Thriller Opening Review

Rear Window
Director: Alfred Hitchcock

In 'Rear Window' the plot is centered around a crime - the murder of Jeffries' neighbour, a common thriller convention, which sets the scene for the rest of the film. The protagonist does have an 'Achilles Heel', a broken leg, but in this opening we do not see the antagonist exploit this weakness. However this weakness could imply future incidents for the protagonist. The opening of this thriller does not give any clue of the genre, it seems an ordinary situation. This is another thriller convention Hitchcock used - the way the narrative is an ordinary situation where unusual events happen. This convention makes the extraordinary events even more surprising when they do happen.

As the audience, you feel as though you are in the position of voyeur - we are watching Jeffries' neighbours' lives with him which we feel we shouldn't.  This is another thriller convention Hitchcock has used to make the audience feel more involved in the film.
The main characters are established in the opening sequence. The whole setting is also established as the camera pans around the apartments.