Hitchcock: House & Home
Tuesday, July 8, 2025, 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm
Instructor: Alice Bullitt, M.A., BMFI Board Member
“We’ve become a race of Peeping Toms. What people ought to do is get outside their own houses and look in for a change.”
These words of admonishment are aimed at L.B. “Jeff” Jefferies (Jimmy Stewart, dryer than a gin martini), a photojournalist recovering from a leg injury. Confined to his apartment during a summer heat wave, wheelchair-bound and bored to tears, he spends most of his time spying on his neighbors with his telephoto lens through the rear window of his apartment. He is visited daily by his practical and sardonic nurse, Stella, and his girlfriend, Lisa Fremont (Philadelphia native Grace Kelly at her loveliest), a socialite and model whose desire to fast-track their relationship to more serious territory strikes fear in Jeff’s heart.
When Jeff witnesses a series of events that causes him to believe that one of his neighbors may have murdered his wife, he enlists Stella and Lisa into investigating with him, resulting in mounting suspicion and suspense. Rear Window (1954) is regarded by many as Hitchcock’s best film, embodying the most fully realized expressions of his signature themes of voyeurism, anxiety, and paranoia, conveyed through innovative use of editing, sound, and composition. Its cinematic influence reverberates through the decades, showing up in the films of Brian De Palma, the Tom Hanks comedy The ‘Burbs, and even The Simpsons. Come take a peep!
Are you interested in “just” seeing this movie? Visit the public screening page here.
Cinema Classics Seminars offer an entertaining and engaging way to learn more about some of the true classics of world cinema. All students receive an introductory lecture before the film and a guided discussion after the film. In addition, those in attendance receive a ticket to see it on the big screen, as well as popcorn and a drink. Please note: the screening associated with this seminar will be open to the public, as well.
Please contact BMFI Programs and Education Manager Jill Malcolm with any questions.
