Rear Window Aesthetics
Windows are usually a metaphor for freedom, but in Hitchcock’s Rear Window (1954) they expose privacy, they symbolize confinement, and they allude to suspenseful plot devices. Hitchcock’s aesthetic configuration of the film manipulates the audience into questioning several aspects of the film—Did Mr. Thorwald (Raymond Burr) actually kill his wife? What is buried under the garden? Will they ever discover any evidence? The biggest plot device used to produce suspense is Hitchcock’s use of point-of-view, an element that is key to suspense. With the combination of suspenseful lighting, edgy cinematography, and unique set design, Rear Window, along with all of Hitchcock’s films, proves why Hitchcock is still both remembered as one of the greatest directors of all time and influential on filmmaking today.
Not only does lighting convey the tone of the film, but it also provides a psychoanalytic aspect of the film. This psychoanalytic light is used “…to escort us across the boundary between knowledge and suspicion” (Pomerance). Various light sources—lamps, windows, and the sun—are significant for tonal, temporal, and psychoanalytical purposes. Through lighting we are told when to be fearful, when to be anxious, and when to be scared. The main drive for these lighting elements is the notion of voyeurism conveyed in the film (Pomerance). Jeff (James Stewart) is always watching others from his wheelchair. His point-of-view, often shown through binoculars or a camera in a circular frame, establishes Jeff’s view of the neighborhood and we automatically find ourselves sided with his intuition. What he sees, however, can be very misleading. Looking through the windows of his neighbors requires a necessary amount of light to be certain of what actions occur. When the rooms are dark, or the curtains are drawn, either we can barely make out what is happening or we have no idea. If we have no idea, then Jeff’s intuition and our own intuition kick in. Through the film’s contextual elements, especially lighting, we are lead to believe that Mr. Thorwald murdered his wife. While are hypothesis seems convincing, there is still a shred of doubt due to the absence of sufficient lighting and visibility. This “subjective suspense” (Morris) suppresses the most important detail and leaves us with only one perspective. With intentionally limited lighting, perspective adds to both suspense and Hitchcock’s ingenuity.
Cinematography is another important aspect of perspective that Hitchcock utilizes masterfully. One instance is the burial theme of the flower garden. Every time we look at the garden—the dog digging, Mr. Thorwald watering, Lisa and Stella digging—we are getting closer and closer to uncovering the mystery. We watch in suspense as we hope that they uncover something worthwhile before Mr. Thorwald returns. What is most significant here is not necessarily the uncovering, however, but the burial theme. Burial is darker than the buried thing, denial is darker than the denied thing (Pomerance). Burial is related to death, as if at a funeral. This relation matches with the possibility of Mrs. Thorwald being the buried object. The camera moves closer and closer to the unearthed flowerbed, and when we get close enough to look inside, we see there is nothing there. At first it seems to be a let down to the suspense, but it quickly reverts itself as a plot-driver and Lisa feels inclined to continue her investigation into Mr. Thorwald’s apartment. Jeff’s struggle against impotence (Boyd and Palmer), that is, his inability to leave his wheelchair, adds to the suspense as the camera sits inside of his apartment and we are helplessly forced to watch Lisa dangerously venture into the apartment—we too become impotent. Another camera technique that adds to this sense of constraint is the panning shots across the neighborhood, which feels like Jeff’s point-of-view but turn out to be our own. We then find ourselves back in Jeff’s apartment in the middle of something. We are just like Jeff, trapped.
Within the first five minutes of the film, a contemporary eye can notice how the neighborhood is built upon a set, whether done intentionally or efficiently. This, however, does not distract us from the events that ensue. Hitchcock carefully sets up the neighborhood to allow room for suspenseful camera movement and a mostly believable diegesis. The use of the window is variously understood as his eye, his opening on the world, his perspective, his camera (Morris). This is his only connection to reality, and although a window is usually understood as a symbol of escape, he is ironically trapped behind it, looking into other windows and into other peoples’ private lives. The backyard square of windows provides several moments of panning shots to engage the spectator into peering into the lives of these side characters. The set’s intentional arrangement in a bustling urban environment allows for multiple uses of foley and sound effects to reinforce the reliability of the diegesis. Hitchcock brilliantly uses a sliver of an alleyway to convey the neighborhood’s location, the only “window” to the outside world that Jeff is unable to reach. The set up of Jeff’s apartment above the ground level allows for a more intensified climax, in which Jeff becomes a “hanging figure” (Morris), clinging on to his life before plunging down and breaking his one good leg. Hitchcock had an infinite amount of ways to arrange his backyard neighborhood, and the way he chose was successfully original and engaging, allowing for the reliability of the story and the diegesis.
Aspects of this film survive today—not as Rear Window, but as key elements in other films. D.J. Caruso’s Disturbia (2007) is almost identical to Rear Window—a teen living under house arrest becomes convinced that his neighbor is a serial killer. Like in Rear Window, we only see through Kale’s (Shia LaBeouf) perspective. Windows become a prominent figure for entrapment and unveiled privacy, while concealing any solid evidence. Robert Ben Garant’sReno 911: Miami (2007) has a similar sequence in which the main characters are each in a separate motel room. The camera pans across the windows of their rooms in a long shot, uncovering their privacy in a humorous way. Hitchcock’s originality and mastery of lighting, cinematography, and set design in Rear Window were not only successful during the golden age of Hollywood, but will continue to be creatively adapted and consistently influential throughout the future of the cinema.
Post by: Doug Yablun
REAR WINDOW
Alfred Hitchcock’s 1954 ‘Rear Window’ is a film full of symbolism, narratives, voyeurism and characterisation. It shows Hitchcocks as a strong auteur by creating it in a way in which he uses similar themes and motifs previously recognised. He also uses specific signature motifs, such as; character parallels and heavy use of vertical lines, as well as a strong protagonist. It is a film which focuses around the main protagonist Jefferies, who is a photographer who recently broke his leg and is restricted to a wheelchair. In the opening scene where the credits are shown, a lot is given away with regards to the forthcoming storyline and Hitchcock has created an opportunity to set the tone of the film. He also creates a great ambience, as a bamboo curtain is raised and the courtyard is shown, which is what the whole film revolves around.
Jeff spends his days and nights watching his neighbours through a pair of binoculars. The audience are shown life through Jefferies eyes within the six weeks in which he is restrained to just a chair. The window looks out onto a courtyard and displays a number of different windows which are representative of different ways of living in America in the 1950s. Throughout this film the audience are shown many different characters and each window represents a different style of living and snippets of these characters lives as Jefferies sees them. There are three main protagonists in the film, the first, previously mentioned Jefferies, the second being Jefferies girlfriend (Lisa) and the third being Jefferies nurse (Stella). Throughout the film the relationships between these main protagonists change due to the change of happenings which unfold in front of Jefferies when he believes one of the neighbours of which he has been following commits the serious murder of his wife. Lisa is represented as the “perfect woman” as she is elegant, beautiful and a successful business woman, in this film whenever she is shown, she is always represented perfectly and lighting is used to continuously make her glow. She is always extremely stylish and graceful.
When analysing the visual structure of “Rear Window”, there is a parallel structure in which everyone is going about their daily lives. The audience are even shown people shaving, waking up in the morning and answering the phone. (The type of behaviour seen as normal everyday activities) This represents the fact that each of these windows show a sneak preview of what life was like as an American, living in this part of America in the 1950s, each character represents a different background. But these characters, although living so close to each other, barely interact or ever meet. Some of these characters include; a happy newlywed couple, a lonely dancer, a songwriter and Thorwald (the murderer). All these different people through the windows and their stories flow together seamlessly and music is used to proceed each scene, leading us to show what will happen next.
The newlyweds are shown through the binoculars and create a strong representation of how Jeff and Lisa could be. At the beginning of the film, Lisa and Jeff are seen as quite distant with each other and almost as strangers, they are shown as two very different characters. There is, however, a strong friendship built up with the nurse, Stella. As the film goes on Lisa and Jeff’s relationship changes, as Lisa soon becomes Jeff’s legs, when she begins to investigate the happenings of the flat in which Jeff suspects murder. With Jeff and Lisa working together to figure out if Thorwald does commit this terrible crime, it makes them work as a team and brings them closer and also makes them a lot stronger as a couple. Lisa is seen as the eyes and legs outside the apartment. Without Lisa, Jeff would be helpless.
The camera man uses shots of panning and zooming to make it ever more realistic and makes it seem like the audience are viewing this through Jeff’s eyes. There is a good use of levels throughout which show the audience that a lot goes on behind closed doors which no one knows about, this is truly represented when the musician has the social gathering which is full of well off people enjoy themselves at a party and below there is the troubled wife, hidden behind the blinds.
When analysing the visual structure, the audience are constantly shown natural framing, which is a well-known theme in Hitchcocks films and truly represents him as an auteur. There are constantly shots which are framed by, openings such as; window frames, door frames and hallways. The window is shown to represent almost a cinema-like view for Jeff. He is the spectator of the film and sits and watches from his chair. Even when he becomes involved with one of the other characters, he does not leave the comfort of his chair or his home. This makes Thorwalds entrance into Jeff’s apartment, during the end of the film, ever more dramatic, as it is the first time someone which he has been watching interacts with him, whereas before there was the distance of the courtyard and this distance created a safety.
The use of props throughout this movie are very symbolic, the audience are shown everything through Jeffs eyes by the use of binoculars, these binoculars represent his sight. By using this it means the audience get a real feel for Jeff and his isolation.
The setting in the film is also incredibly symbolic, due to the fact the audience only see Jeffs flat, the courtyard and a small alleyway emphasises the idea of Jeff being confined and trapped. Also with him watching the dinner party of the musician it makes the audience feel sympathetic towards him as it makes him feel he is missing out on social events. The use of the small alleyway also does this, from his window and from what the audience are shown, all that is seen is an alleyway and at the end of the alleyway is a busy street. This represents Jeff being socially isolated and any social encounters are far away, in the distance.
The sound in ‘Rear Window’ is very interestingly pieced together. The majority of the sound throughout the film is diegetic opposed to non-diegetic. On the opening scene we see a man shaving, there is a radio which is blaring a commercial, we then see a man changing this to music and discover it is coming from the radio which is within the scene. This is then followed by the noise of an alarm clock, which shifts the attention from one flat to another, as this alarm clock is going off in a different flat. By doing this and making the viewer discover where this noise is coming from it makes the viewer more involved in the scenes, it leads the viewer towards the source as if they were there themselves.
When returning to analysing the beginning of the film, a lot of clues are given away on the structure and storyline of the film. Bamboo curtains are shown rising up slowly, this represents a theatre styled theme, rising up at the very beginning similar to that of a theatre show. The theme of theatre and drama is something which carries on throughout the film.
In conclusion, Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘Rear Window’, is a representation of life in the 1950s. It has been created in a way in which the cinema goer or the audience is the spectator and we see the film through the eyes of the main protagonist Jeff, who is the spectator in the film. We are shown a stereotypical example of Alfred Hitchcock as an Auteur as recurring, well known themes are shown throughout such as parallel structure, strong protagonists and a linier structure. The sound in this film helps the audience to interact with the film as it draws them in and gives them clues of where the next piece of action is going to happen. All the characters play a large part in the representation of the 1950s and the stereotypes which went along with that specific era.
What Film Is: An Analysis of Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window
The love of cinema is rooted in the love of voyeurism. The love of voyeurism is rooted in lack of excitement in life. Cinema, first and foremost, is a visual medium. Literature allows for the imagination of readers, but cinema defines it through the concrete visuals it possesses. Novels can pinpoint every thought and feeling of a character at every second, but film can’t. As famously noted from a Chinese proverb though, “A picture is worth a thousand words”, so every frame of a film contains multitudes of detail. Films have the ability to connect to audiences in a more personal way than novels because actors and actresses are far easier to relate to than paragraphs.
It is because of our need to connect with humans in a behavioral way that makesRear Window more of a film about relation and the evolution of cinema than the heart pounding intensity of a thriller. Through the view of his binoculars, Jeff watches the neighbors across him with increasing obsession from his apartment living room after being hospitalized for an injury he incurred while on the job. Jeff is a photographer, so his natural inclination is to observe people and take photos of them. His inability to do this due to his profession has made him turn his head to the window. The inability to live out one’s own life forces one to live through the lives of others. Across Jeff’s window lie several stories that encapsulate stories that Jeff can relate to. He cannot hear the people in the apartment, he can only relate through the demeanor of their character and the actions of their behavior. This aspect ofRear Window is clearly reflexive because what the protagonist is essentially viewing is several different silent films. Silent films remain the purest way of telling stories through film because it is strictly image based. The phrase, “actions speak louder than words” also connects this idea of image based storytelling back to human interaction. The way emotions are conveyed by the human body and face are easier to relate to than words that define a character as being sad. Jeff uses these people as his subjects to escape his current predicament, but his girlfriend’s act of relating their situation to one of the subjects, a lonely woman, pulls him back into his real life situation. This calls back the famous quote that Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger wrote to Wendy Hiller in a letter, “No artist believes in escapism. And we secretly believe that no audience does. We have proved, at any rate, that they will pay to see the truth, for other reasons than her nakedness.” Art naturally reflects life because art is rooted in real life. The only way to create true escapism is to avoid any kind of human vulnerability whether its emotional or physical. Jeff’s observational tendencies is meant for a source of entertainment, but as he continues to watch people, he begins to become more and more involved in their lives until the inevitable happens; suspicion of one of them as a murderer.
With Rear Window, Hitchcock is showing us the history of cinema because cinema is rooted in voyeurism and voyeurism is due to lack of excitement in life. Constant viewing of another person’s life gets boring after a while, so Jeff, whether his claims are true or not, imposes a narrative on one his subjects. He believes that his neighbor has killed his wife and he tries to convince friends and policemen that his claims are true. During the 1910s and 1920s, people grew tired of watching a train moving towards them or watching people play cards, so naturally film became more focused as a storytelling medium along with being a medium to express behaviors. Jeff wants to give his subject a narrative structure because he is bored of what he is seeing. There is comfort in placing a narrative structure to life because life is seemingly without one.
Until the very end of Rear Window, the audience is still uncertain that Jeff’s accusations against his neighbor are valid. The ending culminates in a battle between Jeff and his neighbor where Jeff literally uses his camera lights to fight the supposed villain off. The lights are as artificial as the assumptions that Jeff is using against the neighbor to accuse him of a crime. The neighbor uses his own natural strength to fight Jeff back. The battle of the audience and the actor figuratively plays out with the audience winning; Jeff is validated of his claims and evidence is found that convicts the neighbor of killing his own wife. The fictional suspicion of Jeff’s mind becomes the truth. Does Hitchcock convey the message to fight for the fiction instead of the truth? No, he’s not demanding that we do, he’s rather stating that it is what we do through the unwavering faith Jeff puts in his suspicions. The realistic ending of the film would be that the neighbor is not the killer, and that Jeff has been deluding himself the entire time. Realism and honesty are not virtues of cinema because art, in and of itself, is a lie. Pablo Picasso once said, “Art is the lie that tells the truth”. With Rear Window, Hitchcock disproves the Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger quote that audiences don’t want escapism in films through the actions of Jeff.
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