Scene Analysis of Alfred Hitchcock's
Bede Jarrett once said that "the mysterious is always attractive. People will follow a veil." In the specified sequence of Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window, narrative form is integral to the film in order to construct a further understanding and create a mysterious tension in the mind of the viewer. The viewer learns which character is in control of the narrative, the cause-effect relationship of the narrative, realizes the relation of the narrative to the plot structure. Furthermore, the audience obtains a deeper understanding of the central characters, appreciates the dual focus narrative, sees that there are many characteristics that make this film a part of the "Classical Hollywood Cinema," and observes the narrative move forward through explicit and inferred events. The narration in the given sequence of Rear Window, clearly demonstrates which character is in control of the dialogue. It follows the social ideal of the 1960's and dedicates the majority of the power in the situation to Jeff. Although Lisa seems to be quite dominant in the initiation of ideas and conversation, Jeff always discredits her comments with clever remarks and sexual references. This is exemplified when Lisa comm
Furthermore, the narration in the specified sequence also advances the plot. The audience is exposed to both Jeff and Lisa's point of view regarding marriage. Jeff refutes each of Lisa's arguments in favour of matrimony. After Lisa comments that men need women to get them out of their difficult situations, Jeff sarcastically enquires, " [is] she the girl that saves him from the clutches of the seductive showgirls and the daughters of the rich?... Funny, he never ends up marrying her." Lisa seems enthusiastic to be "his girl Friday," but Jeff is very hesitant. The themes of guilt and judgement are revealed in the sequence through inferred and explicit events. Lisa emerges from the kitchen and explains that she and Jeff "think Thorwald's guilty." This is an explicit element in the narrative. When she says the word "guilty," Doyle looks down at the nightgown on the table, connecting the supposed guilt of Thorwald with that of Jeff and Lisa. This element of the sequence is implicit. Doyle is firm in his belief that Thorwald is not guilty, which the audience sees when he states that "Lars Thorwald is no more a murderer than [he is.]" Jeff has passed his judgement and believes that Thorwald is guilty. This adds an element of irony to this particular section. Doyle is in Jeff's apartment because Jeff has passed a judgement, and at this point, Jeff is reprimanding Doyle for doing the same. In the given sequence of Rear Window, narrative form is integral to the film in order to construct a further understanding of the film and create a mysterious tension in the mind of the viewer. The audience follows the mysterious and unknown, into the wonderful world of Alfred Hitchcock. Another important element to the narrative is to create the film in cause-effect sequence, as not to confuse the audience. A cause-effect chain relies on devices that control the plot time, such as a deadline and an appointment. Hitchcock uses two devices in order to create tension in the audience. The first of which is the deadline of Thorwald's departure. Jeff states that "[Thorwald's] got everythi
Some common words found in the essay are:
Lars Thorwald, Jeff Lisa, Rear Window, Jeff Lisa's, Thorwald Jeff, Jeff Thorwald's, Lisa Lisa, Doyle Jeff's, Lieutenant Doyle, Lisa Jeff, jeff lisa, lisa comments, rear window, jeff thorwald's, thorwald's guilty, form integral film, guilt judgement, difficult situations, thorwald guilty, dual focus, focus narrative, narrative form integral, film construct understanding, integral film construct, window narrative form,
Approximate Word count = 1419
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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