Rear Window (1998)

Rear Window (1998) ** (out of 4) After a car accident a man (Christopher Reeve) is left paralyzed and begins killing time by spying on his neighbors when he thinks he hears one of them murdered. There's some interesting aspects to this remake of the Hitchcock classic but at the end of the day there are just way too many problems for the film to really work. Reeve is very good in the part, although it took me some time to get involved with the film because the early scenes of him in rehab and dealing with being paralyzed where rather depressing to watch. Daryl Hannah is wasted in the Grace Kelly role and Robert Forster's roll as the detective is very badly written. It was interesting how the filmmakers used an upscaled apartment for a crippled but the actual murder case is very boring and the ending is a big letdown.

The idea is great since it comes from a master mind of suspense. The main actor is also great because he plays his own role as a crippled victim of a dumb accident. But at the same time something is wrong in the extraordinary exhibitionism of these Americans who do not know what a blind is and who broadcast every single of their sighs to the whole neighborhood through open windows and paper thin walls. It makes the voyeur in this case practically justified since there is no other way but hear and see. But that's too easy. It takes a lot of the secrecy of this voyeuristic knowledge out of the story. The suspense itself is even in many ways reduced, crippled. From a dark and frightening film we shift in this remake to a plain action film with a cripple as the main character who is beautifully rendered by Christopher Reeve, but that is not enough to make a great film. This remake is not really improving, nor even getting close to the original.Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine & University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne

Having survived a car crash, Jason Kemp is left paralysed from the neck down and his only comfort is the fact that his high paying job has allowed him to have his flat kitted out with loads of assistive technology. Trying to cope with the loss of his body, Jason is determined to stay busy but soon finds himself becoming fascinated with the apartment block across the road from his own flat. He spots a woman across the road getting into a domestic with her boyfriend and call the police on him. Being just as nosey, one of his helpers, Antonio, feeds his interest by getting him a camera and monitor set up. However when the boyfriend comes back something happens and the woman he has been watching seems to no longer be in the flat Jason suspects murder.The term "vanity project" could be applied to this film since it is more about Reeve himself than his character, but in this case it would be a hardhearted person that would attack the film on this ground. The film has a certain amount of novelty value due to the presence of Reeve but outside of that it is hard to ignore how inferior it is to the Hitchcock original. I know some reviewers have been so moved by the presence of Reeve that they have found it difficult to review the film as what it is meant to be – which is something of value in its own right. As such this remake isn't actually that good because it lacks tension, character and originality. It isn't terrible of course, because it is reasonably engaging but, aside from the novelty value, I can't see why anyone would chose to watch this in place of the original.Reeve is pretty good in the lead role. He is natural enough and convincing in his sense of panic but he is hardly given that great a performance. I can understand why viewers would be sympathetic in their judgement of his performance but perhaps they have been a bit too generous – it is brave, but not brilliant. Talking of "not brilliant", good to see Darryl Hannah still churning out the wooden performances. Forster is a nice "pre-Jackie Brown" find but doesn't have much to do, while I didn't care for Santiago-Hudson that much.Overall this is a so-so film that benefits greatly from the presence of Reeve. Aside from his return to the screen there isn't a huge amount to make this worth a look – particularly when it has been done so much better elsewhere.

While nobody expected this to be anywhere near as good as Hitchcock's classic, I found the film surprisingly engrossing. Some people might say Reeve didn't stretch his abilities, but I would argue that he still convinced me that he was Jason Kemp. Reeve's character is absolutely helpless, whereas Jimmy Stewart could still use his arms, and this made Reeve's character all the more vulnerable. It made for a more suspenseful, edge-of-your-seat film. I've read that this film was simply a showcase for the gadgets that Reeve uses to live life, but I think that's an unfair criticism of a thoroughly enjoyable, not to mention educational, film.The rest of the cast provides solid support, but it's Reeve's show all the way. I'm glad the accident didn't keep him away from acting. He's always been an underrated actor, except as Superman, so it's good to see a different role provide him with a high profile opportunity to showcase his acting ability. (If you're curious about Reeve's other great roles, I'd definitely check out Deathtrap, where he stole the show from Michael Caine and Dyan Cannon.)