3) Rear Window – The Killer and the Kiss
Much has been written about this scene before as it is considered a perfect example of Hitchcock’s playful juxtaposition of love and hate which is at the heart of many of his greatest works.
Sleeping in a wheelchair following an accident sustained while covering a racing event ‘Jeff’ Jeffries is completely vulnerable and unsuspecting that someone is in the room with him. He wakes as a shadow looms over him and we see a sudden and extreme close up of Grace Kelly moving very close to him.
Hitchcock slows the moment of the kiss down to stretch out the strange mixture of surprise and relief. It’s one of the most powerful screen kisses in film history and is still breath taking today.
