The Bedroom Window

Future Oscar-winning filmmaker Curtis Hanson (L.A. Confidential) first made his reputation with this 1987 thriller, which draws deep from the Alfred Hitchcock well. Steve Guttenberg plays everyman hero Terry, a "romantic fool" who is having an affair with the boss’s wife (Isabelle Huppert). She sees an assault while looking out through Terry’s bedroom window but is unwilling to come forward, so when the same man murders another young woman, Terry steps forward to give his mistress’s testimony as the witness. After becoming the new prime suspect when his story falls apart at trial, Terry teams up with Denise (Elizabeth McGovern)—survivor of the first attack—to trap the real killer. In addition to the film’s debt to Rear Window, it features a well-executed set-piece in which Terry rushes to stop a murder at a ballet recital but ends up neatly framed for the killing in a theater that is filled with witnesses (a scene that recalls North by Northwest). Guttenberg makes for a likable hero but he has little dimension or depth and the script relies on leaps of logic and contrivances (how does Terry burst into a sold-out ballet hall—twice!—without a ticket?). But Hanson is a skilled director of suspense and he draws the audience into the self-made trap created by the well-meaning hero. And Wallace Shawn has a great scene as the attorney who takes Terry’s story apart in court. Extras include audio commentary by film historian and critic Peter Tonguette. A strong optional purchase. (S. Axmaker)