I had seen Rear Window by Hitchcock before and it was just as interesting watching it the second time as it was the first time. The perfect blend of suspense and romance, the film truly grips you to the end. Through the use of Mise-en-scene and sound, Hitchcock is able to kidnap the audience and throw them into the world Jeff Jefferies an so create more intense feelings of suspense.
Some of the first examples of this are through the use of music. When we are watching Mr.Thorwald on the first night, we start off the scene with some diegetic piano music that then completely cuts off once Mr. and Mrs. Thorwald enters the scene. This grabs the audience’s attention and then brings them even more on edge with an ominous emergency siren in the background that then slowly fades out. After that, the entire scene is silent until we see Mr. Thorwald leaves with what is presumably his wife’s body. Another example of the uses of sound as a tool for tension is with the lack of nondiegetic sounds. Intense scenes are often shot in silence with the notes of a calming piano from one of the neighbors. The music doesn’t match the scenes but they give the sense that the world is alive and moving rather than using non diegetic and making the world seem as if it is on pause while the scene commences. It immerses us in a very convincing way with this technique.
Another element of tension through Mise-en-scene is the framing of shots. Many of the suspenseful scenes occur through the frame of a window, limiting ours and Jefferies’ view. Most of the important details of the movie occur behind a wall, obscuring our view and making us less and less aware of what is going on and gives us a sense of anxiety which we share with the other characters.
Overall, these elements are weaved together to put us in a concrete world where we are next to Jefferies’ and trying to solve the mystery alongside him rather than watching him solve them.
Jojo's Findings in Film 