Private Eyes, by Tyler Smith

Well, the answer is very simple: it’s a remarkable film.

When I was around 13, I decided to start watching classic movies. I’m not sure what it was that sparked this, but, regardless, I found myself, in those first few years, being exposed to the types of movies that I never knew existed. It was during this time that I first saw The Maltese Falcon, Dr. Strangelove, The Godfather, The French Connection, and countless other great movies.

The problem with watching movies that have been viewed for decades as “classics” is that there will inevitably be some that just don’t seem to live up to the hype. I’ve never been able to really enjoy The African Queen or The Big Sleep, just to name a couple. However, sometimes, there will be a movie that not only lives up to the hype, but exceeds it by leaps and bounds.

What’s odd about these movies, I’ve noticed, is that they turn out to have almost always been directed by Alfred Hitchcock. With Psycho and Vertigo, my prevailing thought upon watching them was, “Holy crap. That was even better than I thought it was going to be.”

Rear Window is no exception.

The simple story of a photographer who, due to a broken leg, is confined to his home, where he proceeds to spy on his neighbors, stars Jimmy Stewart, in an interesting bit of casting. Stewart, like Henry Fonda, is inherently likable. He is noble, kind, smart, and not afraid to stand up for a cause he believes in. In short, Jimmy Stewart is the American that so many of us wish we could be.

That’s why he’s such a good choice to play this fairly sleazy role. Stewart- playfully, at first- uses his telephoto lens to see what’s going on in his neighbors’ lives across the courtyard. He speculates as to what they’re thinking, taking an interest that, if it were anybody else, we’d start to feel a bit uncomfortable. He’s a peeping tom, which is something that we don’t like. But, because it’s Jimmy Stewart, who is so relatable, it’s as though he has eased us into being a part of something mildly sinister. Before long, we are just as intrigued by these other people’s lives as he is.

I have always liked movies that force audiences to deal with their complicity. Movies like Michael Powell’s creepy Peeping Tom or Michael Haneke’s devastating Funny Games belong in this category of film that points a finger at the audience and says, “This is what you want, isn’t it?”

The greatest example of this accusatory undercurrent is when Stewart is, as usual, casually glancing at what each neighbor his doing, until he gets to the window of a man suspected of killing his wife. As Stewart stares intently at that window, the man realizes he is being watched and looks right at Stewart; right at us. The man’s look of realization is soon replaced with stone cold hatred, as if to say, “I know what you’ve been doing.” And we immediately know that our hero is in danger.

And, as far as scary moments go, this one rates right up there with the first appearance of the shark in Jaws. It is this scene, and so many others like it, that make Hitchcock such a great director. He, like only a handful of other directors before or since, was completely and totally in control of everything that happened in his movie. He knew exactly what audience response he wanted, and he knew exactly how to get it. He was the perfect blend of instinctive and methodical.

It should be noted that Hitchcock’s movies were often very cold, emotionally. Usually, that sort of thing bothers me, but Hitchcock, like Orson Welles, was just so good at what he did, that I never cared. Invariably, with every movie, he would get his hooks into me and I’d be right there with him every step of the way.

It’s not many directors that can do that. And, with Rear Window, Hitchcock crafted a masterful thriller, while, at the same time, indicting the audience for their desire to be thrilled.