Rear Window Comparison Essay

1581 Words4 Pages

The films we chose to compare and contrast in our analysis are Rear Window and Disturbia. The movie Rear Window was released in 1954 whereas Disturbia was released in 2007 53 years apart. Rear Window is an Alfred Hitchcock movie while D.J. Caruso directed Disturbia. We chose these movies to compare because both the films have similar story lines and it is generally known that Rear Window influenced D. J. Caruso in the creation of Disturbia. Our comparison concludes that while Both the movies might look similar on the surface, they are two distinct films created to cater to a different set of audience. In our analysis we will compare the elements of genre, plot, male gaze, semiotics (class & technical), mise-en-scene, voyeuristic scopophilia, among the other aspects of the movie.
The genre of Disturbia is thriller/mystery/drama/horror, while Rear Window falls under the genre of thriller/mystery but not horror. Both films have similar themes, which are voyeurism, murder, and suspense. The plot in both films is somewhat similar. In Rear Window the male protagonist, Jeff is confined to his home after he breaks his leg and in …show more content…

This is seen in Rear Window when Jeff watches the scantily dressed miss torso dancing and undressing. The camera also focuses on miss Torso’s derriere as she bends down to find something in the fridge. The stereotypical shots of Lisa’s legs and the panning from Lisa’s legs to her face, along with the close-up shots of her back and cleavage are also examples of voyeuristic scopophilia. In Disturbia, Kale, the protagonist watches Ashley swim in her pool, doing yoga, and undressing. The camera focuses on Ashley’s body especially with close-up shots of her in a bikini. But it’s interesting to note that in some scenes where Kale is watching Ashley, Ashley actually looks back at him like she knows he’s watching, and doesn’t seem disturbed that he is watching her, thus returning the

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