For this month’s installment of “TV Terrors” we revisit the small screen made-for-TV remake of Hitchcock’s Rear Window, which aired on the ABC Network back in 1998.
1954’s Rear Window, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, is a film that’s been analyzed, explored, and discussed by movie buffs the world over. It’s a masterpiece that’s based on the short story “It Had to Be Murder” by author Cornell Woolrich, which has also inspired many other classic genre films. The ideas of voyeurism, alienation, and murder have always been a great platform for a bang up horror film or thriller, and Hitchcock’s masterful film nailed them all.
In 1998, ABC took the premise for Hitchcock’s film and adapted it to a primetime television film. While you could charitably consider it a new adaptation of the source material, this 1998 television film borrows a lot more from Alfred Hitchcock’s take on the crime thriller (as the credits indicate).
Premiering during primetime on the ABC Network in 1998, the new Rear Window starred none other than the late, great Christopher Reeve (taking over the role filled by James Stewart in the Hitchcock film), who returned to the screen after his terrible accident in 1995. Reeve plays quadriplegic Jason Kemp, a former architect who now uses a specially equipped wheelchair after months spent recovering from a terrible car accident. He returns to his home, now a technologically advanced haven, which has been equipped to his needs. Anxious to return to some semblance of normalcy, Jason relieves the boredom of his daily existence by engaging in spying on his neighbors from the rear window of his apartment.
When he witnesses sculptor Julian Thorpe viciously beat his wife Ilene, he reports the incident to 911 and the police remove the man from his home. Thorpe is released the following day, however, and that night Jason Kemp hears a blood-curdling scream from the courtyard. From that moment on, Ilene is missing from her apartment, apparently replaced by another woman. Jason, certain she was murdered by her husband, tries to convince his colleague Claudia (Daryl Hannah), nurse Antonio, and friend Charlie (Robert Forster) that his suspicion is true.
Thorpe slowly comes to the realization that Kemp is fully aware of his crime, and engages him in a game of cat and mouse in an effort to silence him. Rear Window 1998 makes sure to carve itself out as a retrofitted remake (much in the spirit of Dial M for Murder to A Perfect Murder), contemporizing a lot of the plot elements for 1998, the beginning of the digital age. It includes a lot of what would become common elements in horror and thrillers including the use of email, and implementing computers as plot points that can often turn the tide for heroes and villains.
To fit the circumstances of the production, Rear Window becomes less about a man in his secluded apartment, instead morphing into a thriller about a man in a veritable fortress who uses his debilitating disability, and the machines used to comfort him, as a means of protection. Putting Reeve in the lead role is quite the task and Reeve, only a few years after his accident, takes it upon himself to play Jason to the best of his ability. The once gallant and dashing dramatic actor is confined to his wheelchair for all of Rear Window, and proved that he could still offer a great performance despite his obvious physical limitations. He’s as charming as ever here, his raw acting talent unhindered by the accident that robbed him of his mobility.
In fact, Reeve is almost too good for this remake, which tends to suffer from poor pacing and bland direction from Jeff Bleckner that’s lacking in vision or any kind of energy. Additionally, the set design is pale in comparison to Hitchcock’s grander set pieces. Daryl Hannah is fine in her co-starring role (she’s no Grace Kelly), and Robert Forster pretty much sleepwalks through his performance. Bleckner does at least pull off the occasional creepy and suspenseful shot, including a back and forth with Jason and Thorpe through e-mail, and Jason being discovered by Thorpe’s mistress through the darkness-soaked windows. There is also the rather tense confrontation in the climax, to the credit of all involved in this made-for-TV remake.
But the clear highlight here is Christopher Reeve. Even with limited dialogue, he’s able to accomplish a lot with his performance as Jason; he’s a man who feels like he offers nothing in his life, and is suddenly thrust into circumstances that give him a sense of purpose. The script takes time out to expound on Jason’s recovery with a series of scenes that all feel pretty much autobiographical for Reeve, the actor. Protagonist Jason’s whole scenario is just so much more high stakes than Stewart’s was in the original film. Jason is wholly reliant on his ventilator and wheelchair, and villain Thorpe (played very well by Ritchie Coster) makes a point of exploiting that whenever possible. If Jason is murdered it’s sure to be a painful death, and Thorpe makes it abundantly clear he’ll do whatever he can to conceal his act.
Hitchcock loyalists might be turned off by the film’s willingness to take on what is still to this day a widely celebrated horror thriller, but 1998’s Rear Window still has a lot to offer. It’s an engrossing mystery, the altered plot elements are ambitious, and star Christopher Reeve’s performance is absolutely dynamite.
And hey, it at least makes a great argument for its existence. Which is more than we can say about many remakes of classic movies that have come out over the years, am I right?
Is It On DVD/Blu-ray/Streaming? Rear Window 1998 can now be streamed for free on Tubi, Amazon Prime Video (via IMDB TV), and the Roku Channel. You can also still buy it on VHS, and as a UK DVD Import–but for a very hefty price.
Horror and science fiction have always been a part of the television canvas, and constant attempts have been made over the years to produce classic entertainment. Some have fallen by the wayside, while others became mainstream phenomena. With “TV Terrors,” we take a look back at the many genre efforts from the 80’s, 90’s, and 00’s, exploring some shows that became cult classics, and others that sank into obscurity.
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