This remake of Hitchcock's classic tale can't equal the master's work, but is a suspenseful and interesting little movie with plenty of thrills for the modern audience. A real-life disabled Christopher Reeve (as a result of a fall from his horse) takes the lead role originally played by Jimmy Stewart, and manages to create a warm and sympathetic character despite the fact he's a voyeur who enjoys watching the private antics of the people living opposite him. Although the film is packed with plot contrivances and skimmed-over holes (WHY didn't anyone else hear a scream that night, anyway?), it's easy to forgive these and concentrate on the strong use of lighting and the riveting story woven in only a few separate locations.
Okay, so the film does have many problems, like the tacked on, rather silly, Reeve vs. killer finale and some cloying sentimentality which threatens to become distasteful, but on the whole this is a harmless and watchable television movie with a lot more subtlety - and intelligence - than most of its ilk. Daryl Hannah plays the female love interest and it's a revelation to find that she can actually act instead of just playing a blonde bimbo; okay, so she's not great, but she'll do. Veteran Robert Forster also turns up playing a cop as always, putting in a nice cameo. The killer is enjoyably hissable and there are plenty of interesting minor characters whom we only ever see through the windows of the apartments caught up in their own little worlds.
REAR WINDOW is at its strongest with the characterisation, and the prevalence of realism over special effects or action makes it down-to-earth and appealing to a family audience. Like Reeve's character, the film manages to hook you into getting involved with the machinations of the people we only witness through the glass. There are a couple of spooky bits involving good use of shadows (memorably highlighting a girl's face, turning her into a grinning demon) and unnatural phenomenon (welding sparks causing a room's ceiling to flicker mysteriously), although I could have done without the twist downbeat ending which just seems to have been tacked on for the sake of it (as a homage to Hitchcock perhaps; a final joke at the audience's expense?). Otherwise, REAR WINDOW is an agreeable watch even if not up to the level of the original classic.
Okay, so the film does have many problems, like the tacked on, rather silly, Reeve vs. killer finale and some cloying sentimentality which threatens to become distasteful, but on the whole this is a harmless and watchable television movie with a lot more subtlety - and intelligence - than most of its ilk. Daryl Hannah plays the female love interest and it's a revelation to find that she can actually act instead of just playing a blonde bimbo; okay, so she's not great, but she'll do. Veteran Robert Forster also turns up playing a cop as always, putting in a nice cameo. The killer is enjoyably hissable and there are plenty of interesting minor characters whom we only ever see through the windows of the apartments caught up in their own little worlds.
REAR WINDOW is at its strongest with the characterisation, and the prevalence of realism over special effects or action makes it down-to-earth and appealing to a family audience. Like Reeve's character, the film manages to hook you into getting involved with the machinations of the people we only witness through the glass. There are a couple of spooky bits involving good use of shadows (memorably highlighting a girl's face, turning her into a grinning demon) and unnatural phenomenon (welding sparks causing a room's ceiling to flicker mysteriously), although I could have done without the twist downbeat ending which just seems to have been tacked on for the sake of it (as a homage to Hitchcock perhaps; a final joke at the audience's expense?). Otherwise, REAR WINDOW is an agreeable watch even if not up to the level of the original classic.