Rear Window: The Use of Angle and Selective Shoots Guides Audiences

     In Rear Window, the psychological activities of Jefferies in It Had to Be Murder is presented by various facial expressions and body gestures, his conversations with Stella and Lisa, and especially the selective long shot of his neighbors. The scenes of the ballet dancer, the Miss. Lonelyheart and the newly married couples, are all apparently biased and created sense of chaos and cynicism in this middle-class community. Then the focus of the camera has shifted to the Thorwalds which is the main line of the movie. In the novel, the stereotyped thoughts and imprudent judges of readers are guided by the thoughts and judgement of Jefferies; however, in the movie, the judges of audiences are directed by the swing of camera, the selective shoots and editing.

     Alfred Hitchcock has adapted It Had to be Murder to film Rear Window. In the movie, except the setting and the plot were kept, Alfred changed the name of characters, added new roles and story lines and established a new love story. In the original script, the story is straight and clear, it happens continuously in an inductive path; while in Alfred’s version, the story has more extents that filled by the lives of other neighbors and Jefferies’ s observation has expanded to the whole neighborhood. In both version, if at the end Jefferies has found his prediction is stereotyped and conspiratorial and Mr. Thorwald is innocent, the story will be an absurd.

Literary words to Visual scenes

The movie, directed by Hitchcock, adapted Woolrich’s novella “It Had To Be Murder” from literary words to vivid cinematic scenes. Similar to the novella, most shots was from Jeff’s eyes, and the camera and binocular he used to view his neighbor’s daily life. In movie, slightly different from the novel, the window’s of Jeff’s neighbors’ acts as mirrors revealing neighbor’s personalities. For example, the ballerina sits in the middle of her large square window and brushes her hair showing she is confident and likes attention. Ms. Lonely Hearts sits off to one side of her window, a less confident and confused woman missing her other half. The pianist’s windows unlike the other normal windows are framed differently and resemble piano keys. I In the movie, besides Jeff’s careful observation, the little cute dog is an another clue to foreshadow Mr. Thorwald’s crime. The dog acts as an important character. The camera gives the dog lots of close-up to imply its emphasis. At the beginning, it is lovely and active, playing around in the garden. But one day, suddenly, it is found to be dead with its neck broken. Such great change arises Jeff’s curiosity that there may be something buried in the garden. Without the dog, the finding of Thorwald’s crime can not be so quick and natural. In the end, owing to Mr. Thorwald pushes Jeff to the balcony, and Jeff was forced to fall down from the balcony to the first floor. The camera zooms in Jeff’s two legs cast on plaster. It is a contrast compared with his former situation in which just one leg of him with plaster. Even though Jeff had to sit on the wheelchair for longer time. But his mood is even better than before because he is filled with accomplishment to find a murder via his own careful observation.

In comparison to the text, Alfred Hitchock did a wonderful jon of creating the film in a way that would capture the attention of its audience the way the text did. They were a few changes that Hitchcock did to make this possible. One of the first things I noticed he changed was the names of the characters. In the text, the main character's name was Hal. Jeffries and was changed to L. B. Jefferies. Inspector Boyle was changed to Lieutenant Doyle. Camera angles and shots also played a major role in the product of translating the text to film. There was a consistent "watching" them of the main character analyzing the other characters to create the story. To help create Jefferies, would have several POV shots in the film for the audience to feel like they're seeing from his apartment. Shots used in this were Pan shots, which we really important to also follow what Jeffries appeared to be looking at.

Literature to Film [Translation]

Both the book and the film found a way to be suspenseful and how the attention of a viewer in different ways. The book makes us think that Jefferies is just sitting in window being noisy by watching the lives of his neighbors, until the end when the let us know he's been in a cask. In the film Alfred Hitchcock added more characters to make it more interesting and added a beautiful young actor at the time Grace Kelly to catch the eye of the viewers. The structure of the translation from the book to the film was very good I think, did didnt alter as much

Viewing Response: Rear Window - "It Had to Murder" Film Adaptation

After viewing Rear Window by Alfred Hitchcock I was once again made aware of a new craft in film- adaptations. The retelling of a short story, or novel through a visual platform. It seems fairly simple on the surface, but when studied further, noticing the actual craft of bringing words written for reading to life on screen requires a more elaborate ability to work details, camera shots and most importantly point of view.

Although Rear Window was based off of the lengthly short story "It Had to be Murder" written by Cornell Woolwich it became a new story all on its own with new themes, cinematic tropes & alternate plot points. These new changes were accomplished by adding new characters.

For example, in "It Had to be Murder", Sam was Mr. Jeff's friends who was depicted as the 'flunky' who would put his life in danger for his dear friends Jeff. On film that type of character dynamic would have to be backed up with tons of background information in order for the viewer to believe it. Why would a man be that adamant about his friend, what is their history in depth? In order to avoid those viewing questions and also ignite an emotional connection between the film and its viewer, Hitchcock took Sam's devotion and introduced Lisa to the story. Lisa's character works to bring the love story plot forward. Something that was absent in the original text.

Through film adaptation, viewers are afforded the ability to get to know the characters more in depth. You get a larger back story on who they are, & what are their little quirks. This shows strong character development.

The cinematic technique of POV was greatly accomplished in this film. Camera shots focused in on specific details in the viewing perspective of the main character. Long shots from Mr. Jefferies window where smoothly zoomed in for close up shots on intricate details that moved the film forward. An example of this is shown when Mr. Jefferies was writing the letter to Mr. Thorwald. The camera shot swiftly transitions from the viewers POV of the room then above Jefferies head using a high angle shot using an aerial dolly to show the action of writing and then a close up shot of the letter and Jefferies hand. These camera shot transitions add to the dramatic element of the film.

-Ci

Film vs Literature

Both the film and the literature of Rear Window were very good. Alfred Hitchcock did a good job translating the story but with a couple of changes to make the story more interesting. The film needed more more characters to attract more viewers and of course every movie needs a love interest and action and even suspense and mystery. It keeps the audience entertained throughout the whole movie and it is what makes people watch it over and over again. But with the literature, it gives off a different feeling and this is only in my perspective. As I read the story, it felt darker to me than the movie did. The story didn't say why the Jefferies was looking at his neighbors through his window until the very end. There were less characters too and it was a good idea since it does take awhile to remember people by name and description compared to seeing their face. You also didn't have to focus on so many people at once. But overall the translation of the story was accurate in a sense. The theme and plot didn't change as much and that is what everyone looks for when a book or story turns into a movie.

REAR WINDOW Opening (Cinematography) - for student response before class & class discussion

Here's the opening of Rear Window.  How is Hitchcock using the camera here?  What types of shots, angles, and movement do you see here?  How would you describe the editing -- continuity, montage, a little bit of each?



These are the elements of the language of cinema.  Now also consider the language of literature (word, paragraph, description, dialogue, character, mood)  How does Hitchcock use his camera to "translate" Woolwrich's story to the screen?

Reading Response: 'It Had to Be Murder'

After reading "It Had to Be Murder" the question of "Is this considered literature?" was proposed in class, & a few of us were puzzled when attempting to answer. We all assume, "well if its being read in an atmosphere of learning- well then why wouldn't it be literature",  right?
But literature doesn't consist of just words on a paper. Literature in the context of this college level English course is defined as written works, especially those of superior or lasting merit, that include the prominent literally elements and devices.

In my opinion, "In Had to Be Murder" is indeed literature due to the fact that the story posses a few key literary devices. Through these literary devices and tools the story is easy for the reader to follow, and even more tempting for the reader to dive into.

A few literary devices used by;
Satire: The story has a slight satirical element to it. Its overall surface read portrays a man who is basically a peeping tom, but could the nuclear objective of the piece be to really bring awareness to how much we assume when watching others? Could it be a poke at the idea of peeping? What was Whoolwrich trying to tell us is the real question! Either way the story invites you to even consider the possibilities- that's literature.
Situational Irony: The casual tone of the narrative leads the reader to believe that this is a mundane story about a man watching people and then suddenly you can see that Jeff was consistently poking fun at the way in which Mr. T was assumably  killing his wife all while he himself was in an unfortunate space in his life as well(not able to be mobile)
 Description: so eloquently provided examples of writing for literature through short story. One example is the way in which woolwrich is able to deliver descriptive suspenseful sentences. Each line of description invites the reader deeper and deeper in to the story. The scene when Jeff describes pulling the dresses and packing his wife's clothes so much descriptions is provided. Even the "heaping" of Mr. T He gives notice to placement as well, while telling the story he also reminds the reader of his own presence and location in the situation.- that's good descriptive literature, I was there.

All and all the ending was a tad bit corny, but when reading this piece through a lens of literary knowledge it is clear to see that its make up is an example of literature. A writer can learn from the way in which Whoolwrich structures his story and that I feel is the craft of literature. Is it possible this piece is a nontraditional one, yes- but literature non the less.

Rear Window

In my opinion the movie Rear Window works great as an translation of the original work that its based off of. Most of the core aspects of the work are kept in the movie, but Hitchcock also as adds his own spin to the story and gives it a better feeling of suspense as well as an actual visual of what Hal or L.B. is seeing, and what hes doing about it. The movie is able to create the darkness of the story outside of readers heads and the use of angles and shots also helps to compliment the story. Overall the movie does a great job translating the story from the page to the screen.

Necessary Changes

Cornell's short story saw a lot of changes when adapted to Alfred Hitchcock's film version. As it is common for film to create a love story to appeal to more viewers, the film version lost the character Sam. However, this changed much of what makes Jeffrey the character he is. In the story, the relationship between Jeffrey and Sam is strange and unclear. This is just one aspect that makes Jeffrey seem more creepy in the story. In the story he was read to be slightly creepy as he seemed to be obsessed with his neighbors rather than just be curious. In the movie, his career as a photographer makes it a lot more understandable as he is used to making stories out of what he sees. In order to create a believable love story, Jeffrey had to be an interesting person with a good motive for his spying. Therefore, the scrapping of the character Sam and making him a photographer was necessary.

It Had to be Murder

"It Had To Be Murder" was fairly interesting. Although it was somewhat confusing at times, I don't to discredit it by saying it was not written well. Similar to Mr. Kane, the protagonist has more to him than what's on the surface. People tend to be obsessed with watching other people.  For example "reality tv" has taken over television these days.  This seems to be all in his head but I'm not sure what to believe.  This reminds me of an episode of Law and Order.  Did he really kill her for the insurance money?  Did any of this really happen?  These are the questions I kept asking myself as I read this.  I don't want to say that this isn't a true literary work because in my opinion, literature can be many things.  Literature is generally used to inform people of things but I feel like this author made me really think while I was reading this so I'm not going to say that this isn't literature.

In the story, the protagonist Jeff observes his neighborhoods’ life from the window. And he found that a devoted husband, Thorwald always waits on his ill wife, but Jeff doubts why the husband can keep his wife shut up in that hot apartment and never calls a doctor. One day, Jeff found that Thorwald’s behavior is weird. Thorwald lies in the living room but never falls in asleep. His glowing cigarette is a reminder of his wakefulness. Jeff realizes that Thorwald’s ill wife is dead and Torwald is the murder. So Jeff asks his Boyne to find out the evidence, but after perfunctory check, there is no evidence to show Thorwald killed his wife. Jeff doesn’t believe it and he finds another way to prove Thorwald as a killer. The whole story doesn’t tell us texplicitly why Jeff insists that Thorhald should be the murder. Jeff thinks Thorwald is a murder, and murder it is. Readers don’t have the opportunity to share Jeff’s journey of discovering. We don’t watch with him. We’re just told the fact and conclusion by Jeff’s view. Besides, our overlook and view towards Jeff’s neighbors is manly gaining from Jeff’s thought and view. Jeff seems to dominate the view of the other characters in the story except himself. And we don’t even know what Jeff’s injury is until the last page and we never learn more than his name. It looks like Jeff is a mysterious person throughout the story and his mystery is not revealed at the end of story.

I think the short study "It had to be murder" was very suspenseful because it had you thinking what was going to happen next. Since the main character is in a wheelchair he is limited on what he can do and what he can look at. This makes him linger out the window and looking at the daily lives of his neighbors. He becomes intrigued with the lives of a married couple. Days go on and the wife later disappears and Jeff starts to wonder why. Jeff starts to think that the husband is the murderer with no facts. Is the husband really a murderer or are these just thoughts in his head.

It Had To Be Murder

The short story "It Had To Be Murder" was an interesting read. I think it was written well--it was very suspenseful throughout due to the mood Woolrich set and the descriptions. The protagonist was a well-written character. We get the sense that there is more to him than meets the eye, but we get enough information about him from the story and can make a few inferences from his emotional connections with some of the people he watches. Due to his apparent expertise in this area and his amazing descriptions, everything he knows we know, which lends us to trust him somewhat, even to the point where we're willing to dismiss him people-watching in the first place.  I believe that the inferences he made from watching the man was logical--had I been in the same situation I might have done the same. However, I can see how this could all be in his head. People watch others and make up stories about their lives, which is what Jefferies was doing at the end of the story. He was trying to figure out why he killed his wife. I don't agree with the conclusion he made about the mistress and him killing her for the insurance money. In the beginning, he noticed that the wife had been sick for a while. I think that Lars Thornwald killed her because she had been suffering from her sickness for a long time. He had a mistress because, in situations where spouses have an incurable disease or a disease that prevents them from doing ordinary things, it's a normal circumstance. It's not excusable, but understandable in a sense.
I don't believe that this story was literature. Literature means that there is something important about the work, something that can influence people's lives or change the world in some way. Jane Austen's works gives an insight to how life was during her time and how people were during her day. Langston Hughes poems brings us to into the Harlem Renaissance and being black in America. This story is an interesting and fun read and Woolrich is definitely talented, but I would not consider it to be literature.

Cornell Woolwrich's It Had To Be Murder

I think the story “It Had to be Murder” is very suspenseful throughout it because you never know what’s going to happen next. This man was temporally cripple and was only able to access two spots of his room. He could go from his bed to the window and back so the only thing he could do was to stare out the window. He began to watch this guy in another apartment by looking through his window. I personally think he was wrong for looking through the man’s window because the guy was in his house. Watching someone in the streets or walking around outside I think is one thing but when there in there house I feel like your invading on their privacy. Why should someone feel scared to walk around there house thinking oh someone’s watching me through my windows? From him watching this man through his window he assumes this man has committed a murder. This story reminds me of this movie called Disturbia where this boy is on house arrest and he can’t leave his house so he watches the guy next door through his binoculars and witnesses a murder. 

"It Had to be Murder"

"It Had to be Murder" is a great suspense story, its almost as if the reader goes on the investigation with the main character Jeff. The author made Jeff use logical thinking in order to try to put the pieces of the murder puzzle together. Though most of it was assumptions, he grows pretty convincing throughout the story as he goes on with his "1, 2.3", scenarios. It was almost as if you were right there with him, as his suspension grew, so did yours. I felt that there was a stream of consciousness because most of what he says he is thinking about in his own head. He is alone most of the time, only visited every once in awhile by Sam and Boyne. This is a perfect movie to adapt to film because these are the classic movies that made cinema so wonderful. Who doesn't love a good crime/mystery movie?

Woolrich's story is a chilling and suspenseful tale of one mans witness of a murder committed by a man in a neighboring apartment. The story follows through Hal's first person perspective of the events and gives readers an inside look on his thoughts, actions, and drawn conclusions. The story works as a piece of literature as it features a plot, protagonist, antagonist, and a central problem that must be solved.

I think this story is perfect for a movie adaptation because it is the classic murder mystery that a film noir would be a based on. It creates drama, and suspense, and adapting it to film would heighten its darker elements with the usage of lighting, and camera angles/movements as well as giving the characters even more life through portrayal from actors.