Review of Rear Window (1954) by Bill S — 30 Aug 2015

[SPOILERS in this review] I don't get how this film has a 100% rating. Perhaps at the time it was ground breaking, but when I compare it to the best movies I've ever seen this movie doesn't particularly move me nor challenge me. I still thought it was a good movie and I liked it's unique angle of allowing us to watch all the drama unfold entirely from the perspective of one man. And it was kind of interesting to watch how different characters piece their little facts about a situation together in different ways. How much evidence do you need to convince you of something? How much do you trust your intuition? For me I always thought Jeff was wrong, though I assume Hitchcock set it up that way by allowing the audience to see Thorwald leave with a lady in the morning, but not Jeff. But it turned out Jeff was right. Great. Good for him! Does this mean I'm now challenged to trust my own intuitions more in my own life from now on? Not at all. I still felt like the detective spoke the most sense throughout the whole film. Or maybe Hitchcock was trying to challenge our faith in Jeff. Would we believe him or not? But either way, I don't really care and am not particularly moved much.

So overall it was an ok movie, but nothing spectacular. But what I find more interesting right now is how much people rave about this film. It makes me wonder whether a kind of psychological effect is happening here, in which, once a film becomes widely accepted as a "classic", "great", "100%" film, people almost feel obliged to like the film with as much vigour. Almost as though, if you don't like a film that's got 100% then you must be an idiot. You must not be an intellectual film critic. But if you DO like it, ah, then you GET it! You ARE an intelligent, sophisticated person who watches old classics and loves them like these expert film critics love them. I'm smelling a rat in all this. I like to judge movies by comparing them to every other movie I've seen and ranking them. A good movie for me is one that touches my heart, or challenges me intellectually or, ideally, both. I want a film to change me for the better. I want a film that I can carry around in my memory forever. I want a film that I can identify with. A film that makes me want to tell others about it. Rear Window doesn't really tick any of these boxes for me, so I'm gonna give it an average 3/5.