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Hitchcock’s films dealt with many psychological themes, one of which was the idea of voyeurism. In this essay I will be looking two of his films; Rear Window (USA, 1954, Alfred Hitchcock) and Vertigo (USA, 1958, Alfred Hitchcock) and discussing the occurrence of voyeurism within the narratives of both films. I will also look at the idea that certain aspects of the films can be said to be representations of the voyeuristic nature of cinema-going.
Alfred Hitchcock was a British director who started work on films as an assistant director at the age of 22. His directing debut came in The Pleasure Garden (1925), but it was after emigrating to the US in the 1940’s that Hitchcock was at his most productive and where he made his most successful ‘masterpieces’; Rear Window (1954), Vertigo (1958), North by Northwest (1959), and Psycho (1960). ... Although Hitchcock had a massively successful career, he never won an award for ‘Best Director’, although he was knighted in England before his death in 1980.
“Rear Window (1954) is an intriguing, brilliant, macabre Hitchcockian visual study of obsessive human curiosity and voyeurism”
Rear Window is thought, by many, to be the first of Hitchcock’s films to which the term ‘masterpiece’ can be applied. ... In his boredom at being stuck in “a plaster cocoon”, he begins peering into the windows of his neighbours across the courtyard of the apartment block from his ‘rear window’ (hence the name for the film). The complex set displays many apartments, their windows and occupiers on the screen creating a doll’s house effect. ... It is my opinion that in Rear Window the type of voyeurism we see is the more of the latter; Jeff is generally curious about all of his neighbours’ behaviour (partly due to his profession as a photographer).
Although the film tells the story of exposing a murder, its central theme is the voyeuristic gaze. Hitchcock understood (perhaps more clearly than other directors at the time) that voyeurism is inherent in movies; moviegoers watch closely at the lives of the characters on the screen (even if they are fictitious).
“Alfred Hitchcocks Rear Window…is often described as the ultimate movie about voyeurism. ... ”
I will now discuss certain aspects of Rear Window that I feel makes the film a clear metaphor for both movie watching and movie production. Hitchcock likened the film to an ‘essay on cinema’. ... The first shot we see is a mid shot through a window with the window acting as the frame. The three bamboo blinds which cover the window and conceal the outside view are slowly raised one by one beneath the credits.
Approximate Word count = 2207
Approximate Pages = 8.8
(250 words per page double spaced)
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