A Critical View of the Movie, Rear Window

In the 1950’s film Rear Window, director Alfred Hitchcock sets his entire work looking through a man, L.B. Jeffries’ rear window. Because of his broken leg, Jeffries is confined to his apartment, and even to his wheelchair. It is here, in his apartment, that the protagonist watches, or even spies on his neighbors. He draws conclusions on these people, but from a distance: across the apartment-building courtyard. In addition to this physical distance separating Jeffries from his neighbors, his perspective, too, distances him from his conclusions. Only seen through the glass of a window and the lens of a camera, Jeffries’ point of view is confined to only a single vision. We see that this single vision, however, provides Jeffries with an ample amount of information. The avant-garde cinematography combined with the original plot creates a new mean to film. Alfred Hitchcock’s innovative Rear Window allows the audience to bring their own experiences to the film: just as Jeffries draws conclusions on his neighbors from a distance, man too establishes his own perspective in the real world, and brings this experience to the film to understand its meaning. In Rear Window’s opening scene, the camera slowly scans the setting that will surround L.B. Jeffries for the rest of the film. It pans over many apartments, all full of people doing different activities, going on his or her daily routine. This seemingly normal day in the New York City apartment complex gives the audience a sense of familiarity with the setting, and the people that live there. As seen through Jeffries’ rear window, this scene foreshadows the rest of the film; little does the audience know that what seems ordinary, a simple window, actually reveals more: crime.
Because the film’s title is Rear Window, this specific window indeed holds some significance. One could say the window hides Jeffries from the real world, as he is confined to his own apartment. While on the other hand, it could be