just want to enjoy a movie on its own merits, this is fun, but a little dated.
It still creeps me out March 12, 2010
C. Wagner (On the banks of the Wabash far away)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Actually, "Rear Window" is a great film- suspense, Jimmy Stewart, and Raymond Burr as the brow beaten heavy you love to hate. The VHS version is fine with me. You can read the summary on Wikipedia. What creeped me out was the love interest between the aged old Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly. (I did not need to see Jimmy with his shirt off either.) The makeout scenes could have been deleted, for all I care, or an older attractive actress could have been more demure. Oh, well... I mean...it was like some sweet young thing doing you know what with her grandfather. But, the VHS still stacks up well against most new releases. Watch for Alfred in the songwriter's apartment.
 Great Movie! The DVD has a wonderful Documentary about Making the Movie February 19, 2010
Cynthia G. Wildman (Pismo Beach, CA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This DVD is the remastered version of the movie, looks terrific. The DVD includes a fact-filled documentary about the making of the movie. Thoroughly enjoyed it, glad to have in my DVD collection.
A great Hitchcock thriller, a great DVD. February 7, 2010
Miles D. Moore (Alexandria, VA USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
"Rear Window," of course, is one of Alfred Hitchcock's most glittering masterpieces, and the great thing about this DVD is that it goes a long way in showing us why. First, it presents the film in a beautiful new restoration, with glowing colors and crisp picture definition. Second, it provides a fascinating feature in the Extras section, describing how Hitchcock designed the set--one of the most ingenious production designs in cinematic history. It contains interviews with surviving members of the cast and crew, including several of the neighbors on whom L.B. "Jeff" Jefferies (James Stewart) trained his binoculars. The featurette fills us with renewed awe at Hitchcock, one of the most meticulous directors ever as well as one of the most brilliant, and at how he could keep such myriad, tiny details in his head as he made this film.
And the film itself? I can only add my few droplets to the oceans of deserved praise it has received over the last half-century. What perfect casting: like a master chef, Hitchcock blends the disparate styles of Stewart, Grace Kelly, Thelma Ritter, Wendell Corey and Raymond Burr into something delicious and unique. What superbly timed suspense: if your pulse rate doesn't exceed 200 beats per minute as Stewart listens to Burr's footsteps up the stairs, growing closer and closer in a measured beat, you need to see your doctor immediately. And of course the first appearance of Kelly, a breathtaking blonde beauty arising as if from a dream, will haunt you forever. If you've never seen "Rear Window," you won't regret buying this DVD sight unseen. If you have seen it, I can't imagine you wouldn't want this DVD immediately for your collection.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 345
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