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FLASH FRIDAY: Watch Out! REAR WINDOW Peers Back Into Movie Theaters

By: Mar. 20, 2015
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Today we are celebrating this weekend's cinematic return of REAR WINDOW at Fathom-equipped movie theaters across the country.

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An Alfred Hitchcock masterpiece. It has become almost rote anymore for film scholars and entertainment enthusiasts to bandy about the term masterpiece, particularly when referring to a film by iconic director Alfred Hitchcock, yet some films require that ensconced place in the artistic hierarchy for a very good reason - and, without any doubt whatsoever, Hitchcock's REAR WINDOW more than merely fits that bill. Showcasing a legendary lead performance by fan favorite Hollywood leading man James Stewart along with legendary Hitchcock blonde Grace Kelly, the tale of a voyeuristic photographer who appears to witness a murder in the adjoining house of his Greenwich Village apartment is overflowing with many of Hitchcock's most hallowed and oft-referenced hallmarks - including some of the most tense and terse plotting, masterful mise en scene and compelling camerawork of any of his feature films, before or after. Indeed, REAR WINDOW is a masterpiece even in the grand canon of Hitch's very best, but it is also much, much more than what it first appears to be when considered alongside his overall oeuvre - much like the dynamic and complex film itself.

Based on Cornell Woolrich's short story "It Had To Be Murder", REAR WINDOW was filmed entirely on the Hollywood lot of Paramount Studios, allowing for Hitchcock to have supreme control over all elements of the production while committing the thriller to film - and, because of the studio setting, the resulting cinematic experience contains a pronouncedly sterile and contained feeling, which only adds yet another meta-narrative and further level of tension to the wildly gripping, nail-biting movie itself. Unquestionably one of Hitchcock's most suspenseful and consistently thrilling films ever made, REAR WINDOW is exceedingly enhanced by the claustrophobic nature necessitated by the filming technique of utilizing soundstages exclusively - and the subsequent film is even more effective as a direct result. Nothing happens by accident when a master director such as Alfred Hitchcock is at the helm, after all - and each and every shot and detail of REAR WINDOW makes that clear to hear, see and feel, whether for the first time or the hundredth.

Opening to rapturous reviews and big box office, REAR WINDOW went on to gross more than $5 million in its original release, while also racking up several major award nominations - Academy Award nominations for Best Director (Alfred Hitchcock), Best Screenplay (John Michael Hayes), Best Color Cinematography (Robert Burks) and Best Sound Design (Loren L. Ryder), as well as winning the 1955 Edgar Award for Best Motion Picture. Additionally, the film has gone on to be included in the National Film Registry and was ranked #42 in the American Film Institute's canonical list of "100 Years... 100 Movies." Plus, a 1998 TV remake featured Christopher Reeve in the leading role originally played by Stewart, with a 2007 Steven Spielberg-produced feature film DISTURBIA owing a significant debt to the source material, although a lawsuit determined that the film was unique enough to not infringe on the copyright for Woolrich's original story on which REAR WINDOW was based.

Action, suspense, mystery and thrills combined with a spectacular lead performance as well as a knock-out icy blonde makes for an indelible Alfred Hitchcock experience impossible to pass up and now those both intimately familiar with and brand new to the material have a chance to experience REAR WINDOW right back where it belongs in movie theaters for two special nights on March 22 & 25 at 2 PM and 7 PM thanks to Turner Classic Movies and Fathom Events, complete with a special introduction by film historian Ben Mankiewicz. Watch out or miss out!

More information on the TCM/Fathom Events presentation of REAR WINDOW on March 22 and 25 is available at the official site here.

I Spy

Now, let's take a look at some of the most memorable moments pertaining to REAR WINDOW from its 1954 debut through to today.

First up, view the trailer for the TCM/Fathom Events REAR WINDOW special event.

Next, see the unique original trailer for REAR WINDOW featuring behind the scenes footage.

Now, take in the legendary opening scene of the film.

Also, Grace Kelly ignites the screen with her memorable entrance.

Don't miss master director Martin Scorsese's astute analysis of the film.

Witness every single Alfred Hitchcock cameo ever in this fascinating fan-made clip collection.

Alfred Hitchcock appears on popular vintage game show WHAT'S MY LINE?

Catch this hilarious SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE parody with Grace Kelly look-alike January Jones.

Get a look at the 1998 remake of REAR WINDOW starring Christopher Reeve.

Spot the multiple Hitchcock references in the trailer for 2012's cool cinematic tribute HITCHCOCK.

Lastly, Steven Spielberg's DISTURBIA updated the REAR WINDOW concept to the 21st century.

So, what makes Alfred Hitchcock's REAR WINDOW an absolute masterpiece among masterpieces? What is it exactly about Hitchcock's understanding of an audience that he could create a thriller just as entertaining and suspenseful today as it was when it premiered more than 50 years ago? Surely, Hitchcock could see something inside our humanity even we ourselves fail to recognize, then and now - in the end, though, perhaps all that is needed is getting a slightly closer look inside.

Photo Credits: TCM/Fathom, Paramount Pictures, etc.




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