Tag: Rear Window

Screening Room: ‘Alfred Hitchcock: The Iconic Collection’

On By chrisbarsantiIn DVD - Film, Film - RepertoryLeave a comment

Yep, every one of those films in fully remastered 4K Ultra HD. Plus extras. And a cool bookshelf case.

My review of Alfred Hitchcock: The Iconic Collection is at PopMatters:

Far from lazy, Alfred Hitchcock: The Iconic Film Collection delivers a delectable sampling of the director in the late bloom of his career. These six films—Rear Window (1954), To Catch a Thief (1955), Vertigo (1958), North by Northwest (1959), Psycho (1960), and The Birds (1963)—provide everything from spiffy and urbane romantic crime melodramas to a road-trip espionage thriller, an eerie take on the apocalypse, a chilly study in obsession, and a proto-slasher film. It’s a staggering collection. No other mainstream director ever took on so many genres so successfully and in such a short time…

Writer’s Desk: Look Out the ‘Rear Window’

On By chrisbarsantiIn Books, WritingLeave a comment

Rear Window is one of the great movies of the 20th century. Suspenseful, humorous, inventive, and skillfully manipulative; it’s the best of what Alfred Hitchcock had to offer at his height. It is less remembered for the brilliance of its sprightly script by noir master Cornell Woolrich.

James Duncan of Writer’s Digest teases a half-dozen writing lessons from Woolrich’s script:

1. When in Doubt, Cast Doubt

2. Pile on the Doubt With Doubters

3. Trick-or-Trait!

4. All Five Senses Builds a Fine Atmosphere

5. Location, Location, Location!

6. Juxtaposition is SO Romantic

Not sure how to make these work in practice? Just go watch the movie again. You’re welcome.