Rear Window (1954) Reaction & Review! FIRST TIME WATCHING!! 

This is my personal favorite Hitchcock film, largely due to the amazing set and its liveliness. Not just the main plot, but the details sprinkled throughout the entire film were wonderful. I would say that “North by Northwest” is a good follow up to this one, followed by Stewart’s “The Man who knew too much”

The apartment-courtyard set for “Rear Window” was constructed at Stage 18 on the Paramount lot. At the time, it was the largest indoor set ever built at Paramount. It measured ninety-eight feet wide, one hundred eighty-five feet long, and forty feet high, and consisted of thirty-one apartments, eight of which were completely furnished and provided with electricity and running water. The courtyard was set was below stage level; the soundstage floor was removed so the courtyard could be built in what had previously been a basement storage space.

Stewart's later film career role in "The Flight of the Phoenix" is worth watching. As far as Hitchcock, I love "North by Northwest" for the film locations and movie drama tension.

The two most significant Jimmy Stewart films are probably 'Mr Smith Goes to Washington' and 'It's a Wonderful Life' (both also being Frank Capra films).

One of my favorites, enjoy and see The Lady Vanishes (1938), another spectacular Hitchcock.

This is one of my favorite Hitchcock movies, and Thelma Ritter always makes any movie she is in better.

North By Northwest is one of my favorites... and the Blu Ray Criterion collection is likely one of the cleanest releases I've ever seen. You need to watch this one.

James Stewart is arguably the greatest American actor ever! Mr. Smith goes to Washington is a real Gem!

Loved this movie and when I saw this the first time in the 80s I just fell in love with Grace Kelly. As a 10 yr old I was mesmerized by her beauty. And the flick is something special, that is for sure!

Stewart’s Harvey and It’s A Wonderful Life are truly masterpieces of his. Harvey was filmed after James had played the part on stage for several year… He breaths the part… so good.

So happy you're watching this, my favourite Hitchcock movie by far! So tense and so great after all these years!

Imagine all the lighting that went into filming this classic brilliant! Thanks Shan also Grace Kelly an all time beauty

Some critics have suggested Rear Window was Hitchcock commentary on television: how we had become a nation of voyeurs (like we were looking through a window into others lives), changing channels (looking from one window to another) for the biggest thrill, and sometimes would miss plot points because of that channel changing. Of course, tv can also be a comfort to the lonely (like Ms. Lonelyhearts hearing the piano).

Hitchcock: _Strangers on a Train_ and _Shadow of a Doubt_ Stewart: _The Philadelphia Story_ Kelly: _Dial M for Murder_ and _To Catch a Thief_ (also Hitchcock films!) Just really good films: _Casablanca, Some Like It Hot, Arsenic and Old Lace, Double Indemnity, Gilda, His Girl Friday, Gaslight_ (the version with Bergman and Boyer), _Rebecca,_ and _Sunset Boulevard._ If you want to try something more unusual, please watch _The Red Shoes,_ which has truly remarkable visuals and colors; I thought of it the moment you mentioned the "washed-out" look of Technicolor. If you want to go back even further, it would be interesting to see your reaction to some even older films like _The General_ (with Buster Keaton) or _M_ (by Fritz Lang and featuring Peter Lorre). Lots of really great older stuff out there if you're willing to give it a chance.

You really should give “12 Angry Men” starring Henry Fonda a watch. It’s another fantastic classic. Stewart is great in almost every movie he’s in. Some of my favorite Stewart films are “It’s a Wonderful Life” , Vertigo, Flight of the Phoenix, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance with John Wayne. Notice during the open panning scene you see a photo of a race car crashing toward the camera and the broken camera sitting on the table. It establishes how he broke his leg.

Thorwald is played by Raymond Burr, better known for playing good-guy Perry Mason.

This may be my favourite Hitch film, and Grace Kelly's entrance takes my breath away every time. I think you'll really like To Catch a Thief, another Hitchcock film with Cary Grant and Grace Kelly.

Ohmygosh, I've been waiting for someone to do a reaction to Rear Window since I started watching reactions on RU-vid. This was my 2nd favorite "old" movie when I was a kid (behind The Wizard of Oz).

Any exploration into Jimmy Stewart has to include Its a Wonderful Life. Christmas season is coming and it’s a masterpiece.

It's a Wonderful Life is a must when it comes to Jimmy Stewart. As for Hitchcock, North by Northwest, Dial M for Murder and The Birds

Movie recommendations : Stewart : the man who killed liberty valance Kelly: high society Hitchcock : basically anything, but my favorites are * rope (also with James Stewart) *the birds *frenzy

James Stewart is one of my all time favorite actors. His film Harvey is a real treat

One of my favorite Jimmy Stewart film that doesn’t get talked about enough is “Anatomy of a Murder”. Such a good film wIth an amazing soundtrack by Duke Ellington.

aww poor Jimmy he has a girlfriend that is actual perfection

Another Hitchcock/Stewart film that I love is "Rope". It seems to be shot in one long take. It isn't but the illusion is there. It's also a pretty short film which makes sense for a one room drama.

Listed before, but Otto Preminger's "Anatomy of a Murder" from 1959 with James Stewart and a notable cast is definitely recommended.

This is one of my top 5 all time favorite movies. I watch this numerous times a year. Grace Kelly is so elegant in this. Love her. And of course, Jimmy Stewart. So glad you watched it. Another Hitchcock movie that features Grace Kelly that is great is, "Dial M for Murder". Another must see.

Aside from Psycho, this my favourite Hitchcock film.

Check out Hitchcock's Rope (1948) also starring Stewart. It's one of his lesser popular movies, yet my absolute favourite of his - because of its deconstructed murder mystery and unique setup, almost shot like a play. It would have been that way too (one long continuous shot) if it wasn't for the camera limitations of the era (it has therefore 10 cleverly hidden cuts). Rope was sort of an experiment of Hitchcock, yet If you enjoy Rear Window or murder mysteries in general I'm sure you'll love Rope. It's thst tenseful and well-acted. More people should check it out 🙂

I almost forgot: "Spellbound" (1945) is one of Hitchcock's greatest movies ever! It dives deep into the world of psychoanalysis and has even the great artist Salvador Dali as the designer of the dream parts. Starring young Gregory Peck and astonishlingly beautiful Ingrid Bergman.

Oh MAN, Shan. This is a true, absolute classic film. One of the best ever made.

Jeff's injury from getting too close to a photo subject is a metaphor for the risk of getting too close, which is also a metaphor for Jeffries' fear of commitment,

I actually love technicolor. It adds that certain MOVIE feel to a movie, creating a different reality.

You can really see Hitchcock's silent film background in his reliance on visual storytelling. They say you could turn off the sound of a Hitchcock film and still follow it, and it's true here more than ever. Although I'd never want to do that because what a screenplay too.

Rope, Strangers on the Train, Marnie, Vertigo, The Birds, Psycho, North by Northwest are my other favorite Hitchcock movies.

Bell, Book and Candle is probably my favorite James Stewart film. It also stars another Hitchcock alumni, the beautiful Kim Novak.

I am a big fan of Alfred Hitchcock; amazes me that he makes a movie in one room or 3 places and keeps your attention

This is one of my favorite films. I first watched this as a 10 year old boy growing up in public housing projects where you see all kinds of craziness happening outside your window. Stabbings, gang fights, sex in the stairwells, and so on. This movie literally transports me to the 50’s even though I was born in the late 80s. Absolutely brilliant movie and in my opinion Hitchcock’s best.

My all time FAVOURITE MOVIE. No joke. I spent time in quarantine to actually rank my favourites and Rear Window came on top. Love it so much!

I had the good fortune to be introduced to this particular film on the big screen - I was visiting my brother at college (this was the mid-80s) and went with him and his friends to a revival movie house that happened to be showing Rear Window. It was magnificent! Up until then, I had only seen such older, classic movies on television screens so it was something of a revelation to see it as it was meant to be seen. And such a WONDERFUL film, too.

Thelma Ritter is the nurse/masseuse. Wonderful character actress.

Fantastic choice, Shan! I really enjoy your reactions and insights to masterpieces of cinema like this one. More Hitch please!

I’ve seen this movie about 6 or 7 times and it always breezes through. Definitely one of my favorites of all time.

17:37 I remember watching this with my film class and everyone in the room gasped at that moment. Such a great movie!

Life boat Alfred Hitchcock

Oh wow, Love this movie. Shows how you can film something extraordinary without special effects or constant set changes if you have the story, script and acting.

What I love about this movie is all the stories that we *glimpse* before (and while) focusing in on the main story of the murder. And the love affair between Jeff and Lisa.

"Philadelphia Story" (1940), and "You Can't Take it With You" (1939) are two good Jimmy Stewart flicks. "High Noon" (1952), and "To Catch a Thief" (1955) for Grace Kelly.

Thank you for doing this, I never saw this, but after watching the birds this weekend , and totally enjoying it, like you I have heard of these classics , but was told young to enjoy, I was turned off by black n white when I was a kid, now I can see thru that, and the art of the cinema comes thru… these are amazing films, it’s nice to see the light shined on them , have a super week I.e Raymond burr played in the great series , perry mason

Thorwald's motivation for the murder was that he had a mistress. He wanted to be with the mistress and not his wife. Also, divorce in the 1950s was a little trickier than today, so Thorwald may have felt trapped in a loveless marriage. I'm not saying it's a morally good motive, but that's why he does it.

Re: technicolor… I had the opportunity to see restored prints of Vertigo and this film back in the mid-80s. There’s nothing quite like it, the colours you’re seeing in this are a very pale reflection of how they appeared when they were originally projected. It was almost hallucinogenic, so deep and vivid. Re: social commentary… the film is a commentary on film, we are all voyeurs, watching Jeff watch his neighbours, it’s what movies are. Other great James Stewart films include Mr Smith Goes to Washington, Winchester 73, Harvey, The Man Who Shot Liberty Vallance, The Shop Around the Corner… and some of his other Hitchcock films like The Man Who Knew Too Much, Vertigo and Rope.

Grace Kelly.. I mean... 😍 North by Northwest is top tier Hitchcock. Also To Catch a Thief is fun too which also has Grace being stunning. Both star Cary Grant who was always fantastic.

Hitchcock: The 39 Steps Notorious Rebecca Strangers on a Train Dial M for Murder (also has Grace Kelly) The Birds Jimmy Stewart: Anatomy of a Murder It's a Wonderful Life Mr. Smith Goes to Washington The Philadelphia Story The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance Grace Kelly: High Noon To Catch a Thief (also Hitchcock) The Country Girl High Society

YES!!! They spoofed the plot of the movie in an episode of The Simpsons, called Bart Of Darkness, where Bart injured his leg while he's diving into his pool, and is bound to a wheelchair. He even sees his neighbor Ned Flanders kill his wife Maude, but Lisa never believes him until she spots Ned burying a body in his backyard.

Technicolor was shot through a beamsplitter on three strips of black and white film, which required a massive amount of light and huge cameras. It's also one of the most stable forms of archiving film -- silver doesn't fade. Eastman color stock faded so quickly.

I can kill two birds with one stone by recommending Rope. Hitchcock and Stewart together again in a highly experimental film for its time. Another of their team-ups to watch would be The Man Who Knew Too Much, which is a remake of Hitchcock's own film from the 1930s. And I'll second the recommendation a few others have made for North by Northwest. No Stewart, but a damn good chaser to go with the 007 movies you're watching.

"Rear Window" is probably tied with "Casablanca" for me as my favorite films of all time. Jimmy Stewart did four films with Hitchcock: Rear Window (1954), Vertigo (1958 - which you've also seen), and then Rope (1948), and The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956 also w/Doris Day). Rope, as others have said, was a bit of experimenting for Hitchcock. An attempt at shooting the film all in one take, one long continuous shot. Of course, due to the length of film reels at the time, he could actually only shoot about 10 minutes at a time, but tried to mask the cuts, so it was as if there were no cuts in the film at all. A lot of people discount this film or don't like it. But I still really like it and think its a great watch for anyone interested in the art of filmmaking for the performances, to see Hitchcock's skill with camera movements, for the theatre-like style, and especially for the atmosphere. The changing from afternoon to evening across the city out the window of the apartment as the film progresses is amazing (similar to what you pointed out with Rear Window...the set and the depth, atmosphere, mood, and realness Hitch created with it). Others of my favorite Hitchcock films are: Shadow of a Doubt (1943), The Lady Vanishes (1938), North By Northwest (1959 - w/Cary Grant), The 39 Steps (1935), Rebecca (1940 - w/Laurence Olivier), Saboteur (1942), and Lifeboat (1944). Other great Jimmy Stewart movies include: Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1939), Winchester '73 (1950), The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962 - w/John Wayne), The Philadelphia Story (1940 - w/Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn), Harvey (1950), and of course, It's a Wonderful Life (1946). I've also really been enjoying watching you go through the Jame Bond films in order! Thumbs up Shan!

Really like how this is like watching a play on a stage through the fourth wall.

what a movie! my favorite Hitchcock by far. I know this sounds kinda boring, but my favorite Stewart movie is It's a Wonderful life. I know it's overplayed in the USA, but it's my all time 'go to' movie when I need some comfort

you might enjoy Anatomy of a Murder (1959, dir. Otto Preminger), Shadow of a Doubt (1943, dir. Hitchcock), Rebecca (1940, dir. Hitchcock)

Here's an interesting factoid about Hitchcock and Rear Window. Hitchcock first came to Hollywood under the wing of Producer/Director David O. Selznick. After a few movies together Hitchcock began to feel stifled by the oppressive control Selznick was exerting over his movies. This eventually led to a very acrimonious split. When Hitchcock made Rear Window he ordered that the villain of the movie, played by Raymond Burr, be made up to look like Selznick

Shirley Maclaine’s first film was a Hitchcock “comedy”. The Trouble with Harry. It is delightful. Obscure recommendation.

Please react to "To Catch a Thief" with Grace Kelley, Cary Grant with Hitchcock direction.

My favorite Hitchcock masterpiece! Glad you enjoyed it. Saw it in theaters once; it was fun! Other thrillers to watch not directed by Hitchcock but might as well be: Charade (1963) and Wait Until Dark (1967)

Hitchcock must-sees: North by Northwest, Shadow of a Doubt, Notorious, Rebecca, Rope, Strangers on a Train, The 39 Steps, Dial M for Murder, The Birds, Spellbound, The Lady Vanishes, Lifeboat.

You can not go wrong with Hitchcock. Some recommendations: Strangers on a Train The Birds The Man Who Knew Too Much (Either version but the Jimmy Stewart version is better imo) Rope North By Northwest

Not Hitchcock (or the other two) but I’m going to recommend The Night of the Hunter (1955) starring Robert Mitchum. Great tension, solid story and Mitchum plays a menacing traveling preacher who has LOVE and HATE tattooed on his knuckles. The cinematography is very film noir and is shot on elaborate sets like this one.

Rope's another good James Stewart Hitchcock film and I see North by Northwest is being listed, personally 'Frenzy' is one of my favourite Hitchcock films. Set in London around a serial killer on the loose... I won't spoil it, but it's sooooo good and nobody ever seems to talk about it.

The Man Who Knew Too Much by Hitchcock stars Stewart with Doris Day. I gotta add to the chorus though Shan...you gotta watch North By Northwest! ETA - Shan you MUST watch Vertigo!!!

One of my absolute favorite movies of all time. And it is without a doubt my nineteen-year-old son's favorite movie he even has a movie poster of it on the wall in his room

James Stewart movie to watch: "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" It's a brilliant movie, plus it is a John Wayne/Jimmy Stewart collaboration.

I'm a Hitchcock and James Stewart fan. I was able to watch Rear Window and some other Hitchcock films at a movie theater a few years ago at a Hitchcock retrospective in Santa Monica California a few years ago. It is a totally different experience watching these films with an audience even though I've seen them many times. It seems like I paid more attention to the films at the theater than i did when I watched them on DVD. Vertigo on the big screen was awesome. I never realized how much James Stewart could speak without uttering a word just by using certain facial expressions.

I think this is my favourite Hitchcock film :) The use of diagetic sounds and music is a great way to add realism to the scenes.

One of the best things about the final scene between Thorwald and Jeff is that Thorwald is the one who's afraid, by his words and his actions, he's more scared than Jeff is.

My two favorite Hitchcock films from the 40's , Shadow of a Doubt with Joseph Cotton , & Foreign Correspondent with Joel McCrae, both excellent .

Check out 'Dial M For Murder' it is another Grace Kelly film directed by Sir Alfred Hitchcock (also it was the only Hitchcock movie shot & filmed in 3D, when the 3D craze was at its hight in the early 1950s) ... 😉 Also 'To Catch A Thief' with Cary Grant (from North By Northwest) and Grace Kelly is another good Hitchcock film as well. 😁

It absolutely was a set. At the time it was the largest single set ever built for a film. Indeed, they cut the floor out of the stage and used the basement area of the stage. So Jeff's apartment actually sat on what was originally the floor stage level.

One of the funniest episodes of The Simpsons is a parody of this movie with Bart having a broken leg and thinking Flanders killed his wife.😂👍

Hitchcock's main commentary in this film was about you, the voyeur, er viewer. Virtually all of his films are multi layered storylines with options for storylines and interpretations. I'm so happy to see you watching and commenting on Hitchcock because it is a rich and rewarding cinematic journey. Great job after only one viewing.

So, so happy to see you reacting to classic movies. May I suggest: "Dial M For Murder" - Grace Kelly and Ray Milland (Hitchcock directs) "The Birds" - Tippi Hedren and Rod Taylor (Hitchcock directs) "Casablanca" - Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman "Key Largo" - Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall "To Have And Have Not" - Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall "To Catch A Thief" - Cary Grant and Grace Kelly (Hitchock directs) "On The Beach" - Gregory Peck and Ava Gardner "Rio Bravo" - John Wayne and Dean Martin "The Searchers" - John Wayne and Jeffrey Hunter

To Catch a Thief is another great Hitchcock film with Grace Kelly, with Cary Grant in the lead. It has the unintended twist of taking place in the scenic winding roads of Monaco, where Grace Kelly died, but it's a great film.

The guy in the studio apartment who was the composer was an actor/musician named Ross Bagdasarian. He later went on to some fame under the stage name David Seville. The act was David Seville and the Chipmunks. (Alvin and the Chipmunks.)

"North By Northwest" is my favorite Hitchcock film. (Grace Kelly is also beautiful in Hitchcock's 1955 "To Catch A Thief" with exquisite locations - but story and emotions not as compelling to me for some reason.)

I will recommend a film that everyone thinks is Hitchcock, but isn't. CHARADE by Stanley Donen. I thought that it was Hitchcock until recently. You'll see why. Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn, suspense and comedic flirtation. Excellent!

Besides being a early master of suspense, Hitchcock was a 1very technically innovative director and created a lot of techniques that are still in use. Vertigo was a great example of this. Rope is another good one, also with Jimmy Stewart. Hitchcock shot it all on a single set, and hid the cuts to make it look like one continuous shot. North by Northwest is another Hitchcock film with Stewart that is well worth watching. If you want to see a really young Stewart, he shows up in the 2nd Thin Man film, After the Thin Man. The Thin Man series is well worth watching for the on-screen chemistry between the leads (William Powel and Myrna Loy).

Hitchcock truly was the master of suspense and the way he had his movie shot is simply amazing. He knew how to tell a story just be the cinematography. A great example is the opening shot of this movie. A masterclass often immitated (the simpsons, the rolling stones videoclip neighbors just to name a few). Other great movies to watch from him: The 39 steps Rope Strangers on a train The lady vanishes Dial m for murder Notorious Shadow of a doubt (hitchcock's favorite own movie) North by northwest The birds Frenzy All his movies are great but these are a good starting point along with the three you already saw.

My favorite Hitchcock movie that rarely ever seems to get mentioned or covered is Rebecca (1940), based on the famous Daphne du Maurier novel of the same name. It’s in the IMDb Top 250, so obviously people have heard of it, and it really is excellent. Maybe its age puts people off? Judith Anderson gives one of the best villainous performances of all time, in my opinion. It was remade recently by Netflix but I heard it wasn’t very good (it also starred Armie Hammer…) Anyway, even if you don’t cover it on the channel, I hope you check it out some day, it’s absolutely a must-see and a truly masterful film and story. It’s a ghost story without a ghost, sort of perfect for this time of year.

Shan, I still enjoy your channel and I'm glad you're still posting. A lot of people are comforted by reaction channels, I think, and yours is splendid. Be well.

I love Alfred Hitchcock! My favorite Hitchcock film is "Dial M for Murder". Such a great, great movie!

Strangers on a Train. Love Hitchcock movies. If you do older movies, Key Largo is a must.

Fun fact: Hitchcock had all the actors playing the neighbors fitted with flesh-tone earpieces so he could direct them via radio.

Look up “goddess” and you’ll find a picture of Grace Kelly.

Hitchcock's favorite of his own films was Shadow of a Doubt. Excellent

Hitchcock best film. The couple was fighting from the beginning. When the siren wails that's when the thing happens that causes the murder. We don't see it but we do hear it sound so important with Mr h. He was making a telephone call to his new lady friend, his wife overhears the call and laughs, they argue...

Hey Shan, if 1954 is the oldest movie you've watched on your channel, I wonder if that includes what you've seen. You are missing out on a lot with the 30s and 40s if you haven't seen any or many from that period, as well as the 50s! Dig into these real classics, especially the B&W ones as you will find lots of cinema gold. For more of Jimmy Stewart's do "It's A Wonderful Life" (1946) which is one of the best of Frank Capra, but you should save it for the Christmas season. Another two of Stewart's you would like are "Harvey" (1950), and another Capra classic "Mr. Smith Goes To Washington" (1939). A couple of Hitchcock's you'd enjoy too are "The Birds" and "Dial M For Murder". You'll spot Hitch in The Birds pretty easy, but you'll have to look a little closer form him in Dial M! ✌️😎

With all the stars in this film, you still can’t understate the contribution made by Thelma Ritter. An incredible character actor, although she doesn’t have the extensive IMDB listing of most male character actors of the same period. 5:32 Grace Kelly, in probably the best first shot of any actress in a film. She and Ingrid Bergman are tied in my book as the most luminously beautiful women of the mid-twentieth century.

My grandfather's favorte Jimmy Stewart movie is Bend of the River. It's one of the first Jimmy Stewart films he introduced me to and it's become one of my favorites as well. Definitely recommend it.

Yes, a real classic!! X

For me, Hitchcock’s best is The 39 Steps, The Lady Vanishes, and The Man Who Knew Too Much. The originals, from back before he came to Hollywood. They are so suspenseful and full of twists, but also hilariously witty. Just fantastic movies.

Check out Hitchcock's "Rope" (1948), also starring James Stewart. I think it may be my favorite Hitchcock movie, but Rear Window would be up there as well.