ipl-logo

How Does Hitchcock Create Tension In Rear Window

719 Words3 Pages

Rear Window is perhaps one greatest films in history. Directed by legendary film director Alfred Hitchcock, Rear Window is a mystery thriller based on the short story “It Had to Be Murder.” Rear Window tells of a photographer, Jeff, who had broken his leg in an accident. Confined to his apartment, he passes the time by looking out his window. During this time, he became obsessed with the theory that one of his neighbours, Thorwald, murdered his wife. By using brilliant film techniques and tactics, it turns what seems to be an ordinary movie talking about relationship problems to a thriller with twists and turns all around the place.
Possibly the most interesting and thrilling scene in Rear Window is Thorwald’s visit to Jeff at the end of …show more content…

The sounds, camera shots and lighting used as Jeff waits for Thorwald to eventually reach his apartment is wonderful. His room is completely dark and lack and any sounds symbolised how alone he is and that he will have to face Thorwald, a murderer, alone. Jeff glancing around the room and watching the door completely terrified also adds to the tense atmosphere. When Thorwald arrives and opens the door, he is completely silhouetted, symbolising how evil and threating he is. On the other hand, Jeff, who is also silhouetted, is small and not as threating as Thorwald, showing how weak and defenceless he is compared to Thorwald. Hitchcock further increases the tense atmosphere by delaying the inevitable fight thorough a short conversation Thorwald and Jeff have. Instead of Thorwald running towards Jeff, he marches slowly at Jeff, showing how helpless Jeff is. Jeff, using camera flashes to delay Thorwald was another tactic Hitchcock used to increase the tense atmosphere and create suspense. Once Thorwald reaches Jeff, Jeff calls out to Lisa and Doyle (one of Jeff’s friend and detective) making the audience think that Jeff is now safe since he as backup from both the police and his friends. But Thorwald decides to throw Jeff out the window, renewing the tense atmosphere and suspense from before. After Thorwald was captured and Jeff is holding on to the ledge of the window, Hitchcock decides to go for one final twist and make Jeff fall

Show More
Related

Achieving A Professional Football Team In Red Zone By Mike Lupica

875 Words | 4 Pages

This just scratches the surface of what quintessential scenes and moments Mike Lupica is so adroit at describing. He already developed Jeff as a character throughout the story many times, but in this scene, it was like I could see how he was

Read More

Effective Use Of Macguffins In Alfred Hitchcock's Film

222 Words | 1 Pages

Hitchcock utilizes sound, camera work, MacGuffins, and plot twists to tell the storylines of the movies. Hitchcock understood the importance of camera work and sound because he began his career making silent films.12 It is why he uses many close up shots so the audience can pay attention to specific details and the emotions on the character’s face. He does not rely on dialogue to tell the story. He uses sound to help convey the message of a scene.

Read More

Thorwald's Use Of Suspense In The Rear Window

961 Words | 4 Pages

Through viewing the film Rear Window and reading the Short story It had to be murder I saw various ways in which suspense was created both in the short story and film. In the film, Jeff was trying to work out his problems with Lisa as well as being a voyeur and peeping into his neighbor's rear windows. He mainly focuses on Thorwald's window but we have several scenes where Jeff addresses his problems with Lisa. The most climatic scenes happened towards the end of the movie when Lisa decided to enter Thorwald’s apartment without Jeff's approval. While the plot is very similar in the short story, we didn’t have a Lisa in that version so the plot was completely centered around Thorwald and Jeff’s obsession on solving the murder.

Read More

Relationships In Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window

827 Words | 4 Pages

Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window has several themes. One major theme is relationships. The lead character, Jeff Jeffries, a photographer and committed bachelor, is involved in a relationship with Lisa Fremont, a model, although the relationship has some tension due to Jeff’s lack of commitment. When Jeff is confined to his apartment recovering from a broken leg, he begins spying through his rear window on his neighbors in a nearby apartment. Through her frequent visits, Lisa is drawn into this spying as well.

Read More

Ethical Issues In Rear Window

873 Words | 4 Pages

Rear Window Argues that people should mind their own business. Do you agree? Rear Window, a 1954 romance/murder-mystery by the renowned golden age director Alfred Hitchcock, is a film that explores a multitude of themes and genres through the voyeuristic gaze of protagonist L.B. Jefferies. Jefferies, or ‘Jeff’ as he commonly known throughout the film, is a middle-aged bachelor recently hospitalised due to his high-risk career as a photojournalist. This hindered condition serves as an important foundation on which the movie is built upon as Jeff’s forced lifestyle being in a wheelchair causes an abrupt stop in his usual high intensity way of life and causes him to quench his boredom in other ways, predominantly watching the other residents in his apartment complex through the ‘rear window’ of his apartment.

Read More

Changes In Tangerine

769 Words | 4 Pages

Annijah Collins Mrs. Evanowski ELA- Core 2 27 January 2017 Adapting to new Changes In the novel Tangerine by Edward Bloor, the main character, Paul Fisher, who is being overshadowed by his older brother Erik’s football career makes many decisions that change him as a character. Throughout the novel Paul uncovers many secrets that he has been lied to about for his whole life. He also faces many decisions.

Read More

The Role Of Community In Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window

1132 Words | 5 Pages

The idea of similarities among all people, an underlying connection, is expressed by Hitchcock when Lisa in Rear Window argues with Jefferies, saying, “There can't be that much difference between people and the way they live! We all eat, talk, drink, laugh, sleep, wear clothes --“. When she says this, Lisa has a lamp light shining from the upper right side of the screen to indicate the truth of her argument. There is also an instance in Rear Window where the ability to understand a person sprouts empathy. Jefferies is sitting in the dark, after Lisa leaves angry, when the piano man comes home.

Read More

The Use Of Suspense In Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho

425 Words | 2 Pages

Alfred Hitchcock successfully performs suspense and shock in a number of ways. One way was when he reveals that the cop is following her, making us think that he found out concerning the money she stole. Another way is when we see Norman staring through the hole, examining her as if he is waiting to make his move. The last technique that Hitchcock constructed suspense is when we identify a shadowy character gazing at her take a shower, making us wonder who it could

Read More

Symbolism And Motifs In Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window

672 Words | 3 Pages

Rear Window by Alfred Hitchcock is a fillm full of symbolism and motifs that provides viewers with a bigger meaning. It shows these rhetorical appeals through Hitchcok’s eyes that would not be recognized if not analyzed. Through these appeals I have recognized the window as being a symbol and marriage and binoculars as motifs. After understanding much more than what the eye anitially sees when viewing this film there is a fine line between understanding what is going on in the film and observing what the protagonist Jeff is viewing.

Read More

Alfred Hitchcock Rear Window Analysis

1431 Words | 6 Pages

With Rear Window (1954), Alfred Hitchcock proved himself to be one of the best directors of suspense thrillers filled with mystery and humour. He himself called the film his most cinematic one because it was told only in visual terms (Morrow), but it was also a challenging “editing experiment” as the entire film was shot from one place, Jeff’s apartment that overlooked his backyard. The Film follows L.B. Jeffries “Jeff” (James Stewart), a photographer confined to a wheelchair in his apartment after breaking his leg at work. He spends his days watching his neighbours and eventually suspects that one of them killed his wife. His caretaker, his girlfriend Lisa and his detective friend, at first unconvinced of his suspicion, eventually join him in his voyeurism and help him to solve the crime.

Read More

Camera Narration In The Movie 'Rear' Window

765 Words | 4 Pages

Camera narration is crucial to the effect the movie has on its audience. It is noticed that the viewer rarely gets close to the apartments or characters across the courtyard. The viewpoint is mainly fixed to Jeff’s apartment, apart from a few occasions where the camera plunges out of the window. The fronts of the buildings facing the main street are never shown either; instead all of the action takes place within the mystery and secrecy of the backyard, hence the title name ‘Rear’ Window. Perhaps Hitchcock realised that many people would not behave the same way in their front facing windows.

Read More

The Perfect Murder In Alfred Hitchcock's Film Rope

676 Words | 3 Pages

As Rupert explains, the camera follows his direction, leading to a high angle on the lounge chair. In this angle, Hitchcock uses dramatic irony to exhibit Rupert’s high intelligent as he is so close to what truly occurred. Looking down on the chair highlights how someone seated in it would be in a menial position, meaning they could easily have been taken advantage of. As he places himself in the mindset of a murderer, Rupert knows this would have given the upper-hand. Meanwhile Brandon is practically giddy as Rupert pieces together the crime.

Read More

Alfred Hitchcock's Genius

1650 Words | 7 Pages

So Hitchcock took matters into his own hands and came at the nude actress like “Mrs. Bates” would have to do with the knife. He was so intent on showing what he

Read More

Psychological Themes In Alfred Hitchcock's Horror Film Psycho

774 Words | 4 Pages

Psycho (1960) Alfred Hitchcocks powerful and complex psychological thriller, horror film “Psycho” (1960) was classes as the first sub genre of horror, the slasher. The film ushered in the era of slashes with graphic content of blood-letting and shocking killings of the time. Although this was Hitchcock’s first horror film, he was labelled as a horror film director ever since. The film contains disturbing themes of corruptibility, confused identities, voyeurism, human vulnerabilities and victimisation. These themes symbolise the effects of money, oedipal murder and the dark histories.

Read More

Rear Window Final Scene Analysis

627 Words | 3 Pages

In the film Rear Window, the director, Alfred Hitchcock uses a variety of techniques to create suspense and leave viewers on the edge of their seats throughout the film. Hitchcock uses a good assortment of tempo to create thoughts in the viewer's mind. He slows down the pace to create anticipation, and speeds it up to show a change in intensity. In the ending scene of Rear Window, Alfred Hitchcock uses changes in pace and tempo, lighting, and a short term deadline to constitute an immense atmosphere of suspense in the viewer's mind.

Read More

More about How Does Hitchcock Create Tension In Rear Window

Related Topics

Open Document