Analysis Of Rear Window By Alfred Hitchcock

Alfred Hitchcock masters the art of storytelling, framing every shot carefully to help further the plot and develop characters. The techniques of visual storytelling that Hitchcock implements in his films are not just meant to entertain; they all serve specific purposes in building his fictional universes. Hitchcock establishes the personalities of his characters by showing exactly what the characters see and hear as well as their reactions to their surroundings. Along with point-of-view shots, Hitchcock employs montage editing, creating suspense and further allowing characters to be seen as multi-faceted beings.

Point-of-view shots are most apparent in Rear Window. The entirety of the film is shot from the perspective of L.B. Jefferies

From when Fremont opens the door to Thorwald’s apartment to when she is arrested by the police, a wide shot of the apartment building is the only visual given because that is all Jefferies can see. Even as Thorwald enters his apartment unbeknownst to Fremont, the wide shot never changes. This simple choice to employ a wide shot and not shots inside of the apartment creates feelings of fear and helplessness as Fremont’s life hangs in the balance. Furthermore, it showcases the bravery, almost to a fault, that Fremont exhibits in her quick decision to investigate the apartment of a suspected murderer. After only being used to play the part of Jefferies’s perfectionist lover for most of the film, she displays another side of her character as she consciously decides to put her life at risk to solve a murder and bring Thorwald to

In Psycho, Marion Crane’s death occurs in a series of back and forth shots between Crane and Norman Bates. When Bates pulls back the shower curtain, Crane screams in utter horror, her eyes wide and her skin glistening from the shower water. The shot cuts back to Bates raising his knife and stabbing Crane, then cuts back to Crane writhing in pain and screaming, and finally cuts back to Bates raising his knife, ready to strike again. This goes on for several minutes as Bates stabs Crane seven more times. The succession of quick cuts shows exactly what Crane felt at the time of her death, just like any person would – alone, terrified, and in immense pain. The montage of her being stabbed over and over again is seemingly endless and almost repetitive just as how it must have seemed to Crane. Moreover, the brief glimpses of a dark, looming figure wielding a knife make the situation even more hopeless and tragic because Crane couldn’t even clearly see who killed her. Hitchcock’s choice to edit this scene as a montage allows Crane to be seen at her most vulnerable state and as a quite pitiful character who lost her life by picking the wrong motel to stay overnight, humanizing someone who had embezzled $40,000 from her employer. Of course embezzling money does not justify being murdered, but in reality, without