A View from a Rear Window

 

    The films in this class continue to shock me. Rear Window is a 1954 movie that spotlights Jeff, a man who has a broken leg. Because of his broken leg, he spends most of his day sitting at his apartment window. The view from his window is the image to the left. Jeff can clearly see all of his neighbors going about their day. Like Snowy, at first I was not intrigued in this film. It was old, the storyline was slow, and I just have never been someone to be interested in older films. In fact, this is probably the oldest film I have now seen. 

    However, the one aspect of the film that drew me in was the camera angles and the view from Jeff's apartment. I felt as if I was in his apartment looking through my neighbors windows. The camera angles and shots in this film were iconic and something I have never seen done before. I grew very interested in each neighbor and what they were doing (obviously, so did Jeff). As the movie progressed, Jeff grew suspicious of one man who lived across the courtyard, Thorwald. Jeff suspected Thorwald killed his wife, cut her up, and buried her in the flower bed. He definitely picked the worst possible scenario to believe. However, Jeff became obsessed with finding out the truth. Lisa, a lady who regularly was with Jeff eventually fell into the same mindset. This was when I became fully invested into the film and couldn't take my eyes off the screen. Lisa decided to go into Thorwald's apartment and snoop around to see if she could find any evidence to prove to the detective what Thorwald has been up to. I was nervous and anxious this whole scene. I was saying to myself, "Get out of there! Thorwald is coming!" I found myself so invested and worried for Lisa. 

    My favorite scene of Rear Window had to be when Thorwald came over to Jeff's apartment and they began fighting. This scene shows how far technology and effects have come since 1954. During the scene of them fighting, it almost looked fake because of the poor effects that were available to directors at the time. However, it was intriguing to see how movies were in 1954 compared to today. 

    After watching both Snowy and Rear Window, I have definitely opened up to watching films I wouldn't typically watch. Further, instead of focusing solely on the plot, I have grown more appreciative for acting, camera angles, and effects.