Rear Window (1954)

Pick up any random issue of Empire or Total Film and you will see the word(s) "...even Hitchcock would be proud" or "Hitchcockian" 5 or 6 times between the covers, this is because Hitch is one of, if not THE single most influencial director of all time, not merely because of a string of financial hits, but becaue his pioneering techniques have become the Hollywood norm, everything from his use of score and framing of scenes, to including strong female leads (something Hollywood could improve on) and caring about performance and visuals in equal measures.

The feature is about James Stewarts' wheelchair bound photographer (due to a broken leg sustained on an assignment) with little to do other than watch out his titular rear window while doting girlfriend (the effortlesly graceful Grace Kelly) and physiotherapist pop by from time to time.
while looking out he observes the lives of the people living around him, everything froma balerina dancing around half dressed to the newly-wed couple living in the building once over, it is while he indulges his voyeurism that he see's something suspect, which snowballs into the plot's main driving force.

So, while not his most well known piece, (that honour perhaps goes to Psycho, or possibly The Birds) Rear Window perhaps is his most brilliant, the version I watched was the DVD which used a remastered print of the film, a risky move for most old movies, as they say the Devil is in the Detail, and sometimes the magic from older films is lost when you can see everything, but everything from this 56 year old masterpiece held up beautifully. For the perspective of him looking out from his apartment to the building opposite and the courtyard in-between, an entire set was built, which allowed the camera to flow naturally and for every inch of the screen to be heavily detailed further enhancing our suspension of disbelief, a technical and thematic masterpiece from arguably the most talented director to have ever worked in La LA land, (who of course, was British)

DEFINITELY one to check out if not for the cleverly laid out story, then the beautiful Kelly as she steals the show with her rich, yet unspoilt, beautiful yet not superficial strong female lead. 9/10.