Rear Window (1998)

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

What was the point of this travesty? Might as well take all the masterpieces and do remakes and heap insult and sacrilege. Was this a charity case for Mr. Reeves? If so, nice intent. However, nice intents can turn into embarrassment. As it is when you try to replace Jimmy Stewart on the screen. And Daryl Hannah as the contemporary Grace Kelly replacement? Another horribly cast blemish.I would love to hear what Hitch would have to say to the producer, director, and actors of this farce. I do not understand why some producers want to "modernize" a classic. Occasionally, it can be pulled off with some success, but not here.

So many films have been remade in recent years, and I'm always fascinated as to why. The only justifiable reason that I can see for remaking a film, is if the original had potential, but was in the hands of the wrong director. In the case of 'Rear Window', Alfred Hitchcock's original version was close to perfection. That being the case, why did anyone feel a need to remake it? While sticking to the basic storyline of a man confined to his apartment and becoming suspicious that a neighbour has murdered his wife, there are a few changes. Christopher Reeve plays the lead character, who is not a photographer but an architect, and has been pompously renamed Jason Kemp. Also the lead female role, played by Daryl Hannah, is not his girlfriend (to begin with) but his colleague. And there are some other differences here and there, such as the lack of exploration into the complexities of relationships, and the fact that Jason Kemp has two medical assistants on call 24 hours instead of an insurance nurse that visits daily. I suppose the makers deviated in these areas so that the film would not look like an exact copy of the original, but these differences do very little, and in some cases let the film down.For a thriller, this film hardly manages to mildly scare. Jeff Bleckner's direction does not labour on key points in the film long enough to generate much tension, nor is there much atmosphere. The film's soundtrack also does not help matters. The best part of the film is Christopher Reeve, who does stand out from a cast with little substance. Thelma Ritter's character of an insurance nurse in Alfred Hitchcock's version, has more spark than the two medical assistants in this film put together. Then again, that may be largely due to the relatively shallow script that the actors have to work with.That being said, this was a very needless remake. Not all of Alfred Hitchcock's films were classics, but when it comes to his best films, I don't believe it's possible to improve on them. Apart from this attempt, 'Psycho' has been remade, as well as multiple remakes of 'The 39 Steps'. Let's hope it stops there.

Updated version of the 1954 Alfred Hitchcock classic "Rear Window" with Christopher Reeves as quadriplegic Jason Kemp who unknowingly spies upon a violent domestic dispute by his neighbors across the yard that possibly later escalated to murder. Recovering from a car smash-up architect Jason Kemp is left without the use of his arms and legs and very bitter that his latest project was given to fellow architect Claudia Henderson, Daryl Hannah, who took over for him while he was hospitalized.Back home Jason is given all the high-tech equipment to make his life, and in-home work,a lot easier. Even his relations with Claudia starts to warm up when he realizes that she's not trying to upstage him but wants him to be part of the project that she's doing. Jason later falls in love with Claudia who among other thing made his life a lot happier by her concern and attention towards him at this very critical time in his recovery. With nothing to do with his free time Jason watches, with a zoom-video camera, what his neighbors are doing across the back-yard of his apartment building. He then soon notices this couple constantly fighting with each other. Not taking it seriously at first Jason sees that the fights are a lot more intense and violent then your average family squabbles. One evening Jason calls 911 when the husband Julian Thorpe, Richie Coaster, beats his wife Ilene, Allison Mackie, to the point where she almost loses consciousness. The next night after Julian was released from police custody Jason hears a blood-curdling scream coming from the Thorpe apartment then all is deathly quite. Spying on the Thorps the next few day, to see if everything is all right, Jason notices something very strange and disturbing. Ilene is no longer there and Julian is living with another woman, who turned out to be Ilene's sister, who stole or also took over Mrs. Thorpe's identity. Better then average made-for-TV thriller that turned out to be actor Chris Reeves' last, and most personal, movie role. Suspenseful build-up as Thorpe slowly realizes that he's not only being spied on by Jason but that Jason knows what he did to his wife and tries to murder him to keep Jason from going to the police. The ending of "Rear Window" is a bit of a let-down but at the same time more intriguing then that of the 1954 version of the movie by leaving it, the ending,up in the air and to the imagination of the viewers.Chris Reeves was playing himself in the movie "Rear Window" as he was a real victim of a spinal-cord injury, that he suffered from a raiding accident on May 27, 1995, that left him paralyzed for the rest of his life until he passed away just days after his 52th birthday. Christopher Reeves made a much bigger impact on the public in the courage that he showed and energies that he gave in battling the disability that he suffered and making it,the cure for Neurolog Disease, the cause that he fought for until his death. Reeves helped create the Christoper Reeves Paralysis Foundation and thus helping, as well as inspiring, thousands of others suffering from that disabling disease with the hope that advanced medical treatments hopefully will eradicate it in the very near future. Chris showed the public, in the last nine years of his life, that he was just as much the man Superman while confined in a wheelchair in real life as the was the comic book hero Superman that he played in the movies.

Rear Window the remake is a good film that has a good cast which includes Christopher Reeve, Daryl Hannah, Robert Forster, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Anne Twomey, Ritchie Coaster, Allison Mackie, Ali Marsh, Julie Barker, Maggie Kiley, and Peter Giles. The acting by all of these actors is very good. Lowe is really excellent in this film. I thought that he performed good. The thrills is really good and some of it is surprising. The movie is filmed very good. The music is good. The film is quite interesting and the movie really keeps you going until the end. This is a very good and thrilling film. If you like Christopher Reeve, Daryl Hannah, Robert Forster, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Anne Twomey, Ritchie Coaster, the rest of the cast in the film, Remakes, Thrillers, Dramas, Crime Myster, and interesting Action films then I strongly recommend you to see this film today!