The Art of Looking in Hitchcock's Rear Window

Readers who agree with Stefan Sharff that "the voyeuristic drive is an unavoidable part of watching a film," will find much food for thought in this book. Sharff contends that the hero of Rear Window, played by James Stewart, is himself a voyeur, and that through him Hitchcock replicates and satirizes the experience of movie watching itself. The author further argues that Hitchcock uses a cinematic "high vernacular" to convey his complex ideas. As he reveals the relationship between the film's visual style and meaning, its form and its content, Sharff walks through it no fewer than three times. In the chapters that make up the heart of this book, he summarizes the movie's plot, then comments on each of its shots in succession, and finally provides a sequential shot list for easy reference. The result is one of the most meticulous analyses of a single film available in print. It should hold a special interest for Hitchcock fans who own Rear Window on video--putting the film in the "pause" mode as they read along with Sharff will give them the opportunity to follow, absorb, and argue with the analyses of a famous film critic and Hitchcock fan. --Raphael Shargel