Rating: 
Summary: This DVD Really Shines!
Review: Finally, It's here and available. I've been waiting for this DVD for a long time and the wait was well worth it.Alfred Hitchcock's 1954 masterpiece, "Rear Window", was painstakingly remastered by the team of Robert A. Harris and James Katz. This is the same team that did a splendid job on "Vertigo" and they almost one up thier previous effort. The DVD has a special 55 minute documentary and in one of the sections they discuss how they went about the process of the restoration and the extreme difficulties they encountered in bringing this classic back to life. I can't begin to think of all the hard work and tedious hours of work they had to confront. Ahead of them was a daunting task of organizing and fitting hundreds of thousands of feet of raw footage, negatives, positives, and foreign transfers together in one coherant, unified film. In the interview, it was documented that the negatives were virtually untreatable. It's a near miracle that they produced the quality that they did on this DVD. There is one important point to make about this treatment and restoration of the film to DVD...It is not perfect. The quality of the restoration is not as good as the job they did on "Vertigo". You will see some minor artifacts, medium to high grain resolution at times, and some mismatching of shots from high focus, less color saturation to slightly blurry focus but higher color resolution. Katz and Harris explain in the interview why they had to make certain compromises due to the lack of resources they encountered. But all in all the valiant effort and there is nothing that really distracts you from this spectacular and breathtaking film. After viewing this film you will see why Hitchcock was the grandmaster at "pure cinema". Hitchcock had a sixth sense in knowing where to put the camera at all times for maximum effect. I can only think of 2-3 modern day directors that have this deep advanced intuition of camera placement, movement & composition to create a purely visual experience for the audience. This is a very important responsibility for the director. To know exactly where a camera is to be positioned for dramatic effect and the progression of tension and drama within a scene. In my opinion, the two current directors that really stand out with this extraordinary talent are Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese. Back to the DVD...Buy it. I strongly recommend the purchase. If your a Hichcock fan this is a must. If your a regular movie fan you will see an excellent display of filmmaking at it's finest.
Rating:
Summary: Still one of the best
Review: I saw Rear Window for the first time when I was about 12-13 years old. Even though I didn't quite understand everything that was happening in the plot (Miss Lonely Heart, the newlyweds, etc.), the suspense still got to me. I remember trying to sleep one time after watching it, but I kept looking into the shadows of my room trying to find Thorwald waiting for me! That's the thing I love most about the film. With one beautifully detailed sound stage and some excellent acting/directing, Hitchcock scared me more than any other movie I'd ever seen (included at the time the Alien movies, The Shining, etc.). Now I'm 20 and I've seen the movie many more times and have come to appreciate every one of it's nuances. Sadly, it has disappeared from stores and rental shops in past years. That's why I was very happy to learn that the restored version was to be reissued on DVD! I was lucky enough to find a movie theater near me that was playing the restored version, and it looks absolutely wonderful. Even if it weren't for the great extras (production stills, script(!), production notes, trailer, and a documentary) it would still be a great buy.
Rating: 
Summary: Good film but often over-rated
Review: Rear Window is one of those films that tends to be over-rated most of the time. Definately not the best Hitchcock film in my book. The performances of James Stewart and Grace Kelly are wonderful to watch, but the plot is not exceptional. Yes, the film itself is suspensful, but do you want to watch a two hour picture whose subject is a handicapped photographer trying to solve what he thinks is a murder mystery? If you really want to watch Hitchcock's masterpieces, I would recommend Vertigo, Psycho, Rebecca, The Birds and North By Northwest.
Rating:
Summary: Another Hitchcock Gem!
Review: Jimmy Stewart is a reporter confined to his high rise New York apartment building because he is recovering from a broken leg. Grace Kelly is his fiance. She comes over to help him with his recovery, although he is crankiness personified because of his condition. However, things look up when Stewart finds himself more and more engrossed by what is going on at his neighbor's apartment in another high rise, facing his. The neighbor is played by Raymond Burr and Stewart starts to worry that Burr may be planning to do something awful to his wife. This is a real nailbiter of a movie because Stewart is hugely limited on what he can do to help by being confined to his wheelchair. We are back in the 1950s so a phone is his only instrument of communication. Also, Kelly is never there when the most suspicious things with Burr occur so Stewart's going to have trouble making the police believe him. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, this is an extremely satisfying exploration of a man's bored voyeurism turning into a rollycoaster of a nightmare. Stewart and Kelly starred in several Hitchcock films. Stewart excels at playing the regular ok guy for whom life turns nightmarish in Hitchcock's films. Kelly excels at playing the beautiful blonde society woman. She is unaccustomed to crime interrupting her perfect life yet she can face crime with cool aplomb. For those who have only ever seen Burr in his heroic tv roles, they will be surprised to discover that he usually played dark or villainous roles in his earlier movie career.
Rating:
Summary: A Reactionary View
Review: For a director who once described his actors as cattle and who said the best way to direct them is to treat them as cattle; Alfred Hitchcock sure got the best out of his actors. Mr. Hitchcock never really got the credit he deserved for most of his acting performances in his films: especially with his work with leading and supporting female actresses. Part of the reasoning may be due to the fact that he did work with the best talent in Hollywood. But look at his past films and you will see characters that come alive and feel lived in. There's extreme depth, realism, and complexity to most of his movie characters. In his 1954 classic, Rear Window, Hitchcock gets career performances from Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly. Both actors carry this film to heights that would not have occurred with lesser talent. Stewart and Kelly both do something that is extremely difficult for an actor to achieve on screen. They don't act, they re-act. It's very difficult for an actor/actress to achieve this effect for a sustained period of time. There's always that motor or inner instinct telling the actor that they have to do something or show the motivation of the character. It basically takes trust. Trust in the story and directing. I see a lot of this reactionary acting in Asian cinema. In particular Japanese films. The effect is still the same, but in Asian cinema we get the reactionary shots via conversation(more so than American cinema). For example, when we see a shot of the person listening and not the character talking it creates a very compelling shot. A surprise element comes into play. In Rear Window the effect is different as we see Kelly and Stewart reacting to off screen stimuli. By using subtle gestures and reactions we get inside the heads of the two characters. We feel thier confusion, anxiety, and bewilderment. The subtlety of the acting is so precise in its realism that the audience feels that they are a 3rd person voyeur. It's this talent that the actors bring to the table and the set up of the story that makes this film work. Sure Mr. Hitchcock creates breathtaking POV shots, wonderful pacing, and unique camera angles to create "pure cinema", but believe me it's the strong acting and compelling story that makes this film an endearing classic.
Rating:
Summary: A visual marvel.
Review: Key word being "visual". With this movie, Hitchcock, fantastic bully that he was, forces those of us who consider ourselves "decent" (whatever that means) to confront the nasty voyeur within. Of course, those who cheerfully admit being voyeurs will absolutely adore "Rear Window". In case you haven't seen it, it's about a professional photographer (the ever-solid James Stewart) who's laid up with a broken leg. Out of boredom, he begins peering into other people's apartments across the courtyard, using a comically large camera lens (torpedo would be an apter description). Naturally (for this is a Hitchcock picture), he sees something in one of the apartments which leads him to believe that a certain man (Raymond Burr) has done away with his wife. The story is top-notch; but what will really impress the movie-lover is the sheer technical brilliance here. Almost the entire film is one long-shot -- and from a first-person point of view, at that. Astonishing. The Master is not known particularly for his visual finesse (I keep thinking of *Suspicion*, with that ridiculous "spider-web" shadow from the window-panes all over the inside of Joan Fontaine's house), but here his concepts are boldly conceived and fortunately executed. Further, the DVD version looks smashing -- obviously supervised by a technical wizard. Indeed, this 46-year-old movie looks sharper and fresher than most movies released last year (think *Gladiator*, with its murky computerized palettes). *Rear Window* is a masterpiece, natch. But then, if you love movies, you already own it and I'm speaking to the converted.
Rating:
Summary: Suspenseful, Satisfying, Profound, and Comedic
Review: REAR WINDOW is probably the perfect susense-mystery. Hitchcock includes everything in this very classy thriller with a involving romance between two compelling and enduring actors. With humor, style, directing, script, visuals, and thrills, this one leaves you with such a satisfying feeling that it is impossible not to smile- and think about the thought-provoking visuals and themes. Jimmy Stewart plays a man who is restricted to staying in his apartment due to being in a wheelchair. With a socialite girlfriend(the charming Grace Kelly) and a "wise" physical therapist(a endearing Thelma Ritter), Stewart investigates the strange happenings going on in the apartment across from his. As his interests grow, the trio goes through many hardships to satisfy their curiousness and prove their shocking theory. The movie is absolutely well-paced, the structure and plot/character-development becoming more and more familiar and interesting. Alfred Hitchcock wonderfully directs this film. He had worked with the elegant Grace Kelly once before and had many meetings with her to talk about this film. It was a pleasent surprise when he offered her the job of Lisa in REAR WINDOW. Alfred Hitchcock was the master of suspense and the avant-garde. Hitchcock was a very influential director, which he showed in this movie. Almost all the shots originate from Stwewart's apartment. Watch for him winding a clock in the musician/composer's apartment approximately half and hour into the movie. The music is done by Franz Waxman, the great composer of SUNSET BLVD., THE PHILADELPHIA STORY, Hitchcock's own REBECCA, and BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN. Story by Cornell Woolrich, script by John Michael Hayes, and costumes by Hitchcock's staple designer, Edith Head. This was one of Hitchcock's most ingenious thrillers. This movie is also one of wit and subtleness. Stella, my favorite character, has two of my favorite lines- "We've become a race of Peeping Toms. What people ought to do is get outside their own house and look in for a change. Yes sir. How's that for a bit of homespun philosophy?" and "When two people love each other, they come together - WHAM - like two taxis on Broadway." Buy this movie and experience a classic film that overachieves almost every aspect a good drama and comedy suspense should do- will satisfy everyone from the thrill lover to the analyzer(a great film to pick apart like many other Hitchcock films), and from the people who want fun to people who want meaning and depth. Look for themes, but enjoy this Hitchcock vintage classic.
Rating:
Summary: The best movie ever made!!!
Review: "Rear Window" is Hitchcock's masterpiece...at the same time delightfully funny and chillingly suspenseful...The chemistry between James Stewart, Grace Kelly, and the wonderfully droll Thelma Ritter has never been equalled in any film, not even any other Hitchcock movie! From the moment I saw this movie for the first time until this very day, I have been spellbound by this brilliant work, each viewing presents something new...some nuance that went undetected before. There is a scene where Grace Kelly goes over to the apartment in question to try and find telling evidence...just as she is about to leave, the tenant in question enters, trapping her...I thought I was going to lose my breath...Sheer brilliance unmatched by any film---EVER! Now, if you've never seen the film, I won't reveal whether this neighbor actually murdered his wife...but even if I did tell you, it really wouldn't make "Rear Window" any less enjoyable to watch. I've easily seen it 30 times, and I enjoy watching it more each time. The mood is set not by soundtrack music that says "you're supposed to be scared here" etc., but by the beautiful music wafting through the courtyard from the songwriter's apartment (watch for the cameo here) as he struggles to write that perfect song...The mystery begins with a sudden scream in the night, and deepens when Jimmy Stewart catches sight of the henpecked travelling salesman across the way making several mysterious trips in and out of the apartment at late hours during a thunderstorm...each time, carrying a suitcase. Then, the next day, the voyeuristic Stewart notices that the salesman's nagging, invalid wife is no longer in the apartment, and the salesman seems suddenly concerned that someone might be watching him...especially as he wraps up some rather suspicious objects in newspaper in his kitchen. Where is his wife? Did he murder her? These are things Stewart begins to wonder...and the viewer wonders right along with him. If you have never seen this movie, you have no idea what thorough enjoyment you are missing. The original "Rear Window" to which I am referring (not to be confused with the sharply inferior remake starring Christopher Reeve) is hard to find...but well worth the search. If you can, don't rent it---buy it! You will be sorry if you don't. The only reason I gave this movie five stars is that I can't give it 20!!! "Rear Window" is nothing short of the master's crowning achievement, a must for anyone, not just Hitchcock connoisseurs like myself. If you only see one Hitchcock movie in your life, let it be this one!!! You'll never forget it! And you'll want to watch it again and again!
Rating:
Summary: Rear Window---Newly Restored DVD!!!!
Review: The last few years have seen some classic films that have been given back their old lustre via restoration, including such films as, My Fair Lady, Vertigo, Lawrence Of Arabia to name just a few. These films as well as this film have been restored by the restoration mavericks Robert A. Harris, and James Katz. I must say after seeing an advance copy of this film that Rear Window looks incredible, especially compared to the Laser Disc copy I have as well as the poor copies that have been showing up on television and VHS over the years. The colors are vibrant, in particular the reds which don't give a hint of bleeding into the frame, and the image looks I imagine as close to the original as possible given the fact that this film is almost fifty years old now. The aspect ratio is 1.66:1 which is the proper framing for this film, the sound is the original mono soundtrack and has been scrubbed up to remove any audio imperfections that have built up over the years. Also included on this disc is a 55 minute documentary titled, Rear Window Ethics:Remembering a Hitchock Classic which is quite enjoyable. There is a still frame gallery, a shorter documentary with the screenwriter John Michael Hayes, as well as the standard fare of biographies, filomgraphies etc. All in all a quite impressive package and should be of interest to any Hitchcock fan as well as Cinema fans in general.
Rating: 
Summary: Watch This One With Lights Off
Review: The solid and stoic Stewart laid up with nothing but his camera, the classy and lovely Kelly and the wonderfully acerbic Ritter make up a small cast hunkered down in an even smaller world, where everything IS subject to scrutiny. Questions arise when a neighbor exhibits suspect behaviour, but are the actions of the neighborly threesome any less suspect ? A terrific change of pace from modern day slasher films, this shows that suspense is always best when it preys on ones' imagination. Hitchcok scored a big yippee for this jewel !
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