Comparison Of Rear Window And Vertigo

Alfred Hitchcock is known for being the master of suspense, and as one of the greatest filmmakers of his era. Every directors certain style is seen in their movies or the way they shoot. With Hitchcock, it is his themes and plot devices that drive his style. Let’s compare and contrast “Rear Window” with “Vertigo”, to see the similarities and differences. In both “Rear Window” and “Vertigo”, we will see suspenseful storytelling, blurring of moral distinction, and Hitchcock making voyeurs of his audience.

One of Hitchcock's favorite devices for driving the plots of his stories and creating suspense was what he called the "MacGuffin". Many of his suspense films use this device: a detail which, by inciting curiosity and desire, drives the plot and motivates the actions of characters within the story. However the specific identity of the item is actually unimportant to the plot. In “Vertigo”, for instance, "Carlotta Valdes" is a MacGuffin; she never appears and the details of her death are unimportant to the viewer, but the story about her

apparently possessing Madeleine Elster is the spur for Scottie's investigation of her, and hence the film's entire second and third act. This is not really seen in “Rear Window”, because every character is known to the audience, we are given a lot of information on their daily lives and who they are.
Further blurring the moral distinction between the innocent and the guilty, occasionally making this indictment inescapably clear to viewers one and all, Hitchcock also makes voyeurs of his "respectable" audience.

In Rear Window, after L. B. Jeffries has been staring across the courtyard at him for most of the film, Lars Thorwald confronts Jeffries by saying, "What do you want of me?" Burr might as well have been addressing the audience directly. In fact, right before asking this, Thorwald turns to face the camera directly for the first time, to further intimidate the audience. This is also used in “Vertigo” when we are first introduced to Madeleine Elster, however it’s used as a romantic device, not an evil, intimidating one. This shows Hitchcock's style and talent through camerawork in storytelling. It could be the same tactic, but it tells a different story. It works effortlessly, and shows how talented he is as a

filmmaker.
From what we’ve learned comparing and contrasting “Rear Window” with “Vertigo”, we can truly see Alfred Hitchcock’s way of storytelling and style. In both “Rear Window” and “Vertigo”, we can see suspenseful storytelling, blurring of moral distinction, and Hitchcock making voyeurs of his audience even with the same or different themes, motifs, or devices.