Rear Window

I'll definitely say I liked it more than North By Northwest.

So I finally watched Rear Window, does it hold up to the expectations? I have to yes. I knew the basic premise of a world travelling photographer who is wheelchair bound after an accident and has taken a hobby of looking out the window and observing the neighborhood before he suspects someone of murder and subsequently tries to prove it, but beyond that I knew hardly anything about it except for the cast. I loved Jimmy Stewart in this movie, he has such a likable charm to him and is a very compelling lead, and his interactions with Grace Kelly never failed once to bring a smile to my face. She was a lovely lady in life, and most everyone who worked with her said she was a great actress which I agree with. Raymond Burr was surprisingly scary even though I mostly know him for his lifelong career of defense attorney Perry Mason and reporter Steve Martin from the immortal american edit Godzilla King Of The Monsters, but this was done before both and he brings such a strong uneasiness and on just two occasions made my blood run a bit cold. Absolutely great cast, and a damn good story, but I really feel this movie could never be replicated again even in 100 years time. Hitchcock knew exactly how to direct this, and more importantly what to show. A very good portion of this film is seeing things through a point of view shot, you never see any actors observing the small neighborhood, you just see different people across the courtyard interacting in their own apartments. It really does feel like you're sitting in that wheelchair and observing all the things going on. It's absurd how well constructed the set was for the apartments, and the fact that each resident has their own story and personalities must seriously be recommended, I absolutely loved this movie for that. It's so difficult to explain because it really is so intricately constructed and each shot is there for a purpose, that it would take all day to fully explain why it works so friggin' well. Bottom line, watch it. It is well worth your time and money even if just for a one time viewing, it's easily one of Hitchcock's finest films that I will watch time and again. 4 stars, 8.5/10, and we got one more movie with Mr. Stewart. Will it be the best of them all or will it fall flat? Somehow I doubt it at this point.