Rear Window (1954)
(Alfred Hitchcock, US 1954, 114 min., 35mm)
Hitchcock was one of Jack Garner’s favorite directors, but when it came time to include an article about the director in his book From My Seat on the Aisle, there was only one title to choose: “Rear Window . . . [is] pretty special in the theater. Wheelchair-bound photographer LB Jeffries ([James] Stewart) uses his telephoto lens to watch various stories unfold among his neighbors in a half-dozen apartments outside his windows. Since they’re all vignettes framed small within the context of the larger movie . . . Rear Window benefits from a large screen more than most famous films. . . . Hitchcock made more than a half-dozen films that lesser directors would gladly claim as masterpieces. None surpass the suspense, romance, wit, and wisdom of Rear Window. Since moviegoing itself is a voyeuristic habit, seeing a film that explores the idea is essential.”