{"id":1354,"date":"2017-09-30T00:28:10","date_gmt":"2017-09-30T00:28:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.womansconed.com\/?p=1354"},"modified":"2017-10-01T00:30:05","modified_gmt":"2017-10-01T00:30:05","slug":"popcorn-and-a-movie-peering-into-a-perfect-movie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.womansconed.com\/?p=1354","title":{"rendered":"Popcorn and a Movie: Peering into a perfect movie"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>[W]hen the mainstream recollects master director Alfred Hitchock\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s films, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Psycho\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (1960) is usually at the forefront of the mass mind. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a great movie, but not his best, reinforced in popular culture by its high place on best-horror-film lists, that oft-brought-up shower scene and a stop on the Universal Studios movie tour.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>But when I think of Hitchcock and think of Hitchcock\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s best \u00e2\u20ac\u201d and one of the best movies of suspense or any genre \u00e2\u20ac\u201d I think of Jimmy Stewart as a photographer laid up with a broken leg in his tiny, hot Greenwich Village apartment, whose only amusement is his conveniently voyeuristic view of his neighbors through his own back windows, flung open to receive any relief from the heat. <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Rear Window\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (1954) is a perfect movie, as compellingly watchable as the neighborhood courtyard Stewart\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s L.B. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Jeff\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Jeffries can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t take his eyes off of. I never get tired of watching \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Rear Window.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know how many times I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve watched it over the years. I envy those who have not yet seen \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Rear Window\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (please see it \u00e2\u20ac\u201d you are in for such a treat), and wonder of those who don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think much of it. <\/p>\n

As the days grow duskier, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a perfect time to settle in with some popcorn and a great mystery movie. This one is tops, for so many reasons.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nThe Director: It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been said that \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Rear Window,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d represents the great director at his best. Hitchcock was on his full game here and everything succeeded. He was the perfect helmsman who brought together the right story, with the right actors in the right era reflecting the right setting, with the skill to draw forth that subjective perspective, putting audiences in the wheelchair along with Jeff, feeling his every frustration, boredom, curiosity, tension, heartache and pure fear. Hitchcock\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s masterful plan for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Rear Window,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d has us living out every palpable moment as if we, too, are watching a possible murder unfold across the courtyard.<\/p>\n

The Story: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Rear Window,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d based on a 1942 short story called, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It Had To Be Murder,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d by Cornell Woolrich, was fleshed out for the screen by John Michael Hayes, who added the romantic relationship between Jeff and socialite Lisa Fremont (played by the flawless Grace Kelly), basing the little arguments and differences between the couple on those of he and his wife. Jeff, a successful photojournalist, makes bis living by observing, and is usually traveling to war-torn destinations. Lisa, well-placed (and well-fashioned) in the New York social scene, longs for Jeff to settle down, but he resists.<\/p>\n

Now wheelchair-bound, Jeff cannot simply turn off his eyes, ever searching and seeing from a story point-of-view. And as he watches and assesses neighbors, from a frustrated songwriter to a single woman conjuring imaginary romance (whom he dubs \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Miss Lonelyhearts\u00e2\u20ac\u009d); from a newly married couple adjusting to coupledom to an older married couple constantly bickering, we see Jeff identify with the lives of each in his own apartment of captivity. He becomes a victim of his own observations and imaginations when he believes he witnesses a murder. It is both tantalizing and agonizing to watch unfold, and we can relate to the questions we all ask ourselves about the world around us: do we close the blinds, watch with eyes wide open or, even, become involved?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The Actors: Jimmy Stewart, the last great film everyman whom everyone could imagine himself as and everyone loved to watch, is ideal as Jeff \u00e2\u20ac\u201d sardonic yet lovable, ambitious yet down-to-earth. This story, through Stewart\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s eyes, is key to the film\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s success. Grace Kelly is pure blonde magical sunshine. She was still new to film when \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Rear Window\u00e2\u20ac\u009d was made, but she was as fully herself, natural and true perfection as the clever, fashionable, successful girl, never to be underestimated, who loved Jeff. Supporting players, such as Thelma Ritter, as Jeff\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hilarious home care nurse, and Raymond Burr as the ominous neighbor Thorwald, along with the other neighbors Jeff watches (a dancer he calls \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Miss Torso,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d an eccentric sculptor, an elderly couple with a little dog), were all cast to perfection.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The Era: Part of the allure of watching \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Rear Window,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is witnessing such an era of class\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6the mid-1950s to the early 1960s may have been our last dignified, classy time as a human species. Even though the movie calls up some ugly aspects of humanity, by comparison to today, there is a respectful sophistication to this movie in the culture, the music, the style and dress (the film, costumed by the great Edith Head, had Grace Kelly in some amazing fashions that are alone worth watching), the hopes and dreams of the characters.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The Set: The multi-leveled and layered courtyard visible from Jeff\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s apartment was a set created entirely on a soundstage, and based on a real New York apartment complex. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a beautiful and somehow realistic representation of New York life, almost theatrical, as if each apartment is a little stage where stories are played out within viewing distance. <\/p>\n

I know I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll keep watching.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>It seems perfect that a movie filled with tension have an aptly crunchy snack to help defray one\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s nerves. My \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Rear Window\u00e2\u20ac\u009d-inspired popcorn drew its flavors from the fact that Grace Kelly\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Lisa brings in dinner for Jeff from a famous New York restaurant, 21 Club. I tried to combine flavors from an elegant steakhouse (even though Lisa and Jeff dine on lobster tails and pommes frites), also due to reading somewhere that steak was an Alfred Hitchcock favorite. The popcorn, buttered from the get-go so the seasonings will adhere to each crisp kernel, is subtly flavored with blue cheese powder (available on Amazon and in some grocery stores) and a bit of steak seasoning (use your favorite, but I recommend one that includes a bit of black pepper).<\/p>\n

Tapping into my favorite steakhouse salads that not only have blue cheese, but also something sweet to balance out the salt and tang, I garnished this popcorn with candied walnuts. Sweet enticements \u00e2\u20ac\u201d like mysteries and movie classics \u00e2\u20ac\u201d are always alluring\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6
\n\"\"<\/a>
\nMystery Night Supper Club Popcorn
\nMakes 2 to 4 servings<\/p>\n

6 to 7 cups freshly popped corn
\n3 tablespoons melted butter
\n2 tablespoons blue cheese powder
\n1 teaspoon steak seasoning (recommended McCormick), or more to taste
\n1 cup candied walnuts, chopped with additional for garnished, if desired<\/p>\n

Place popcorn in a large mixing bowl, toss with melted butter to distribute evenly. Sprinkle in blue cheese powder and steak seasoning, combine to season all corn. Add in candied walnuts. Serve immediately in individual bowls with some walnuts on top to garnish each serving.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[W]hen the mainstream recollects master director Alfred Hitchock\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s films, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Psycho\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (1960) is usually at the forefront of the mass mind. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a great movie, but not his best, reinforced in popular culture by its high place on best-horror-film lists, that oft-brought-up shower scene and a stop on the Universal Studios […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1355,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,12,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-oantry","category-recipe-box","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.womansconed.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1354","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.womansconed.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.womansconed.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.womansconed.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.womansconed.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1354"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.womansconed.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1354\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.womansconed.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1355"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.womansconed.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.womansconed.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.womansconed.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}