2. Rear Window (1954)
After breaking his leg, Jeff (James Stewart) whiles away a hot summer spying on his neighbours to the amusement of his wealthy socialite girlfriend Lisa (Grace Kelly). He becomes obsessed with his neighbour Mr Thorwald, who he believes is guilty of murdering his wife. A dead dog shows up in the courtyard and Jeff is convinced the dog was murdered by Thorwald to stop it from digging up something incriminating. His obsession with Thorwald intensifies and he and Lisa become involved in a deadly game of cat and mouse with the neighbour. In Rear Window, Hitchcock invites us to become voyeurs along side Jeff and it is quite absorbing, spying on the neighbours, however, it is firmly Hitchcock's lens we are looking through, not Jeff's. Hitchcock also places limitations on himself with a limited set which makes us really empathise with Jeff's experience of confinement. The closed apartment is also effective at creating Hitchcock's trademark suspense. We don't know what is happening outside except through the lens of his telescope. The film is funny and warm as well as being suspenseful. Stewart's and Kelly's characters are well developed and we care for them. A Hitchcock masterpiece.