Rear Window - Beca González

In Rear Window, Hitchcock uses sound in a different way from most suspense movies that audiences are used to seeing. Instead of relying on heavy music in minor keys, he instead uses natural background noises to create a sense of realism that keeps the viewer locked into the setting of the film. Sounds that are heard from across the courtyard actually sound as though they are being carried across the courtyard - muffled and fuzzy so that the authenticity of the viewer being in Jeff's apartment and hearing the same things that he is hearing is preserved.

One scene that seemed to exemplify this to me was the scene where Lisa comes to visit Jeff, and the camera begins panning from the courtyard around into the apartment. As the camera pans from the courtyard, sounds from the street are evident, and neighbors chatter and living noise can be heard as the camera whips around each prospective apartment. The noise continues to grow louder as the camera pulls into the apartment, so that the most clear noises and voices that can be heard are those of Jeff and Lisa.

Other scenes in the film follow this same pattern of sound usage and recreation of realistic sounds. This really dramatizes the scenes and what happens in them because the viewer can imagine themselves in the specific situation that Jeff finds himself.