This whole movie takes place in a single room, and nothing much happens for its first two-thirds except for people talking. So how was I on the edge of my seat the whole time? Because this is Hitchcock, and this movie displays him at the height of his talents.

One of the top five of Hitchcock films. Generally, a film audience is is a group of voyeurs. The detective in this film (James Stewart) is a voyeur watching the neighboring apartments. So what we have is a group of voyeurs watching a voyeur. All of the shots are taken from inside the voyeur's apartment, except one of the last shots taken towards his apartment. Raymond Burr plays a great evil person in this film. In the future, he will be the good guy for many years as Perry Mason.

A work of art! A masterpiece! The idea of a well renowned photographer who's passion is being a professional voyeur of sorts capturing images around the world with his camera is now placed in a situation he's not accustomed to. With a broken leg and a heavy cast from the tip of his toes to the top of his hip forces his confinement to a wheelchair during a blistering heat wave. He sits staring out his rear window of his apartment passing the time & slowing being drawn into what he sees through all those open blinds & windows. An extension of his voyeuristic profession, he watches. The beautiful dancer, or "Miss Torso" as he refers to her who dances in her underwear & fends off the many male suitors who she entertains at her apartment across the way. Or miss lonely hearts down on the first floor who dresses in her finest, sets a table for two & pretends she has a gentleman caller for dinner when no one exists. The writer/musician across the way, the woman who lowers her small dog down in a basket to do it's business in the central courtyard that all the apartments rear windows face. When the furry guy is done the pooch jumps right back in the basket & he is raised back up again to his apartment. Then there's the couple he really begins to focus on. An invalid wife & what appears to be a frustrated husband who takes care of her. We are drawn into this film & all of these peoples lives through the perspective of the helpless voyeur, L.B. Jeffries played beautifully by James Stewart. He begins to obsess over the goings-on outside his rear window. He's isolated except for his very elegant model dress designing girl friend Lisa Fremont played perfectly by Grace Kelly. She vies for his wavering affections & attention. And his home-care nurse Stella played smartly by Thelma Ritter who warns him that no good will come from this peeping, "the New York State sentence for a Peeping Tom is six months in the workhouse"! As a viewer we know this 'peeping' is wrong but we begin to love watching right along with Stewart's character. We develop our own little obsession & Hitchock draws us ever more deeply into the suspense. BRILLIANT! But Jeffries can't stop his obsession & after witnessing some very early morning goings on across the way & an apparently missing wife foul play is suspected. He contacts his police detective friend to look into his concerns. He soon draws his girlfriend in who's eager to find a way to connect more deeply with him. He also draws in his nurse & we the viewers are drawn ever more deeply into this delicious world of voyeurism. Hitchcock plays every note to perfection & plays one of the cleverest turns in film on his viewers. After all, aren't movie goers voyeurs peering into the lives of others? With Rear Window Hitchcock plays the twist & delivers a masterpiece.

James Stewart and Grace Kelly ... in a simple little murder mystery that was well paced and worth watching.

I love this movie! and it is VERY suspenseful. I love it so much I would recommend to anyone who like good vintage movies.

We get a glimpse into many lives through the window with emphasis on one suspicious neighbour in particular (Raymond Burr). The script offers Jeff (James Stewart) a bounty of awesome quotes regarding marriage and the various reasons that it is not for him. Lisa (Grace Kelly) is simply stunning, Stella (Thelma Ritter) is the perfect antidote to Jeff's personality & Lt. Doyle (Wendell Corey) is the antidote to Jeff's suspicions - until they cannot be ignored. Great script, cast, and plot.

To the person who said this movie has no suspense, you clearly do not understand what suspense is. And the movie is the furthest thing from boring. This is a masterfully directed film with superb casting. For those who haven't seen it, don't be fooled into thinking otherwise.

Great movie. (8.7 average out of 10 rating on IMDB.com -- out of 172,650+ voters by the way.) You really can't go wrong with Stewart and Kelly. I'd love to meet the people who gave this movie less than 2 stars. I can't remember any movie James Stewart was ever in that would be considered less than 3 stars, and that's absolute bare minimum.

No suspense and just boring I would not recommend this film.

Hitch's attention to detail has never been better. From Raymond Burr's straw hat to the reflections in Stewart's lenses to the soundtrack with invisible kids playing, everything is calculated and perfect. Stewart's features are flawless as well. His facial contortions as he satisfies an itch under his leg cast are uncanny. I found myself sticking my tongue sideways between my teeth right along with him. A full load of Hitchcock suspense is delivered in measured doses right up to the climax. The cigarette smoking in the dark bit was one of the most frightening scenes I remember from my childhood movie watching. The final shot is a complete mystery to me.