Sequence Analysis Sunset Blvd. Essay - 922 Words

In Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window the sequence being analyzed begins at 100:31 and it ends at 102:13, putting in consideration the mise-en-scene, cinematography, editing, and sound. A quick overview of the sequence: L.B Jefferies is confined to a wheelchair due to an accident, is looking out the window to his neighbor’s apartment across the courtyard. He suspects that the neighbor has committed murder. Jefferies’s girlfriend Lisa Fremont manages to get in the accused apartment in search of the wife’s wedding ring, to prove that Lars Thorwald indeed murdered his wife. Lisa is cornered in the apartment by Thorwald and tries to persuade him so that she can go on her merry way. Thorwald begins to manhandle her and she screams out for Jeff.†¦show more content†¦As the sequence begins to escalate, shifting from Jeff’s dimly lit apartment to Thorwald’s brightly lit and later pitch dark apartment, it as if each shot after shot, films the aud ience’s reaction to what is going on in the scene. Jeff being the audience his emotions are then felt by the true audience who would feel anxious as well. The sequence shows a mixture of close-up shots, long shots and angled shots. It begins with a close-up of Jeff showing his reaction. It cuts to a long shot of Thorwald’s apartment. The camera is at a level and height as if looking out from Jeff’s apartment. The camera has little movement at the beginning of the scene. In the, Extreme long shots it is unrestricted to Thorwald since he does not know who is ever at the door. When the police arrives and rings the doorbell, only Jeff and Stella knows that they are there. When it becomes known to Thorwald after opening the door, his face is filled with guilt as Jeff looks at him with his telephoto lens. Thorwald is nervous and looks back at Lisa, who manages to compose herself. However, the audience only sees what Jeff sees. The last shot in the sequence at the point 102:02(shot 24), Joe is looking through the telephoto lens while Stella looks through a pair of binoculars. An iris forms again showing Joe’s subjective view. Lisa and Thorwald are talking to the police officers.