70 years later, an Alfred Hitchcock Classic embodies the fears of 2025 perfectly

70 years later, an Alfred Hitchcock Classic embodies the fears of 2025 perfectly







Alfred Hitchcock’s “Heck window” celebrates his 71st anniversary later this year, but in March 2025, the film plays, the film plays differently than ever before.

If you have never seen it or need a refresh on the plot, the film James Stewart plays as a photographer who broke his leg and is limited to his apartment in New York City while recovering. After being there for weeks, he is bored, looks out of his window and spy his neighbors just to notice that one of them takes part in some … suspicious activities, and he is obsessed with what is really going on.

When I watched the film again this week, I was impressed how many similarities there are, what we are experiencing now. The modern equivalent to staring out of the window on our neighbors Do Despite the practical atrocities to different degrees every day. Whether it is Bombs are still dropped on Gaza during a supposed ceasefire or watch Donald Trump and Elon MoschThese world events remind me of Lars Thorwald (Raymond Burr), the dark neighbor who hardly bothers to disguise the crime he committed. There is an arrogance of the character and for these modern numbers-a expectation that there will never be negative consequences for everything they do.

The rear window still feels relevant in 2025

There are two particularly terrifying moments in the film. One is when Stewart is observed how Grace Kelly’s character breaks into Thorwald’s apartment to get evidence that Thorwald has killed his wife, and Thorwald comes home unexpectedly and begins to accept her. Stewart grabs air and fidgets when he watches from a distance, but he is in a leg cast and temporarily in a wheelchair – nothing can do so to save her.

The other terrible moment comes during the end of “rear window”, When Thorwald comes in Stewart’s apartment and attacks him. Stewart is able to exercise a small fight by using the lightning strikes on his camera to temporarily dazzle his attacker, but to throw a light on this villain is not enough to stop it – it calculates and finally hurls Stewart out of a window. Fortunately, the police are there in the film to break Stewart’s case and arrest the evil. But if you look at that The social security network of this country is part of what is actively erodedAnd there seems to be no legal consequences for War crimes or Into or Participation in an uprisingIt feels like we won’t be so lucky if our villains come directly for us.

Writer John Michael Hayes, who adapted a short story by Cornell Woolrich and Inspired by several real murdersWith this story, something universal that has managed to have preserved through McCarthyism, the Cold War and any number of other metaphors in the past seven decades. (I had completely forgotten up to this minute I previously provided in the earliest days of pandemic as a metaphor for life in quarantine.) Hitchcock, one of the most famous directors that the world has ever seen, is probably best known for “Pyscho”, “Vertigo” and some of his “false husband” classic, but “rear window” could be the most timeless film of his incredible career.

I spoke a little about the film in today’s episode of the /Film Daily Podcast, which you can hear below:

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