"Disturbia" Just like "Rear Window"? I Don’t Think So
September 9, 2008 by Jane Boursaw
DreamWorks’ Disturbia is a rip-off of Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window, so says a lawsuit filed Monday in Manhattan federal court.
Please. I’ve seen both films several times, and at no time did the idea ever pop into my head. These people are pushing the envelope on this one.
But according to the Sheldon Abend Revocable Trust, which owns the rights to Cornell Woolrich’s short story “Murder From a Fixed Viewpoint,” Hitchcock legally obtained the rights to turn the short story into a big-screen thriller in 1953.
More after the jump…
The lawsuit contends that “Disturbia” and “Rear Window” are “essentially the same” stories. Both are murder mysteries solved by a man peering from his window and witnessing strange behavior by a neighbor. The characters in the films — as well as the short story — are similar, and the plots unfold basically the same way, the lawsuit states.
Also named as a defendant is Steven Spielberg, who declined comment through a spokesman. Reps for DreamWorks parent company Viacom did not immediately comment either.
Really? The only similarities I see are someone peering out the window and witnessing a crime. That doesn’t seem like enough to pursue a lawsuit.
Image: Disturbia, Dreamworks, 2007
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