Editing Rear Window

{{Short description|1954 American mystery thriller film by Alfred Hitchcock}}
{{About|the 1954 Hitchcock film}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2015}}
{{use American English|date=July 2017}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Rear Window
| image          = Rear Window film poster.jpg
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Alfred Hitchcock]]
| producer       = Alfred Hitchcock
| screenplay     = [[John Michael Hayes]]
| based_on       = {{Based on|"It Had to Be Murder"<br />1942 story in ''Dime Detective''|[[Cornell Woolrich]]}}
| starring       = {{Plainlist|
* [[James Stewart]]
* [[Grace Kelly]]
* [[Wendell Corey]]
* [[Thelma Ritter]]
* [[Raymond Burr]]
}}
| music          = [[Franz Waxman]]
| cinematography = [[Robert Burks]]
| editing        = [[George Tomasini]]
| studio         = Patron Inc.
| distributor    = [[Paramount Pictures]]{{refn|name=Paramount|group=N|After the film's release, Paramount transferred the distribution rights to Hitchcock's estate, where they were acquired by [[Universal Pictures]] in 1983.<ref>{{cite book |last1=McGilligan |first1=Patrick |title=Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light |date=2003 |publisher=[[Wiley (publisher)|Wiley]] |page=653}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Rossen |first1=Jake |title=When Hitchcock Banned Audiences from Seeing His Movies |url=https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/74977/when-hitchcock-banned-audiences-seeing-his-movies |access-date=September 9, 2020 |work=Mental Floss |date=February 5, 2016}}</ref>}}
| released       = {{Film date|1954|8|4|New York City|1954|9|1|United States}}
| runtime        = 111 minutes
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         = $1 million<ref>{{cite web|url=https://theasc.com/articles/hitchcocks-techniques-rear-window|title=Hitchcock’s Techniques Tell Rear Window Story|publisher=[[American Cinematographer]]|access-date=April 22, 2025}}</ref>
| gross          = $37.9 million<ref name="mojo">{{cite web|url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=rearwindow.htm|title=''Rear Window'' (1954)|publisher=[[Box Office Mojo]]|access-date=April 12, 2012}}</ref>
}}

'''''Rear Window''''' is a 1954 American [[mystery film|mystery]] [[thriller film]] directed by [[Alfred Hitchcock]] and written by [[John Michael Hayes]], based on [[Cornell Woolrich]]'s 1942 short story "[[After-Dinner Story|It Had to Be Murder]]". Originally released by [[Paramount Pictures]], the film stars [[James Stewart]], [[Grace Kelly]], [[Wendell Corey]], [[Thelma Ritter]], and [[Raymond Burr]]. It was screened at the 1954 [[Venice Film Festival]] in competition for the [[Golden Lion]].

''Rear Window'' is considered by many filmgoers, critics, and scholars to be one of Hitchcock's best films,<ref name="RT">{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1017289_rear_window|title=Rear Window (1954)|website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|publisher=[[Fandango Media]]|access-date=August 13, 2019}}</ref> as well as one of the [[List of films considered the best|greatest films ever made]]. It received four [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]] nominations, and was ranked number 42 on AFI's [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies|100 Years...100 Movies list]] and number 48 on [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition)|the 10th-anniversary edition]], and in 1997 was added to the United States [[National Film Registry]] in the [[Library of Congress]] as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."<ref>{{Cite web|title=Complete National Film Registry Listing|url=https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/complete-national-film-registry-listing/|website=[[Library of Congress]]|access-date=May 8, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=New to the National Film Registry (December 1997) - Library of Congress Information Bulletin|url=https://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/9712/nfr.html|access-date=2020-08-06|website=www.loc.gov}}</ref>

The film was made with a budget of $1 million {{USDCY|1000000|1954}}, and grossed $27 million during its initial release {{USDCY|27000000|1954}}.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-01-15 |title=Inflation Calculator {{!}} Find US Dollar's Value From 1913-2025 |url=https://www.usinflationcalculator.com |access-date=2025-01-30 |website=www.usinflationcalculator.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Plot ==
Professional [[photojournalist]] L.B. "Jeff" Jefferies, recuperating from adventurous assignment-related injuries, in a cast from his waist to foot, is confined to a wheelchair in his [[Greenwich Village, Manhattan|Greenwich Village]] apartment. His mid-floor rear window looks out onto a courtyard with small garden plots, surrounded on four sides by apartments in adjoining buildings. Jeff is regularly visited by Stella, a cynical, middle-aged nurse, and his couture-dressed young girlfriend, Lisa Fremont, a model and socialite.

[[File:Rearwindow trailer 1.jpg|thumb|left|267px|James Stewart as L. B. Jefferies who watches his neighbors out of boredom while confined to a wheelchair.]]
[[File: Grace Kelly Rear Window promo.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.75|Grace Kelly as Lisa Fremont, in a couture gown, who Jeff cannot imagine roughing it in casual clothes.]]

During a [[heat wave]], Jeff watches his neighbors through open windows, including a professional dancer coined "Miss Torso"; a songwriter with writer's block; a spinster who pantomimes dates with pretend suitors, "Miss [[Personal advertisement|Lonely-Hearts]]"; and traveling [[costume jewelry]] salesman Lars Thorwald, who is hen-pecked by his bedridden wife. One night, Jeff hears a woman scream followed by the sound of breaking glass. Later that night, Jeff wakes as a thunderstorm breaks; he observes Thorwald making repeated excursions carrying his aluminum sample case. After Jeff has fallen asleep, Thorwald leaves his apartment along with a woman obscured by a large black hat.

The next morning, Jeff notices Thorwald's wife is gone and sees him cleaning a large knife and handsaw. Movers haul away a large trunk. After surveilling with binoculars and a camera with a [[telephoto lens]], Jeff grows suspicious of Thorwald's activities. Convinced that Thorwald has murdered his wife, he first tells Stella, who becomes morbidly interested in the case, and then Lisa, who doubts him until they notice that Thorwald's wife is no longer in bed and the mattress is rolled up.

Jeff calls detective Tom Doyle to request that he investigate Thorwald. A skeptical Doyle investigates extensively, finds nothing suspicious, and posits that Thorwald had sent his wife on a vacation upstate. Temporarily mollified by this explanation, Jeff and Lisa begin to question their "rear window ethics". Later that night, however, a neighbor’s dog is found dead in the courtyard; the previous day Thorwald had chased the dog away from digging his garden flowerbed. The dog's alarmed owner cries out, drawing the attention of everyone except Thorwald, who sits furtively in his dark apartment. Now convinced his theory is true, Jeff looks at slides taken two weeks earlier and notices that Thorwald has re-planted flowers in his garden, possibly to bury a body part. 

The following night, Jeff telephones to lure Thorwald away from his apartment, enabling Lisa and Stella to investigate Thorwald's flowerbed. Finding nothing, Lisa decides to climb into Thorwald's open window to search his apartment. Stella hurries back to Jeff. 

While Lisa is searching, Jeff and Stella are distracted watching Miss Lonely-Hearts contemplating an overdose; they call the police. Coincidentally, the songwriter has finished his song "Lisa," playing it loudly; enthralled by the tune, Miss Lonely-Hearts abandons her suicide attempt. In the interim, Thorwald unexpectedly returns early and catches Lisa, who cries out. The operator finally connects Jeff with the police, and he reports that a man is assaulting a woman at Thorwald's apartment. The police arrive to intervene as Lisa and Thorwald scuffle. During police questioning, Lisa signals to Jeff that she is wearing Mrs. Thorwald's wedding ring. Seeing this, Thorwald realizes Jeff is surveilling his apartment. Lacking proof to accuse Thorwald of murder, Lisa is arrested for [[Burglary|breaking and entering]].

Jeff phones Doyle and leaves an urgent message while Stella bails Lisa out of jail. Locating Jeff’s apartment, Thorwald attacks him; Jeff’s only defense in a darkened apartment is snapping camera [[Flash bulb|flash bulbs]] in Thorwald’s eyes. While they grapple, Doyle and other officers arrive, followed by Lisa and Stella. Police apprehend Thorwald just as he drops Jeff out of his window. Thorwald confesses his wife's murder to the police.

A few days later, the heat wave has broken, and life in the apartment complex has returned to normal. Miss Lonely-Hearts is seen socializing with the songwriter in his studio apartment while he plays music. Having broken his other leg in the fall, Jeff is still wheelchair-bound, now with both legs in casts. Lisa is seen stretched out next to him, wearing more casual attire and reading a travel book. After noticing Jeff asleep, she puts aside the book on exploration titled ''Beyond the High Himalayas'' and turns instead to read ''[[Harper's Bazaar]]''.

== Cast ==
[[File:Rearwindow trailer 2.jpg|thumb|right|300px|James Stewart and Grace Kelly]]

* [[James Stewart]] as L.B. "Jeff" Jefferies, a photojournalist
* [[Grace Kelly]] as Lisa Fremont, a model
* [[Wendell Corey]] as Lt. Thomas "Tom" J. Doyle, an [[NYPD]] detective
* [[Thelma Ritter]] as Stella, a nurse
* [[Raymond Burr]] as Lars Thorwald
* [[Judith Evelyn]] as "Miss Lonely-Hearts"
* [[Ross Bagdasarian]] as the songwriter
* [[Georgine Darcy]] as "Miss Torso"
* [[Sara Berner]] and [[Frank Cady]] as the couple living above the Thorwalds
* [[Jesslyn Fax]] as "Miss Hearing Aid"<ref name=afi>{{AFI film|id=51318|title=Rear Window}}</ref>
* Rand Harper and Havis Davenport as the newlyweds<ref name=afi />
* Irene Winston as Mrs. Anna Thorwald<ref name=afi />
'''Uncredited'''
* [[Harry Landers]] as young man guest of Miss Lonely-Hearts<ref name=afi />
* Ralph Smiles as Carl, the waiter<ref name=afi />
* [[Fred Graham (actor)|Fred Graham]] as detective<ref name=afi />
* [[Eddie Parker (actor)|Eddie Parker]] as detective<ref name=afi />
* [[Anthony Warde]] as detective<ref name=afi />
* [[Kathryn Grant (actress)|Kathryn Grant]] as Girl at Songwriter's Party<ref name=afi />
* [[Marla English]] as Girl at Songwriter's Party<ref name=afi />
* [[Bess Flowers]] as Woman at Songwriter's Party with Poodle<ref name=afi />
* [[Benny Bartlett]] as Stanley, Miss Torso's returning boyfriend<ref name=afi />
* [[Dick Simmons]] as Man with Miss Torso<ref name=afi />

'''Cast notes'''
* Director [[Alfred Hitchcock]] makes his [[List of cameo appearances by Alfred Hitchcock|traditional cameo appearance]] in the songwriter's apartment, where he is seen winding a clock.<ref name=afi />

== Themes ==
===Analysis===
''Rear Window'' is filmed almost entirely within Jeff's apartment and from his near-static [[Point-of-view shot|point-of-view]] at his window. In [[Laura Mulvey]]'s essay "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema," she identifies what she sees as [[voyeurism]] and [[scopophilia]] in Hitchcock's movies, with ''Rear Window'' used as a prime example of how she sees cinema as incorporating the [[Patriarchy#Feminist theory|patriarchy]] into the way that pleasure is constructed and signaled to the audience. Additionally, she sees the "[[male gaze]]" as especially evident in ''Rear Window'' in the portrayal of characters such as the dancer "Miss Torso", who is a spectacle for both Jeff and the audience (through his substitution) to enjoy.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Mulvey |first=Laura |url=https://academic.oup.com/screen/article-abstract/16/3/6/1603296?redirectedFrom=fulltext |title=Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema |journal=[[Screen (journal)|Screen]] |year=1975 |volume=16 |issue=3 |publication-date= 1975 |pages=6–18|doi=10.1093/screen/16.3.6 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

In his 1954 review of the film, [[François Truffaut]] suggested "this parable: The courtyard is the world, the reporter/photographer is the filmmaker, the binoculars stand for the camera and its lenses."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Truffaut|first=François|title=The Films in My Life|publisher=Diversion Books|year=2014|isbn=978-1-62681-396-0|location=New York, NY|pages=123}}</ref>

=== Voyeurism ===
John Fawell notes in Dennis Perry's book ''Hitchcock and Poe: The Legacy of Delight and Terror'' that Hitchcock "recognized that the darkest aspect of voyeurism ... is our desire for awful things to happen to people ... to make ourselves feel better, and to relieve ourselves of the burden of examining our own lives."<ref>{{Cite book|title=Hitchcock and Poe: the Legacy of Delight and Terror|last=Perry|first=Dennis|publisher=The Scarecrow Press, Inc.|year=2003|isbn=978-0-8108-4822-1|location=Maryland|pages=135–153}}</ref> Hitchcock challenges the audience, forcing them to peer through his rear window and become exposed to, as Donald Spoto calls it in his 1976 book ''The Art of Alfred Hitchcock: Fifty Years of His Motion Pictures'', the "social contagion" of acting as voyeur.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Art of Alfred Hitchcock: Fifty Years of His Motion Pictures|url=https://archive.org/details/artofalfredhitch00spot|url-access=limited|last=Spoto|first=Donald|publisher=Doubleday & Company, Inc.|year=1976|isbn=978-0-385-41813-3|location=Garden City, N.Y.|pages=[https://archive.org/details/artofalfredhitch00spot/page/237 237]–249}}</ref>

In his book ''Alfred Hitchcock's "Rear Window"'', [[John Belton (academic)|John Belton]] further addresses the underlying issues of voyeurism which he asserts are evident in the film. He says "''Rear Window's'' story is 'about' spectacle; it explores the fascination with looking and the attraction of that which is being looked at."<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Belton |editor1-first=John |last1=Belton |first1=John |author1-link=John Belton (academic) |title=Alfred Hitchcock's 'Rear Window' |chapter=Introduction: Spectacle and Narrative |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2002 |page=1 |oclc=40675056 |isbn=978-0-521-56423-6 }}</ref>

In an explicit example of a condemnation of voyeurism, Stella expresses her outrage at Jeffries' voyeuristic habits, saying, "In the old days, they'd put your eyes out with a red hot poker" and "What people ought to do is get outside and look in for a change."

With further analysis, Jeff's positive evolution understandably would be impossible without voyeurism—or as Robin Wood puts it in his 1989 book ''Hitchcock's Films Revisited'', "the indulging of morbid curiosity and the consequences of that indulgence."<ref>{{Cite book|title=Hitchcock's Films Revisited|url=https://archive.org/details/hitchcocksfilmsr0000wood|url-access=registration|last=Wood|first=Robin|publisher=Columbia University Press|location=New York|year=1989|isbn=978-0-231-12695-3|pages=[https://archive.org/details/hitchcocksfilmsr0000wood/page/100 100]–107}}</ref>

== Production ==
[[File:Stewart, Kelly & Hitchcock Rear Window.jpg|thumb|right|275px|Stewart, Kelly, and Hitchcock on set]]

===Writing===
The screenplay, which was written by [[John Michael Hayes]], was based on [[Cornell Woolrich]]'s 1942 short story ''[[After-Dinner Story|It Had to Be Murder]]''. However, in 1990 the question as to who owned the film rights of Woolrich's original story went before the [[Supreme Court of the United States]] in ''[[Stewart v. Abend]]''.<ref>{{ussc|name=Stewart v. Abend|volume=495|page=207|pin=|year=1990}}</ref> Although the film was copyrighted in 1954 by Patron Inc. by a production company set up by Hitchcock and Stewart, a subsequent rights holder refused to acknowledge previous rights agreements. As a result, Stewart and Hitchcock's estate became involved in the Supreme Court case. Its outcome led to the litigant, Sheldon Abend, becoming credited as a producer of [[Rear Window (1998 film)|the 1998 remake]] of ''Rear Window''.

===Filming===
The film was shot entirely at stage 17 at [[Paramount Pictures#Studio tours|Paramount Studios]] which included an enormous indoor set to replicate a Greenwich Village courtyard, with the set stretching from the bottom of the basement storeroom to the top of the lighting grid in the ceiling.  The lighting was rigged with four interchangeable scene lighting arrangements: morning, afternoon, evening, and night-time.<ref>“''Rear Window'' Ethics” documentary extra on blu-ray and DVD release of the film</ref> Set designers [[Hal Pereira]] and Joseph MacMillan Johnson spent six weeks building the extremely detailed and complex set, which ended up being the largest of its kind at Paramount. One of the unique features of the set was its massive drainage system, constructed to accommodate the rain sequence in the film. They also built the set around a highly nuanced lighting system which was able to create natural-looking lighting effects for both the day and night scenes. Though the address given in the film is 125 W. Ninth Street in New York's Greenwich Village, the set was actually based on a real courtyard located at 125 [[Christopher Street]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.villagepreservation.org/2018/08/07/the-greenwich-village-building-with-a-starring-role-in-hitchcocks-rear-window/|title=The Greenwich Village Building With a Starring Role in Hitchcock's Rear Window|website=www.villagepreservation.org|date=29 April 2024}}</ref>

In addition to the meticulous care and detail put into the set, careful attention was also given to sound, including the use of natural sounds and music that would drift across the courtyard and into Jefferies' apartment. At one point, the voice of [[Bing Crosby]] can be heard singing "To See You Is to Love You," originally from the 1952 Paramount film ''[[Road to Bali]]''. Also heard on the soundtrack are versions of songs popularized earlier in the decade by [[Nat King Cole]] ("[[Mona Lisa (Nat King Cole song)|Mona Lisa]]", 1950) and [[Dean Martin]] ("[[That's Amore]]", 1952), along with segments from [[Leonard Bernstein]]'s score for [[Jerome Robbins]]' ballet ''[[Fancy Free (ballet)|Fancy Free]]'' (1944), [[Richard Rodgers]]'s song "[[Lover (Rodgers and Hart song)|Lover]]" (1932), and "''M'appari tutt'amor''" from [[Friedrich von Flotow]]'s opera ''[[Martha (opera)|Martha]]'' (1844), most borrowed from Paramount's music publisher, [[Famous Music]].

Hitchcock used costume designer [[Edith Head]] on all of his Paramount films.

==Soundtrack==
Although veteran Hollywood composer [[Franz Waxman]] is credited with the score for the film, his contributions were limited to the opening and closing titles and the songwriter's piano tune ("Lisa"). This was Waxman's final score for Hitchcock. The director instead used primarily [[diegetic music|diegetic]] music and sounds throughout the film.<ref>DVD documentary</ref>

== Release ==
[[File:Rear Window (1954) - Trailer.webm|thumb|thumbtime=2:05|Original trailer for the 1968 re-release of ''Rear Window'' (1954)]]
On August 4, 1954, a "benefit world premiere" was held for the film, with [[United Nations]] officials and "prominent members of the social and entertainment worlds" at the Rivoli Theatre in New York City,<ref name="nytimes">{{cite news|last=Crowther|first=Bosley|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1954/08/05/archives/a-rear-window-view-seen-at-the-rivoli.html|title=A 'Rear Window' View Seen at the Rivoli|work=The New York Times|date=August 5, 1954}}</ref> with proceeds going to the American–Korean Foundation (an aid organization founded soon after the end of the [[Korean War]] and headed by [[Milton S. Eisenhower]], brother of [[President Eisenhower]]).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=9835|title=Statement by the President on the fund-raising campaign of the American–Korean Foundation|publisher=[[University of California, Santa Barbara]]}}</ref>

During its initial theatrical run, ''Rear Window'' earned $5.3 million in [[North America]]n box office rentals.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/variety197-1955-01-05/page/n57/mode/2up|title=1954 Boxoffice Champs|work=Variety|page=59|date=January 5, 1955|access-date=September 13, 2020|via=[[Internet Archive]]}}</ref>

==Reception==
[[File:Encina Drive-in Ad - 13 October 1954, Santa Cruz, CA.jpg|140px|thumb|[[Drive-in theater|Drive-in]] advertisement from 1954]]
[[Bosley Crowther]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' called the film a "tense and exciting exercise" and deemed Hitchcock as a director whose work has a "maximum of build-up to the punch, a maximum of carefully tricked deception and incidents to divert and amuse." Crowther also noted that "Mr. Hitchcock's film is not 'significant.' What it has to say about people and human nature is superficial and glib, but it does expose many facets of the loneliness of city life, and it tacitly demonstrates the impulse of morbid curiosity. The purpose of it is sensation, and that it generally provides in the colorfulness of its detail and in the flood of menace toward the end."<ref name="nytimes" /> ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' called the film "one of Alfred Hitchcock's better thrillers" which "combines technical and artistic skills in a manner that makes this an unusually good piece of murder mystery entertainment."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/variety195-1954-07/page/n71/mode/2up|title=Film Reviews: Rear Window|page=6|work=Variety|date=July 14, 1954|access-date=September 13, 2020|via=Internet Archive}}</ref> The film ranked fifth on ''[[Cahiers du Cinéma]]'''s [[Cahiers du Cinéma's Annual Top 10 Lists|Top 10 Films of the Year List]] in 1955.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://alumnus.caltech.edu/~ejohnson/critics/cahiers.html|title=Cahiers du Cinema: Top Ten Lists 1951-2009|last=Johnson|first=Eric C.|website=alumnus.caltech.edu|language=en-US|access-date=2017-12-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120327102838/http://alumnus.caltech.edu/~ejohnson/critics/cahiers.html|archive-date=2012-03-27|url-status=dead}}</ref>

''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' called it "just possibly the second-most entertaining picture (after ''[[The 39 Steps (1935 film)|The 39 Steps]]'') ever made by Alfred Hitchcock" and a film in which there is "never an instant&nbsp;... when Director Hitchcock is not in minute and masterly control of his material." The reviewer also noted the "occasional studied lapses of taste and, more important, the eerie sense a Hitchcock audience has of reacting in a manner so carefully foreseen as to seem practically foreordained."<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,891018,00.html|title=Cinema: The New Pictures|date=August 2, 1954|magazine=Time|volume=64|number=5|url-access=subscription|access-date=September 13, 2020}}</ref> ''[[Harrison's Reports]]'' named the film as a "first-rate thriller" that is "strictly an adult entertainment, but it should prove to be a popular one." They further added, "What helps to make the story highly entertaining is the fact that it is enhanced by clever dialogue and by delightful touches of comedy and romance that relieve the tension."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/details/harrisonsreports00harr_2/page/n133/mode/2up|title='Rear Window' with James Stewart, Grace Kelly, and Thelma Ritter|work=Harrison's Reports|date=July 15, 1954|page=115|access-date=September 13, 2020}}</ref>

Nearly 30 years after the film's initial release, [[Roger Ebert]] reviewed the re-release by [[Universal Pictures]] in October 1983, after Hitchcock's estate was settled. He said the film "develops such a clean, uncluttered line from beginning to end that we're drawn through it (and into it) effortlessly. The experience is not so much like watching a movie, as like&nbsp;... well, like spying on your neighbors. Hitchcock traps us right from the first&nbsp;... And because Hitchcock makes us accomplices in Stewart's [[voyeurism]], we're along for the ride. When an enraged man comes bursting through the door to kill Stewart, we can't detach ourselves, because we looked too, and so we share the guilt and in a way we deserve what's coming to him."<ref>{{cite news|last=Ebert|first=Roger|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/rear-window-1954|title=Rear Window (1954)|work=Chicago Sun-Times|date=October 7, 1983|access-date=September 13, 2020|via=RogerEbert.com}}</ref> In 1983, reviewing the film [[Vincent Canby]] wrote "Its appeal, which goes beyond that of other, equally masterly Hitchcock works, remains undiminished."<ref>{{cite web|title='Rear Window' - Still a joy|url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/film/100983hitch-window-reflect.html|website=New York Times|date=9 October 1983}}</ref>

The [[review aggregator]] website [[Rotten Tomatoes]] reports an approval rating of 98% based on 130 reviews, with an average rating of 9.30/10. The critics' consensus states that "Hitchcock exerted full potential of suspense in this masterpiece."<ref name="RT" /> At [[Metacritic]], the film has a weighted average score of a very rare perfect 100 out of 100 based on 18 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/rear-window |title=Rear Window Reviews |website=[[Metacritic]] |publisher=[[CBS Interactive]] |access-date=June 10, 2019}}</ref> In his 2012 review of the film, Killian Fox of ''[[The Guardian]]'' wrote: "Hitchcock made a career out of indulging our voyeuristic tendencies, and he never excited them more skilfully, or with more gleeful self-awareness, than in ''Rear Window''".<ref>{{cite web|last1=Fox|first1=Killian|title=My favourite Hitchcock: Rear Window|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2012/jul/25/my-favourite-hitchcock-rear-window|website=The Guardian|date=25 July 2012}}</ref>

== Awards and nominations ==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Award 
! Date of ceremony
! Category
! Recipient
! Result
|-
|[[Venice Film Festival]]
|[[15th Venice International Film Festival|August 22 to September 7, 1954]]
|[[Golden Lion]]
|[[Alfred Hitchcock]]
|{{nom}}
|-
|[[National Board of Review|National Board of Review Awards]]
|[[National Board of Review Awards 1954|December 20, 1954]]
|[[National Board of Review Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]]
|[[Grace Kelly]]
|{{won}}
|-
|rowspan=2|[[New York Film Critics Circle|NYFCC Awards]]
|rowspan=2|[[1954 New York Film Critics Circle Awards|January 1955]]
|[[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]]
|Grace Kelly
|{{won}}
|-
|[[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director|Best Director]]
|Alfred Hitchcock
|{{won|2nd place}}
|-
|[[Directors Guild of America Award|DGA Award]]
|[[7th Directors Guild of America Awards|February 13, 1955]]
|Outstanding Achievement in Feature Film
|Alfred Hitchcock
|{{nom}}
|-
|[[Writers Guild of America Award]]s
|[[Writers Guild of America Awards 1954|February 28, 1955]]
|Best Written American Drama
|[[John Michael Hayes]]
|{{nom}}
|-
|[[British Academy Film Awards|BAFTA Award]]
|[[8th British Academy Film Awards|March 10, 1955]]
|[[BAFTA Award for Best Film|Best Film]]
|''Rear Window''
|{{nom}}
|-
|rowspan=4|[[Academy Awards]]
|rowspan=4|[[27th Academy Awards|March 30, 1955]]
|[[Academy Award for Best Director|Best Director]]
|Alfred Hitchcock
|{{nom}}
|-
|[[Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay|Best Adapted Screenplay]]
|John Michael Hayes
|{{nom}}
|-
|[[Academy Award for Best Cinematography|Best Cinematography – Color]]
|[[Robert Burks]]
|{{nom}}
|-
|[[Academy Award for Best Sound|Best Sound – Recording]]
|[[Loren L. Ryder]]
|{{nom}}
|-
|[[Edgar Award|Edgar Allan Poe Awards]]
|[[List of Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay winners|April 21, 1955]]
|[[List of Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay winners|Best Motion Picture Screenplay]]
|John Michael Hayes
|{{won}}
|-
|[[National Film Preservation Board]]
|[[National Film Registry|November 18, 1997]]
|[[National Film Registry]]
|''Rear Window''
|{{won}}
|-
|Online Film & Television Association Award
|2002
|OFTA Film Hall of Fame – Motion Picture
|''Rear Window''
|{{won}}
|-
|}

== Legacy ==
In 1997, ''Rear Window'' was selected for preservation in the United States [[National Film Registry]] by the [[Library of Congress]] as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". By this time, the film interested other directors with its theme of voyeurism, and other reworkings of the film soon followed, which included [[Brian De Palma]]'s 1984 film ''[[Body Double]]'' and [[Phillip Noyce]]'s 1993 film ''[[Sliver (film)|Sliver]]''. In 1998 ''[[Time Out (magazine)|Time Out]]'' magazine conducted a poll and ''Rear Window'' was voted the 21st greatest film of all time.<ref>{{cite web |work=[[AMC (TV channel)|AMC Filmsite.org]] |url=http://www.filmsite.org/timeout2.html |title=Top 100 Films (Readers) |publisher=American Movie Classics Company |access-date=August 17, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140718213202/http://www.filmsite.org/timeout2.html |archive-date=July 18, 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> In the [[British Film Institute]]'s 2012 ''[[Sight & Sound]]'' polls of [[The Sight & Sound Greatest Films of All Time 2012|the greatest films ever made]], ''Rear Window'' was ranked 53rd among critics<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/sightandsoundpoll2012/critics |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160207035347/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/sightandsoundpoll2012/critics |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 7, 2016 |title=Critics' Top 100 |year=2012 |work=Sight & Sound |publisher=British Film Institute}}</ref> and 48th among directors.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/polls/greatest-films-all-time/directors-100-best |title=Directors' Top 100 |year=2012 |work=Sight & Sound |publisher=British Film Institute}}</ref> In the 2022 edition of the magazine's ''Greatest films of all time'' list the film ranked 38th in the critics poll.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Greatest Films of All Time|url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/greatest-films-all-time|website=bfi.org}}</ref> In 2017 ''[[Empire (film magazine)|Empire]]'' magazine's readers' poll ranked ''Rear Window'' at No. 72 on its list of ''The 100 Greatest Movies''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/best-movies/|title=The 100 Greatest Movies|access-date=20 March 2018|archive-date=6 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180706075658/https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/best-movies/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2022, ''[[Time Out (magazine)|Time Out]]'' magazine ranked the film at No. 26 on their list of "The 100 best thriller films of all time".<ref>{{cite web|title=The 100 best thriller films of all time|url=https://www.timeout.com/film/best-thriller-movies|website=Time Out|date=23 March 2022}}</ref>

''Rear Window'' was restored by the team of [[Robert A. Harris]] and [[James C. Katz]] for its 1999 limited theatrical re-release (using Technicolor dye-transfer prints for the first time in this title's history) and the Collector's Edition DVD release in 2000.{{citation needed|date=July 2021}}<ref>{{Cite book|last=Harris, Robert, and John Belton|title=Getting It Right: Robert Harris on Colour Restoration|publisher=Film History}}</ref>

[[American Film Institute]] included the film as number 42 in [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies]],<ref>[https://www.afi.com/afis-100-years-100-movies/ AFI 100 Years...100 Movies]</ref> number 14 in [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills]],<ref>[http://www.afi.com/100years/thrills.aspx American Film Institute's 100 Years, 100 Thrills (winners)]</ref> number 48 in [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition)]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.afi.com/100years/movies10.aspx |title=AFI 100 Years...100 Movies |access-date=July 14, 2021 |archive-date=April 14, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140414233812/http://www.afi.com/100years/movies10.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref> and number three in [[AFI's 10 Top 10]] (Mysteries).<ref name="AFI's 10 Top 10">{{cite web | publisher = [[American Film Institute]] | title = AFI's 10 Top 10 | date = 2016 | url = http://www.afi.com/10top10/category.aspx?cat=5 | access-date=August 23, 2016}}</ref>

''Rear Window'' was one of five films that Hitchcock made with Paramount that were included under a deal in which the rights reverted back to him after eight years. Hitchcock removed all five films from circulation for almost 20 years (often referred to as "The Lost Hitchcocks" or "The Forbidden Five"), and he rarely granted rights for them to be shown publicly. The rights were purchased by Universal in 1983 for a rumored $6 million, after which they were re-released in theaters. These films include: ''[[Vertigo_(film)|Vertigo]]'', ''Rear Window'', ''[[The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956 film)|The Man Who Knew Too Much]]'' (1956), ''[[Rope (film)|Rope]]'', and ''[[The Trouble With Harry]]''.<ref>{{cite web|title=The “Forbidden Five” Movies Hitchcock Didn’t Want You To See|url=https://collider.com/alfred-hitchcock-movie-ownership/|website=Collider|date=13 April 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=When Hitchcock Banned Audiences From Seeing His Movies|url=https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/74977/when-hitchcock-banned-audiences-seeing-his-movies|website=Mental Floss.com|date=5 February 2016}}</ref>

''Rear Window'' was remade as a [[Rear Window (1998 film)|TV movie of the same name]] in 1998, with an updated storyline in which the lead character is paralyzed and lives in a high-tech home filled with assistive technology. Actor [[Christopher Reeve]], himself paralyzed as a result of a 1995 horse-riding accident, was cast in the lead role. The telefilm also starred [[Daryl Hannah]], [[Robert Forster]], [[Ruben Santiago-Hudson]], and [[Anne Twomey (actor)|Anne Twomey]].

''Rear Window'' has directly influenced plot elements and themes of numerous [[Brian De Palma]] films, particularly ''[[Hi, Mom!]]'' (1970), ''[[Sisters (1972 film)|Sisters]]'' (1972), ''[[Dressed to Kill (1980 film)|Dressed to Kill]]'' (1980), and ''[[Body Double]]'' (1984).<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Brody |first1=Richard |title=Hi, Mom! |url=https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/snubbed-2-the-performances-02-12-24 |magazine=The New Yorker |access-date=19 February 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Hoberman |first1=J. |title='Sisters' Isn't 'Psycho,' but It's a Lacerating Spin on Hitchcock |work=The New York Times |date=October 10, 2018 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/10/movies/sisters-brian-de-palma-rewind-column.html |access-date=19 February 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Starkey |first1=Arun |title=How Alfred Hitchcock influenced Brian De Palma |url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/how-alfred-hitchcock-influenced-brian-de-palma/ |website=faroutmagazine.co.uk |access-date=19 February 2024 |date=13 August 2022}}</ref>

''[[Disturbia (film)|Disturbia]]'' (2007) is a modern-day retelling, with the protagonist ([[Shia LaBeouf]]) under house arrest instead of laid up with a broken leg, and who believes that his neighbor is a serial killer rather than having committed a single murder. On September 5, 2008, the Sheldon Abend Trust sued [[Steven Spielberg]], [[DreamWorks Pictures|DreamWorks]], [[Viacom (2005–present)|Viacom]], and [[Universal Pictures|Universal Studios]], alleging that the producers of ''Disturbia'' violated the copyright to the original Woolrich story owned by Abend.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-disturbia-suit-idUSN0844655020080909|title=Spielberg ripped off Hitchcock Classic|author=Edith Honan|date=September 8, 2008|work=Reuters|access-date=September 8, 2008|archive-date=January 22, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120122020531/http://www.reuters.com/article/2008/09/09/us-disturbia-suit-idUSN0844655020080909|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200809081651DOWJONESDJONLINE000605_FORTUNE5.htm|title=2nd UPDATE: Trust Files Copyright Lawsuit Over ''Disturbia''|author=Chad Bray|date=September 9, 2008|website=CNN Money|access-date=September 8, 2008}} {{dead link|date=September 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref> On September 21, 2010, the U.S. District Court in ''Abend v. Spielberg'', 748 F.Supp.2d 200 (S.D.N.Y. 2010), ruled that ''Disturbia'' did not infringe the original Woolrich story.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11388284|title=Rear Window copyright claim rejected|date=September 22, 2010|work=BBC News}}</ref>

The 2004 horror film ''[[Saw (film)|Saw]]'' pays homage to ''Rear Window'', in a particular scene involving the character [[Adam Stanheight]] ([[Leigh Whannell]]). In the film, Adam is kidnapped and uses a camera to take photos with his camera to illuminate the dark surroundings, mirroring the actions of Jeff in ''Rear Window'', with both scenes sharing a similar tone.

Numerous television episodes have paid homage to, or spoofed, ''Rear Window'', including the ''[[The Simpsons|Simpsons]]'' episode "[[Bart of Darkness]]," the ''[[Pretty Little Liars]]'' episode "[[How the 'A' Stole Christmas]],"  ''[[CSI: NY]]'' episode "[[CSI: NY season 6|Point of View]]," [[9-1-1 (season 4)|season four episode seven]] of ''[[9-1-1 (TV series)|9-1-1]]'', "Night Terrors," the second episode ''of'' season 2 of the British crime drama ''[[Whitstable Pearl]]'' and "Mrs. Crabtree's Neighbourhood," season 17, episode 2 of [[Murdoch Mysteries]].

In February 2008, the film was referenced as a part of [[Variety (magazine)|Variety's]] ''The 2008 Hollywood Portfolio: Hitchcock Classics'' spread, with [[Scarlett Johansson]] and [[Javier Bardem]] as Lisa and Jeff, respectively.<ref>[https://media.vanityfair.com/photos/54cabf2ef547ce3c06e38d94/master/w_2240,c_limit/image.jpg ''Vanity Fair'' photograph]</ref>

''Rear Window'' has been referenced multiple times by singer-songwriter [[Taylor Swift]]. In the music video for her single "[[Me!]]", Swift wears a dress similar to one of [[Edith Head]]'s designs worn by [[Grace Kelly]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Gibson |first1=Kelsie |title=Taylor Swift's "Me!" Music Video Includes Quite a Few Nods to Iconic Movies |url=https://www.popsugar.com/entertainment/movie-references-taylor-swift-me-music-video-46077293 |website=Popsugar |access-date=16 April 2024 |language=en |date=26 April 2019}}</ref> Swift has also stated that the voyeuristic elements of the film inspired the storytelling of her album ''[[Folklore (Taylor Swift album)|Folklore.]]''<ref>{{cite web |last1=Brodsky |first1=Rachel |title=Taylor Swift Talks Cinematic Influences, Metaphorical Scarf At Toronto Film Fest |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2199077/taylor-swift-talks-cinematic-influences-metaphorical-scarf-at-toronto-film-fest/news/ |website=Stereogum |access-date=16 April 2024 |language=en |date=10 September 2022}}</ref>

== Home media ==
On September 25, 2012, [[Universal Studios Home Entertainment]] released ''Rear Window'' for the first time on [[Blu-ray]] as part of the "Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection". This edition included numerous supplemental features such as an [[audio commentary]] from John Fawell, excerpts from Hitchcock's interview with [[François Truffaut]], two theatrical trailers, and an interview with the film's screenwriter [[John Michael Hayes]].<ref>{{cite press release|url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/from-universal-studios-home-entertainment-alfred-hitchcock-the-masterpiece-collection-159855765.html|author=Universal Pictures Home Entertainment|title=From Universal Studios Home Entertainment: Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection|agency=[[PR Newswire]]|date=June 21, 2012|access-date=September 13, 2020}}</ref>

On May 6, 2014, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment re-released ''Rear Window'' on Blu-ray with the same supplemental features.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=13497|title=Rear Window Blu-ray|website=Blu-ray.com|date=March 18, 2014|access-date=September 13, 2020}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[List of films featuring surveillance]]

==References==

'''Informational notes'''
{{reflist|group=N}}

'''Citations'''
{{Reflist}}

'''Further reading'''
* {{cite book |last=Orpen |first=Valerie |year=2003 |title=Film Editing: The Art of the Expressive |chapter=Continuity Editing in Hollywood |pages=18–43 |isbn=978-1-903364-53-6 |publisher=Wallflower Press |oclc=51068299 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UtbhRnmQj3AC&pg=PA18}}
** Orpen treats Hitchcock's and Tomasini's editing of ''Rear Window'' at length in a chapter of her monograph.

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Rear Window}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* [[John Belton (academic)|John Belton]] (ndg) [https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/rear_window.pdf "Rear Window"] at [[National Film Registry]]
* {{AFI film|id=51318|title=Rear Window}}
* {{IMDb title|0047396|Rear Window}}
* {{TCMDb title|87777|Rear Window}}
* {{Rotten-tomatoes|1017289-rear_window|Rear Window}}
* {{mojo title|rearwindow|Rear Window}}
* [https://www.filmsite.org/rear.html Detailed review] at [[Filmsite.org]]
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=deq3xI8OmCkC ''Rear Window''] essay by Daniel Eagan in America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry, A&C Black, 2010 {{ISBN|0826429777}}, pages 490-491

{{Alfred Hitchcock}}

{{Authority control}}

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[[Category:Films based on American short stories]]
[[Category:Films based on works by Cornell Woolrich]]
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