Hitchcock’s classic Technicolor thriller is a visionary metaphor for today’s espionage practices. Recuperating from a broken leg, professional photographer L. B. ‘Jeff’ Jefferies (James Stewart) is confined to a wheelchair while his girlfriend Lisa Fremont (Grace Kelly) visits him regularly. His apartment’s rear window looks out onto a courtyard and several other apartments. During a heatwave, he spies on his neighbors who keep their windows open to stay cool.
As Jeff watches his neighbors, he assigns them such roles and character names as ‘Miss Torso’ and ‘Miss Lonelyhearts’. Of particular interest is seemingly mild-mannered travelling salesman Lars Thorwald, who is saddled with a nagging, invalid wife. One night, Jeff becomes convinced one of them has committed a murder. Lisa is less convinced, at first: “Tell me everything you saw, and what you think it means.”
Film details
Productieland
USA
Jaar
1954
Festivaleditie
IFFR 2019
Lengte
112'
Medium/Formaat
35mm
Taal
English
Première status
None
Director
Alfred Hitchcock
Producer
Alfred Hitchcock
Cinematography
Robert Burks
Principal cast
James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendell Corey, Thelma Ritter, Raymond Burr, Judith Evelyn, Ross Bagdasarian