OT: One for the film buffs

[Jenny M Benson]

Sister and I started watching the 1998 remake of "Rear Window" starring
Christopher Reeve and I kept saying how the version I'd seen before was
very different and much better. In fact, we both decided this one was
pretty dire and we found the James Stewart version on ITV X and watched
that instead.

Although parts of it were familiar, I kept saying all the way through
"this is not how I remember it" or "that wasn't in the version I've
seen." A couple of points from my memory are that the lead character
had a male "servant", not a female nurse and it was this chap that he
sent out to get into the murderer's flat and look around and that a
critical point of the story was that the lead character noticed a
discrepancy in the heights of people as they walked from one room to
another in the murderer's flat, appearing at 2 windows. It showed that
the floor level in one room had been raised.

Now, I know that the films were based on "It had to be Murder" by Cornel
Wilde but as far as I can see there was never a film with that name and
only the 2 (J Stewart & C Reeve) with the title "Rear Window." Am I
going completely insane or does someotherrat recognize the film I'm sure
I remember?

[Rosie Mitchell]

Post by Jenny M Benson
Sister and I started watching the 1998 remake of "Rear Window"
starring Christopher Reeve and I kept saying how the version I'd seen
before was very different and much better. In fact, we both decided
this one was pretty dire and we found the James Stewart version on ITV
X and watched that instead.
Although parts of it were familiar, I kept saying all the way through
"this is not how I remember it" or "that wasn't in the version I've
seen." A couple of points from my memory are that the lead character
had a male "servant", not a female nurse and it was this chap that he
sent out to get into the murderer's flat and look around and that a
critical point of the story was that the lead character noticed a
discrepancy in the heights of people as they walked from one room to
another in the murderer's flat, appearing at 2 windows. It showed
that the floor level in one room had been raised.
Now, I know that the films were based on "It had to be Murder" by
Cornel Wilde but as far as I can see there was never a film with that
name and only the 2 (J Stewart & C Reeve) with the title "Rear
Window." Am I going completely insane or does someotherrat recognize
the film I'm sure I remember?

The Hitchcock film with James Stewart always had Grace Kelly as his
girlfriend/sidekick and Thelma Ritter as his nurse. So no, I think you
have misremembered. It was Grace Kelly who went off to
investigate. Hitchcock liked working

I usually destest pointless remakes, to the point of going against
cinephiliac fashion in preferring the original Howard Hawks (1932)
version of Scarface to the 1983 Brian de Palma/Al Pacino version (in
part because, although I have nothing personal against Al Pacino, I
dislike the cult around him that insists he was the greatest actor ever,
which he palpably wasn't). However, I suspect that the 1998 remake of
Rear Window was made on the cheap as a kind of benefit match for
Christopher Reeve after his accident.

I haven't watched Rear Window for some time. I must dig it out again.

Rosie

[Joe Kerr]

Post by Jenny M Benson
Sister and I started watching the 1998 remake of "Rear Window" starring
Christopher Reeve and I kept saying how the version I'd seen before was
very different and much better.  In fact, we both decided this one was
pretty dire and we found the James Stewart version on ITV X and watched
that instead.
Although parts of it were familiar, I kept saying all the way through
"this is not how I remember it" or "that wasn't in the version I've
seen."  A couple of points from my memory are that the lead character
had a male "servant", not a female nurse and it was this chap that he
sent out to get into the murderer's flat and look around and that a
critical point of the story was that the lead character noticed a
discrepancy in the heights of people as they walked from one room to
another in the murderer's flat, appearing at 2 windows.  It showed that
the floor level in one room had been raised.
Now, I know that the films were based on "It had to be Murder" by Cornel
Wilde but as far as I can see there was never a film with that name and
only the 2 (J Stewart & C Reeve) with the title "Rear Window."  Am I
going completely insane or does someotherrat recognize the film I'm sure
I remember?

I can't answer your question but Rear Window does crop up a certain
amount as references, homages, pastiches(, etc?) in assorted other
movies and TV programs. You could be remembering something completely
different.