How I Ruined Rear Window in Just Under 2 Minutes

[PtAltmVansanTarr]

LOL

[AndyTheRobot]

I am showing this clip to my film class. Thank you for the example of how narration can really mess up this beautifully shot opening sequence. :) Thank you.

[pixelated111]

I thought your impression was good! much better than what most people can do lol

[4gearkier]

not a bad jimmy stewart impression.

[chrismonk1981]

Absolutely love the Stewart impression! Very good! Ignore the haters lol

[ultrabrilliant]

I think your Jimmy Stewart impression is excellent. "Rear wind-aaa"

[JohnnyA1953]

Me too.

[UBiQproductions]

You know even though the narration ruins the scene, for me at least, I came to kind of enjoy it towards the end, but then it ended.

[CptDunsel]

A fascinating little gem here. More than just illustrating how narration can ruin a scene, I think you've managed to highlight something that huge numbers of filmgoers (and far too many film MAKERS) fail to understand - the essential DIFFERENCE between the media. If you close your eyes and listen to the words, you can understand how Woolrich "painted" the scene, because that's the way you SHOW something on the printed page. Hitchcock translated that image with great clarity to the visual.

[tayrs88]

really interesting video and I like your point about how the misuse of narration can ruin a great movie.

it reminded me of "Brief Encounters" by Noel Coward. That movie has some really beautiful moments -- and often the narration works. But the problem is the narration just doesn't know when to shut up.

[SUPERMEDIABROTHERS6]

that's a very good Jimmy Stewart impression.

[Cherilynn100]

Great voice! sounds just like Jimmy

[3investigators]

Not a bad JS impersonation. I see what you mean about narration marring a movie.

[LonelyMountain1]

Yup. You ruined it. So instead of the viewer feeling like they're the one looking out the rear window during the pan around, the narrator becomes the one and we're just along for the ride. The narration just really yanks you out of it and and makes it feel like you are just watching a movie.

[allayne13]

The voice over sounds like Nixon.

[laurabob9119]

I really liked this. Good little script for the example. And your impression's pretty good I thought!

[cha5]

You did a really nice job with the narration, and Rear Window is one of my favorite Hitchcock movies.

[ffscantfindausername]

you are really good

[KayPictures]

I actually did enjoy the narration, but I do still think that showing is better than telling, which I suppose was the point.

[turnonright]

U did ruin it, but Is till enjoyed it. Your Hallmark of Jimmy is so good. I don't want to like this, but I do haha.

[nicoleeism]

Your Stewart impression is really good! But, you showed this mistake well. You didn't go off to irrelevant tangents either, you stayed true to what the character were to say if they wanted to ruin the scene.

[xRachie89x]

I thought the couple slept outside because their air con didn't work not because they liked the smell of the fresh air? Sorry just being picky lol

[entrynotfound2]

Kinda reminded me of Our Town (I never really liked Our Town). I think it perfectly illustrates why it's usually best to keep quiet (especially if you have something visually stimulating). I love demonstrations like this. Have you done other things like this?

[bubba11793]

I actually liked it.

[badturkali]

best hitchcock movie

[viniciusdgc]

you didn't actually "ruined" the movie, it just got really weird. nice video, however

[JupiterIV]

I, for one, think your impression hit the nail on the head. How in the world did

you get that good?

[lmgnandt]

I for one enjoyed your narration.......the taking of one element and adding another........very nicely done

[Stopfollowingme646]

hahahahaha

[JiveDadson]

Great! That is exactly how the studio ruined the original cut of Blade Runner. I was fortunate to see the director's cut in the Castro Theater in San Francisco. What a difference!

Rear Window is a marvel of economy and precision. I once analyzed and made notes on the whole thing, shot-by-shot. There is not a split second of waste.

[rackfocus]

When you look at the thumbnail for this video in your channel main page, it says, "How I Ruined Hitchcock's Rear".

[GoldKnightSkye]

LOL. Rear Window just dropped from a perfect 10 to a 6. Thanks for letting me know who the neighbors that slept out on the balcony were. I wondered about them in the film itself, why they slept outside instead of inside.

Also, cool voice.

[mollylolly88]

Great job on the voice!

[StevenGrayPhotos]

Nice execution of your idea, though I have to say, your voice reminded me more of Verger in Ridley Scott's "Hannibal" than of Jimmy Stewart.

[TheSupermodel123]

You know, you have a very interesting voice. I'd like to hear some more.

[meb1982]

Decent James Stewart

[alexalex3131]

Of course actual film had no narration at all and it drew audience in.  That was actually one of the hallmark's of the film and a large part of what made it great: Long, extended shots letting the audience decide for themselves what was actually happening and what mattered and what didn't.

[I4gotmyMANTRA]

i had to listen to that wice, it was that awesome. ;)

[xcutthroatromancex]

perfect voice!

[Edhallick]

I don`t know why this film is so praised. I saw it last night for the first time and to me it seemed like the writer got a good idea for a story and just got lazy and crapped out. I mean seriously, think about it. The whole premise is a guy who believes a murder has taken place, and nobody believes him. OK, great, but then what? NOTHING HAPPENS! We go through all this boring crap until the end which shows us NOTHING but the complete obvious! It was just so retarded!

[thatveggiegirl]

Great example....Some movies drive me insane with narration when it'd be so much more simple..and ultimately better to show it through film...My film studies teacher is right...Show don't tell...and you did a great job here.

[mariaud999]

Hahaha very entertaining ...... I've just watched this film over Christmas actually .... great impression of Jimmy Stewart ..... did you also break your leg for realism .... LOL !!!

[Xendinthian]

Damn, after I think about it, the narration definitely would have hurt the film, badly.

Very nice example.

[firstlyric]

It sounds more like clint eastwood

[coaxis314]

nice impression, I think blade runner is an obvious example of bad narration.

[ubiqua]

In Blade Runner the voice off was put after the director's cut to please the audience

[MyName42]

if you mean that Ridley Scott's original cut didn't have any voiceover narration but he was told to put it in so people could understand it better, then yes. the narration was taken out in the director's cut release, and most people like it better without.

[JiveDadson]

Ridley Scott had nothing to do with the narration to Blade Runner. They added it despite his strenuous objections. He said they did not understand the movie. How true. By having Ford narrate it, they caused the audience to identify with his character. But we mortal viewers are analogous to the skin jobs - which Decker eventually begins to see only at the end.

[crazypigbreaks]

Hehe, great impression of Jimmy Stewart, although it sounds as if it is an older version of him.

[Tacom4ster]

You already ruin it in the first frame. Its Pan & Scan

[whoiseyevan]

If I'm not mistaken, it isn't pan and scan... Movies at the time were shot at a 4:3 aspect ratio. It wasn't later that directors adopted a wider aspect ratio (via Cinemascope). I also know that Hitchcock was a big hold out when it came to adopting the anamorphic Widescreen format. What you are watching really is the movie the way Hitch shot... not counting my narration of course.

[wadeharris65]

@whoiseyevan

Good point about aspect ratios. "Rear Window" was actually shot in 1.66:1 ratio, which had temporarily become the Academy aspect ratio for a few years until 1.85:1 was adopted. Hitchcock never made the move to CinemaScope, but did opt to film a few movies in VistaVision during the mid-to-late 1950's.

[alexitin]

well he started in silents...so goes without saying.. pun intended.

[MentalDavid]

Best impression of Bob Newhart I have ever heard!

;)

[TheEverydayMoviegoer]

more like James Stewart....but yea.....

[MentalDavid]

I was kidding, of course. I know it's SUPPOSED to be Stewart... Hence the wink emoticon.

[TheEverydayMoviegoer]

lol, ok, gotcha!

;)

[mistabook]

What strikes me most about this is how perfectly Hitchcock conveys all this stuff from the original story without a single word - narration, dialogue, or anything else. He sets up the entire movie with visuals exclusively. Interesting demonstration, thanks for posting it.

[brought2ubyliz]

strictly speaking, could have been a lot worse. I agree that the scene is perfect and powerful with just the street sounds to guide us through the neighborhood, but the narration works wonderfully as a story without the picture.

Awesome awesome awesome Jimmy Stewart impression, by the way, man.

[TheAdventureBoys]

Haha, good job in achieving your goal - making the scene suck.

and as everyone says...great Stewart impression.

[LizetM]

Wow, it does ruin it. This is me watching this: zzzzz. And its not only cuz its 4 am while I'm writing an essay about this film. XD

[MakeViolntRevolution]

You're absolutely right. It ruined the scene, mainly I think because you can't hear the brilliant score written by Franz Waxman that totally defines the film for me. Very unique project and a great Jimmy Stewart impression as well!

[ckdh67]

Wow. That really, uh, sucked.

[elizabethrosalyn]

Great project. You do a wicked Jimmy Stewart impression.

[Jonnyliebs]

hahaha

"There uhhh, faces were too, uhhh, small.

[SugarKowalczyk88]

Good God, I really thought this was Jimmy Stewart at first. You should portray him in a film or play, that's a great impression!

[jwferreira7]

Ha great impression =D 5*****'s!

[sanamau]

Old Arabic proverb: "One destroyer is equal

to a thousand builders." Congrads - you

qualify - you're equal. (Jokin')

[jsXanatos]

hahaha now all I need to hear you say is "AW shucks" and i'll think you're the real jimmy stewart

[wuyiting]

Holy MY MY, that's some wicked mimic of Jimmy Stewart's accent. What a lovely sound! lol. Keep it up.

[foxfire9]

Fantastic Jimmy Stewart impression. Material could have been better, but still pretty good.

[dormi87]

Indeed! Your James Stewart impression is brilliant!! I also agree that you make a very good point about the essence of visual and not so much narrative :)

[Sallie79]

This is a great way to show the difference in including dialogue and letting the story tell itself. Hitchcock was brilliant in this area of letting the pictures do the work. You can see such a big difference when you add the dialogue.

I like your Stewart impression also. Great job!