41. Rear Window (Alfred Hitchcock, 1954)
Ranking Hitchcock:
- Rear Window
- Strangers on a Train
- Dial M for Murder
- North by Northwest
- The 39 Steps
- Notorious
- Psycho
- The Birds
- Shadow of a Doubt
- Rope
- The Lady Vanishes
- Marnie
- Vertigo
- Rebecca
I have seen more Hitchcock than any other director, partly due to his having 13 films on the list, and partly due to the fact that he is consistently excellent. Even the stuff I didn’t like, it’s still interesting.
Anyway I like “Rear Window” the best for several reason. I am a sucker for Jimmy Stewart, I love how he can be the everyman, but on the other he can say the craziest shit and still seem perfectly normal(see “Rope” and the “moon beams” speech from “It’s a Wonderful Life“. That and how his voice cracks when he speaks. Just awesome. Plus Grace Kelly is straight ballin’. Seriously she is a candidate for most beautiful woman ever.
So basically the film combines Jimmy Stewart’s awesomeness and Grace Kelly’s hotness, throws in some Thelma Ritter sass, and to top it all off, one of the most suspenseful screenplays ever. A simply astonishing film.
Plus it was the subject of a fantastic Simpsons episode. Really what more can a film do to get in my good graces.
The only issue I have with the film is that nothing can really compare with the first viewing(I was swearing and almost in tears, tears of awesomeness). The end sequence is so suspenseful upon first viewing, that once you know how it ends, the film loses a bit of muster. I think all thrillers kind of suffer the same fate. It’s the price you pay for making a thriller with a suspenseful ending.
On filmaffinity.com I gave the film a 9/10, it’s about as close to a 10 as I can think of, and chances are it will become a 10 if I watch it again. Just a fantastic movie.
2 responses so far ↓
Travis // July 12, 2008 at 5:53 am
Why do you have 39 steps ranked so high? I watched a lot of Hitchcock movies last summer my favorite was Psycho. But after I saw 39 steps with its black and white, British, old Hitchcock film. I decided never to see a Hitchcock film again. Plus I think most of his earlier films are in black and white and some have no sound to it. I agree with Grace Kelly is hot after I saw Rear Window I started to watch all her other films which aren’t really worth watching. Eva Marie Saint is also very pretty but its disappointing that she never did another Hitchcock film.
Cary Grant. I’d do him. « Justin Watches Movies // August 1, 2008 at 5:32 pm
[...] work, but I think it’s probably the best introduction to Hitchcock save for maybe Rear Window. I mean Psycho is good, but I can see where people would think it sucks(it’s black & [...]