Analysis Of Alfred Hitchcock 's Rear Window

In Alfred Hitchcock's 1954 classic thriller Rear Window, Jimmy Stewart stars as L.B. Jeffries, a world traveling magazine photographer accustomed to living a fast pace active lifestyle. When Jefferies injures himself taking a risky picture he is immobilized, confined to a wheelchair inside his apartment for two months. Bored with his uneventful life he becomes completely obsessed with the lives of his neighbors spending the majority of his waking hours watching them from his window. To obtain a better view he begins using a telescopic lens from one of his cameras. By watching his neighbors through the camera he assumes the role of both a spectator and a voyeur. This contributes to

it is the start of the story. The window fills the whole frame of the

In this essay, I shall try to illustrate whether analysing the movie Rear Window as a classical example of the Freudian concept of voyeurism, is appropriate. Voyeurism is defined in The Penguin dictionary of psychology as:

Alfred Hitchcock’s film Shadow of a Doubt is a true masterpiece. Hitchcock brings the perfect mix of horror, suspense, and drama to a small American town. One of the scenes that exemplifies his masterful style takes place in a bar between the two main characters, Charlie Newton and her uncle Charlie. Hitchcock was quoted as saying that Shadow of a Doubt, “brought murder and violence back in the home, where it rightly belongs.” This quote, although humorous, reaffirms the main theme of the film: we find evil in the places we least expect it. Through careful analysis of the bar scene, we see how Hitchcock underlies and reinforces this theme through the setting, camera angles,

Cinematic perception can be understood using the metaphor of cinema as a window and frame.  Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window is an concrete example of this metaphor from both a critical viewpoint as an audience member, and from the perspective of the protagonist, L.B. Jefferies.  Thomas Elsaesser believes that the cinema of the window offers a “special, ocular access to an event” and the screen is transformed from a two dimensional narrative into a three-dimensional environment within which the audience is absorbed (14). Because the plot contains an actual window and also involves L.B Jefferies looking through a window, Rear Window is an exemplary illustration of this metaphor. The two observation points are similar in that they are both ocular-specular,

What are the issues of watching and voyeurism in film? The intention of this essay is to discuss both films (The Truman Show, 1998 and Rear Window, 1954) alongside established theoretical criticism (Laura Mulvey and Norman K. Denzin) in an attempt to demonstrate how the issues of watching and voyeurism, as seen in todays mainstream Hollywood cinema, both engages and entices the spectator and to look at how the definition of the voyeur has changed. Before entering into a discussion about voyeurism in Rear Window and The Truman Show, an understanding of what is meant by ‘the dynamics of voyeurism’ in film must be attempted. The dictionary definition of a voyeur is: (1) a person who gains sexual pleasure from watching others when they are

Hitchcock is known for the “meticulousness of his preproduction, shooting, and editing strategies” (Sterritt 9). An example of this is the filming technique Hitchcock used to illustrate Scottie’s Vertigo; to represent the sensation, the camera would physically move away from the subject while simultaneously zooming in on the subjects. Thus this specific shot was used whenever Scottie went through that experience, creating a specific motif for his reaction. Another strategy of Hitchcock is “his celebrated use of point-of-view shots”, which he employed to unite “physical and psychological identification between spectator and character” (Sterritt 11). This is exemplified in Rear Window, which is seen from almost entirely Jeff’s perspective, thus uniting audiences more with Jeff, and therefore the subjective narrative. This increases solidarity with Jeff, and makes it easier for the audience to adopt Jeff’s discoveries as the truth. Additionally point-of-view shots allow viewers to understand characters more, as seen through Judy’s point of view on her walk in the park with Scottie. Another camera angle favoured is the extreme high-angle shot, which in some cases marks a significant point in the plot; this shot is used to show Madeleine’s fall to her death in Vertigo, the point in the movie that serves as a climax that triggers the narrative

Voyeurism in its generic form, has long been considered unethical due to its invasive nature. Most people would agree that spying on others is an invasion of privacy, and would look down on those peering into other’s lives. This viewpoint is expressed in the opening scene of the film by Jefferies’ insurance worker, Stella. She makes her entrance stating that ‘‘The New York state sentence for a peeping tom is six months in the workhouse...’. She goes on to say that his behaviour has her smelling ‘trouble right here in [his] apartment’ and mimics his hypothetical court appearance. Lisa Freemont, Jefferies’ girlfriend, also comments on the issue, first when Jefferies’ tells her of his suspicions of Lars Thorwald; labelling his ‘wild opinions’ as ‘diseased’ while defensively giving alternate reasons for all of Jefferies’ questions about Thorwald. Including these women, no character in the film, initially, encourages Jefferies’ voyeurism. Instead they explicitly downplay and dismiss it. Both Stella and

In this essay, I shall try to illustrate whether analysing the movie Rear Window as a classical example of the Freudian concept of voyeurism, is appropriate. Voyeurism is defined in The Penguin dictionary of psychology as:

Alfred Hitchcock’s 1954 film, Rear Window, explores many dimensions in cinematography. The phenomenal film is well known for proclaiming its voyeurism issues that goes on in today’s society. Even though voyeurism is an act that should not be done, this film portrays it in an affirmative way. Rear Window introduces primary structural components in the first act which sets the mood for the audience to interact with J.B. Jefferies in a way as it is the audiences duty to help him solve the mystery on whether Thorwald murdered his wife or not.

Window, by Alfred Hitchcock. This male gaze idea is present in most forms of media that

Alfred Hitchcock’s attention to detail in his films is one of the many things that makes him one of the most recognized film auteurs of all time. He was very particular what about he wanted seen on screen and how he wanted to get those shots. From camera movements to the things found in the mise-en-scène, Hitchcock was very precise about every little thing that is seen in his on screen worlds. He would strategically place objects throughout the mise-en-scène and have characters wear certain clothing. By doing this, Hitchcock is able to let the audience know things about the characters and the plot without it having to be said on camera. Hitchcock once said that “If it's a good movie, the sound could go off and the audience would still have a perfectly clear idea of what was going on” (Tiffin). That’s why there’s no surprise that when Hitchcock finally made his first color film, he began to use color as another way of communicating with his audience.

Alfred Hitchcock’s thriller ‘Rear Window’ (Hitchcock, 1954) begins with the immediate use of mise-en-scène in order to establish a sense of atmosphere, equilibrium and the mundane, soon to be disrupted as the events of the film unfold and are observed through the eyes of the voyeuristic protagonist, Jeff. Setting, cinematography and various other expressive mise-en-scène techniques work together to influence the overall appearance of the film. Though, by taking a closer look, these techniques reveal the significance of the narrative and characters. In the opening sequence, Hitchcock’s original visual style provides signposts for the audience to recognize what will be significant in the future: instead of establishing what is only happening in the moment in time; mise-en-scène is used to suggest what is to come. This arrangement of the “Classical Hollywood” narrative - starting with the setting and characters in a state equilibrium - acts as a seemingly all-purpose, archetypal opening by establishing location and introducing character. Simultaneously we can see that this sequence is vastly different from the rest of the film: it is leading the viewer into a false sense of security – the calm before the storm – as Jeff soon happens to piece together information leading to the possibility that one of his neighbors murdered their wife. This sequence is one of the only moments in the film we see things the protagonist does not, thus this carefully constructed opening is preparing

What is a Voyeur? It’s a person who gets pleasure from secretly watching others in private moments. In The Living Room, the narrator’s voyeurism of her neighbors is wrong and she continually dismisses her intrusive violations of privacy of the couple. She expresses guilt that is due to her lack of non-consent from the couple and clearly violates their privacy. The person/s being viewed are intruded upon and are most often damaged by being watched. Throughout mankind we have been curious of the unknown and get pleasure from watching others and we have acknowledged this behavior and the acceptance of it as normal. The heavy appeal of social media and reality shows are now providing us with the ability to compare ourselves with other people in private or intimate situations that either we wish we could be in or happy we are not. This bad behavior is unacceptable, but where do the lines of privacy begin or end.

Reality is ultimately dependent upon what is seen and how it gets seen. Rear Window, directed by the renowned Alfred Hitchcock, centers around a temporarily wheelchair-bound photographer and his beautiful, affluent girlfriend, who believe that one of his neighbors has murdered their wife. With the help of his caretaker and a friend of his, who is a detective, they attempt to prove that the murder did indeed take place. L.B “Jeff” Jefferies, played by James Stewart, is the hindered photographer, who is confined to his apartment. To kill time, Jeff develops the “diseased” habit of watching his neighbors through his professional grade camera and lens. His girlfriend, Lisa Carol Fremont, played by Grace Kelly, is heavily involved in the fashion industry and is well known for her elegance. However, she deeply in love with Jeff and desperately wants to be a part of his life, even if that means she has to embark on the unpleasant, and often life-threatening, adventures that he goes on for his work. The neighbor, Lars Thorwald, played by Raymond Burr, is a strained salesman, whose wife is a bed-ridden invalid. He tries to tend to her needs, but it never seems to be satisfactory to her. One night he decides that he is done nursing her, so he murders her. The audience is brought into a cross-courtyard game of cat and mouse, through the unique perspective of Jeff and his camera lens, and also must deal with the unnerving abyss of the unseen. Hitchcock uses an unparalleled first person