Jeff is beyond boredom with limits of possible to do anything while being stuck in a wheel chair. Snooping on his neighbors secluded lives, the film raises the question of whether or not is Jeff crosses the moral line. He is certainly show’s a thrill of secretly while intruding into people’s lives. Jeff tries to uncover the truth about a neighbor that he assumes is a murder, doing everything in his power to keep from getting caught. I almost looked at this movie as a chess game, Thorwald takes special steps to prevent suspicion, while Jeff discoveries places where Thorwald slips up.
Central to the subplot, Hitchcock masterfully uses the relationships in other apartments, as well as cinematic techniques, to illuminate the progression of Jeff’s and Lisa’s relationship. Initially, Jeff and Lisa are counterpoints and their relationship is fraught with tension. Lisa lives an extravagant life as a model and longs to settle down and marry Jeff. Devoted to pursuing Jeff, Lisa is displayed as an exhibitionist. Jeff, on the other hand, is a photographer who leads an exiting life and values his freedom.
While Jeff centers his notice on his girlfriend Lisa, Thornwald strangles a dog close to unearthing his plot. As Lisa attempts to gather evidence against Thornwald while he is absent from his apartment, Jeff’s one job was to signal Lisa with a flashbulb upon Thornwald’s return. Unfortunately, Jeff becomes distracted by Miss. Lonelyhearts preparing to commit suicide and misses his opportunity to warn Lisa of Thornwald’s approach. No matter how studiously someone scrutinizes a group of people, in the Panoptic system, with all the inmates so spread out, a person cannot keep his or her eyes on
Jeff focused on just the Thorwald’s apartment for the majority of the movie because of the disappearance of his wife, and this has given Jeff more details of Mr. Thorwald’s whereabouts. He knew where Thorwald would put something, when he would make calls, and what he would pack a suitcase, and these are just some of the aspects that Jeff was able to get more information about. In addition, the conflict between Jeff and Thorwald with the camera flashes, was another scene where the perspective gave an image of how the interpretation between the two characters were different but important to see the the different angles. Like only knowing one side of a story, the understanding of life will be unclear if there is only one perspective used. When multiple perspectives are added to the mix, there will be a clearer picture of how life is understood and most enjoyable.
So, he could be described as a voyeur. Across a very limited space- the courtyard of the neighbourhood, he spends his time looking through the window in order to avoid the boredom. He looks at different windows with different stories, just as the audience goes
Hitchcock has been described by many film reviewers as ‘a master of mystery, a connoisseur of compelling cryptic suspense”, however, the manner in which he depicted gender roles was concrete in its rigidity. Having directed and cast over 70 films, Hitchcock has himself admitted that women are often seen as objects and that the only reason they exist in his films is as a supporting role to the male actor. Rear Window’s main three female roles consist of the scantily clad Ms Torso, named only by a body part, and the glamourous Lisa and nurse Stella whose roles are limited to enabling Jeff to follow his pursuits. How can this be
Through his recovery, Jeff lives his life vicariously through his window until he hears a woman screaming for help, startling him and creating suspicion that his neighbor, Lars Thorwald, has murdered his wife. This leads to a series of events that eventually leads to Thorwald being convicted of his crimes
According to Thomas Mann, ‘The idea of suspense is closely bound up with the idea of fiction’ (in Bordwell & Thompson, 2009, p.59). But despite the story line, Rear Window explains the nature of a film that recording what we see, hear, think or dream in the reality and giving back to us through the screen. When a day begins, everyone has the possibility to open the window and accidentally see what happens in the opposite apartment. And in Rear Window, people are living in New York City, substantially normal, just like us, who are watching the film, which is a strong contrast to a murder case and gives us more mental panic when we find out a murderer living in next door. Certainly the story itself is a fiction.
Jefferies and Lisa, and is believed to have snapped this lady’s dogs neck for digging in his flower garden. In this scene we see multiple people turn on their lights and run out on their balconies to see what a certain scream was about. The connection of shots in this scene portrays Hitchcock’s use of montage very well because of the sound, shots, point of view, and emotions that he creates. Hitchcock uses his images with excellent taste, especially in Rear Window, and this scene. First off, the sound that is in this scene is very interesting to me.
As for Jeff, he believes he can escape, but the shadows tell the truth. He’s been pulled too far into the world and now fate is closing in. Although he doesn’t know it yet, Whit’s dead. His plan has failed. The shadows trap Jeff in the frame, condensing space, making the whole scene feel uneasy (well, that and the unknown intentions of Jim).