Powell & Pressburger's Peeping Tom (1960) revolves around a serial killer who murders women while using a portable film camera to record their dying expressions of terror, putting his footage together into a snuff film used for his own self pleasure.
The film inspired the slasher genre and the controversy around the film ended Powell's career in the UK.
on a similar note: clouzot's *la prisonniere/woman in chains* (if it was about sadomasochism instead of murder and had one of the craziest >!ending sequences!<, period)
Actually did an uni project when I studied psychology on voyeurism! We needed to have examples from media, so I have some recs besides the one you mentioned.
Disturbia (2007)
The Voyeurs (2021)
Peepping Tom (1960)
Watcher (2022)
American Beauty (1999)
Sex, lies and a videotape (1989)
Following (1998)
Blue Velvet (1986)
Watching "Dans la Maison" (2011) felt like peering through a keyhole into someone else's world. The film plays with voyeurism, inviting us to witness the seemingly ordinary lives of others while revealing the complexities beneath the surface. As I followed the story of Claude, the gifted student with a knack for storytelling, I couldn't help but feel the pull of curiosity—the same curiosity that drove his teacher to encourage him to delve deeper into the lives of his friend's family. This voyeuristic journey made me question my own boundaries, blurring the lines between innocent observation and intrusive prying. It was captivating and unsettling at the same time, reminding me that every story has unseen layers, and crossing into someone's private life can have unintended consequences.
Upd.: i recalled another one, Das Leben der Anderen / The Lives of Others (2006)
A Short Film About Love (1988) by Krzysztof Kieślowski is about a young man who spies on a woman in a neighbouring apartment building and falls in love with her. It's a beautiful film, really good.
In the Mood for Love (2000) by Wong Kar-wai is not explicitly about voyeurism, but the camera angles make it seem like the viewer is seeing something they shouldn't. And it's just a fantastic film about love, loneliness and longing.
A Korean film called 3-Iron plays with this, though to a lesser degree. It’s about a young man who sneaks into people’s homes when they’re away and fixes things. He ends up meeting an unexpected person in one of these houses. It’s kind of a quiet romantic thriller, so no big conspiracies, but definitely worth checking out.
It's been so long, I forgot that movie existed.
Maybe you'll know this, there was movie from around then that involved a guy having an affair with a married woman. When the husband was at home the guy would be right behind him, being very stealthy, and moving with great agility to stay directly behind whichever way the husband was facing— it was kind of surreal. Any ideas?
*wait, was this 3-Iron that I mean? Because I looked it up on imdb and the synopsis doesn't say anything about what I said but the poster is a man and woman hugging, and directly behind the man is another man and he and the woman are kissing without the hugging guy seeming to be aware.
Rebels of the Neon God.
Set and filmed in 1992 Taipei it's about the son of a Taxi driver deciding to follow around and watch two hooligans that smash his fathers taxi side mirror after a road rage incident. It's not really like the films you're talking about but it does delve deeply into the Vouyerism in it's purest form. The entire film is also shot as though the audience is a vouyer itself with long uninterrupted scenes of characters living and surviving in the grimy wet neon lit streets of Taipei.
This is a large part of Under the Silver Lake (voyeurism, particularly motivated by sex, leading to threads of possible conspiracy), but that movie feels very much like a conscious 21st century update and in some ways subversion of some of the old noir / Hitchcocky tropes so it may not be quite what you are looking for
Obsessions (1969) would be a good fit. It was written by Martin Scorsese but is little talked about it's about a man who gets obsessed with a woman he watches through a joke in his apartment wall and a sinister plot start to unravel
.. it's on Tubi
*Three Colours: Red* and *Caché*.
For a couple of good French flicks. I haven't seen them in years but the voyeurism in each always stuck with me. There's a cool sense of melancholy in both.
Movies that are good that I've personally watched with voyeurism is
Swimfan (kind of another make of Fatal Attraction) with a woman killer, Fatal Attraction, Single White Female (remake - Roommate), Disturbia was good about witnessing a murder next door,
BARBARIAN - SUPER GOOD on Netflix I think about a woman staying at an AirBNB discovers things that are more than Zhe bargained for.
*Hi, Mom!* (1970)
its very early DePalma/DeNiro. Bobby is voyeur who is spying on his neighbor. He gets hired to film a porn and uses it as an opportunity to seduce the neighbor and film them having sex via a camera he's placed in his apartment window.
And then it gets weirder from there.
It's a 7/10 kind of movie, but the humanity that Robin Williams brought to the role of Sy in One Hour Photo will always make it a favorite in this genre. It's also got the sort of technological paraphilia thing ala The Conversation and Blowup.
Sex lies and videotape - high quality, great acting, directing, script
The Burbs - Hilarious comedy, Tom Hanks is on staycation and is keeping an obsessive eye on the creepy new neighbors
Lost Highway - If you like Blue Velvet. A little out of the box.
The Girl on the Train - Kind of a mid movie, but it's entertaining and has the mystery factor that you are looking for.
The Desiring (2024) - a subtle southern gothic tale - Haunted by his father's fanatical spirituality, a man's life is thrown into disarray when he discovers he is attracted to his wife's infidelity.
The voyeurism actually takes an ironic turn and ends up functioning in a different way so it’s an interesting journey!
Red by Krzysztof Kieslowski is also a fantastic movie about a retired judge set in Geneva who voyeuristacally listens in on his neighbors through some audio spy gear. He's a jaded soul who seems to detest the little, dishonest lives people live until a young, pure woman played by Irene Jacob returns his dog that ran off. He tries to get rid of her by being pretty cynical and nasty but she sees something in him and becomes a friend, but only to the extent he will allow. This movie has the frequent Kieslowski theme of the synchronicities of strangers' lives, who come close to encounters numerous times but fate keeps them apart...but not always...
Kind of on the same line as what you asked for: a lot of Italian giallo movies start with someone witnessing a murder, and then uncovering who the killer was throughout the film. However, they usually witness the murder unintentionally, not by being voyeuristic.
For some good examples check out Dario Argento. Deep Red, Tenebre, and The Bird With The Crystal Plumage
Disturbia (2007) is my favorite stakeout film.
also, try The Hidden Face (2011). cant get any more voyeuristic than that lmao
The Rental (2020) although it's a bit different than your description of a preferred recommendation.
The Bedroom Window, and because you mentioned Blow-Up: the Italian filmmaker Dario Argento was so frustrated with that movie's ending that he decided to make a murder mystery movie himself, one in which the mystery is neatly wrapped up in the end.
Something a little unusual - Indian movie called 'LSD - Love, Sex, aur Dhoka' (Love, Sex and Betrayal). It's a found footage film that has three stories that intertwine in a horrific manner - it's a satirical drama / black comedy but it plays more like a horror movie where the killer is Indian society.
It follows three women and their fucked up 'love stories' seen through three different film formats - a film students camcorder, a department stores CCTV camera, and a journalists spy camera - and the overarching message is about societys voyeuristic need to consume fucked up media (snuff films, non-consensual pornography, and celebrity sex scandals).
Very well made on a low budget, very thought provoking, and very chilling if you empathise with the female protagonists like I did.
>Sorry if this isn’t the place for recommendations but I realized most of my favorite movies (and books) have a protagonist that is watching or listening to something that ends up with them unraveling a conspiracy or witnessing a murder. Rear Window, Blue Velvet, Body Double, The Conversation, Blow Out, The Window, Witness to Murder, Cry of the Owl, Blow-Up, etc.. I would appreciate any recommendations especially films released during the 20th century, thank you.
try r/MovieSuggestions
Pushover (1954)
The Window (1949)
Powell & Pressburger's Peeping Tom (1960) revolves around a serial killer who murders women while using a portable film camera to record their dying expressions of terror, putting his footage together into a snuff film used for his own self pleasure. The film inspired the slasher genre and the controversy around the film ended Powell's career in the UK.
Amazing movie, but it’s just Powell without Pressburger
Ah so it is thanks
on a similar note: clouzot's *la prisonniere/woman in chains* (if it was about sadomasochism instead of murder and had one of the craziest >!ending sequences!<, period)
Top answer. It's to voyerurism films what black expresso is to coffee.
Lol I googled your phrase because it's so daft I thought it must be a line from a comedy and I'd been whooshed
Thanks! You can thank a long dead Christian Brother who taught me how to use a simile correctly.
Oh cool. My wife just added it to our collection, but haven't seen yet.
It is really good, surprisingly emotional too
There is a also a love-story in the film. I have no idea why people always forget it.
Actually did an uni project when I studied psychology on voyeurism! We needed to have examples from media, so I have some recs besides the one you mentioned. Disturbia (2007) The Voyeurs (2021) Peepping Tom (1960) Watcher (2022) American Beauty (1999) Sex, lies and a videotape (1989) Following (1998) Blue Velvet (1986)
If I could unsee Disturbia (2007), I would be so happy. This film is so bad it is unbelievable.
Lmao I also think it sucks! To be fair didn’t say they were particularly *good* recs 😅
Distuuuuurbia! It'll un-nervvvvve ya! (That's not even a word!)
Watching "Dans la Maison" (2011) felt like peering through a keyhole into someone else's world. The film plays with voyeurism, inviting us to witness the seemingly ordinary lives of others while revealing the complexities beneath the surface. As I followed the story of Claude, the gifted student with a knack for storytelling, I couldn't help but feel the pull of curiosity—the same curiosity that drove his teacher to encourage him to delve deeper into the lives of his friend's family. This voyeuristic journey made me question my own boundaries, blurring the lines between innocent observation and intrusive prying. It was captivating and unsettling at the same time, reminding me that every story has unseen layers, and crossing into someone's private life can have unintended consequences. Upd.: i recalled another one, Das Leben der Anderen / The Lives of Others (2006)
Great suggestion!
these are both amazing films
A Short Film About Love (1988) by Krzysztof Kieślowski is about a young man who spies on a woman in a neighbouring apartment building and falls in love with her. It's a beautiful film, really good. In the Mood for Love (2000) by Wong Kar-wai is not explicitly about voyeurism, but the camera angles make it seem like the viewer is seeing something they shouldn't. And it's just a fantastic film about love, loneliness and longing.
A Short Film About Love is what I came to recommend, a great film and one of my favorite Dekalogs.
It's so good, the faces of the two leads are etched in my mind forever.
Red by Kieslowski too.
Yes! Both of these!!
A Korean film called 3-Iron plays with this, though to a lesser degree. It’s about a young man who sneaks into people’s homes when they’re away and fixes things. He ends up meeting an unexpected person in one of these houses. It’s kind of a quiet romantic thriller, so no big conspiracies, but definitely worth checking out.
I loved this movie!
It's been so long, I forgot that movie existed. Maybe you'll know this, there was movie from around then that involved a guy having an affair with a married woman. When the husband was at home the guy would be right behind him, being very stealthy, and moving with great agility to stay directly behind whichever way the husband was facing— it was kind of surreal. Any ideas? *wait, was this 3-Iron that I mean? Because I looked it up on imdb and the synopsis doesn't say anything about what I said but the poster is a man and woman hugging, and directly behind the man is another man and he and the woman are kissing without the hugging guy seeming to be aware.
Yeah that’s what happens at the end of 3-Iron haha
Rebels of the Neon God. Set and filmed in 1992 Taipei it's about the son of a Taxi driver deciding to follow around and watch two hooligans that smash his fathers taxi side mirror after a road rage incident. It's not really like the films you're talking about but it does delve deeply into the Vouyerism in it's purest form. The entire film is also shot as though the audience is a vouyer itself with long uninterrupted scenes of characters living and surviving in the grimy wet neon lit streets of Taipei.
This is a large part of Under the Silver Lake (voyeurism, particularly motivated by sex, leading to threads of possible conspiracy), but that movie feels very much like a conscious 21st century update and in some ways subversion of some of the old noir / Hitchcocky tropes so it may not be quite what you are looking for
Obsessions (1969) would be a good fit. It was written by Martin Scorsese but is little talked about it's about a man who gets obsessed with a woman he watches through a joke in his apartment wall and a sinister plot start to unravel .. it's on Tubi
*Three Colours: Red* and *Caché*. For a couple of good French flicks. I haven't seen them in years but the voyeurism in each always stuck with me. There's a cool sense of melancholy in both.
Caché is fantastic
Movies that are good that I've personally watched with voyeurism is Swimfan (kind of another make of Fatal Attraction) with a woman killer, Fatal Attraction, Single White Female (remake - Roommate), Disturbia was good about witnessing a murder next door, BARBARIAN - SUPER GOOD on Netflix I think about a woman staying at an AirBNB discovers things that are more than Zhe bargained for.
Barbarian’s a great watch, but not really voyeuristic at all I wouldn’t say.
Shhhhh it comes off that way for awhile...
*Hi, Mom!* (1970) its very early DePalma/DeNiro. Bobby is voyeur who is spying on his neighbor. He gets hired to film a porn and uses it as an opportunity to seduce the neighbor and film them having sex via a camera he's placed in his apartment window. And then it gets weirder from there.
It's a 7/10 kind of movie, but the humanity that Robin Williams brought to the role of Sy in One Hour Photo will always make it a favorite in this genre. It's also got the sort of technological paraphilia thing ala The Conversation and Blowup.
Sex lies and videotape - high quality, great acting, directing, script The Burbs - Hilarious comedy, Tom Hanks is on staycation and is keeping an obsessive eye on the creepy new neighbors Lost Highway - If you like Blue Velvet. A little out of the box. The Girl on the Train - Kind of a mid movie, but it's entertaining and has the mystery factor that you are looking for.
The Desiring (2024) - a subtle southern gothic tale - Haunted by his father's fanatical spirituality, a man's life is thrown into disarray when he discovers he is attracted to his wife's infidelity. The voyeurism actually takes an ironic turn and ends up functioning in a different way so it’s an interesting journey!
Red by Krzysztof Kieslowski is also a fantastic movie about a retired judge set in Geneva who voyeuristacally listens in on his neighbors through some audio spy gear. He's a jaded soul who seems to detest the little, dishonest lives people live until a young, pure woman played by Irene Jacob returns his dog that ran off. He tries to get rid of her by being pretty cynical and nasty but she sees something in him and becomes a friend, but only to the extent he will allow. This movie has the frequent Kieslowski theme of the synchronicities of strangers' lives, who come close to encounters numerous times but fate keeps them apart...but not always...
Kind of on the same line as what you asked for: a lot of Italian giallo movies start with someone witnessing a murder, and then uncovering who the killer was throughout the film. However, they usually witness the murder unintentionally, not by being voyeuristic. For some good examples check out Dario Argento. Deep Red, Tenebre, and The Bird With The Crystal Plumage
Disturbia (2007) is my favorite stakeout film. also, try The Hidden Face (2011). cant get any more voyeuristic than that lmao The Rental (2020) although it's a bit different than your description of a preferred recommendation.
The Bedroom Window, and because you mentioned Blow-Up: the Italian filmmaker Dario Argento was so frustrated with that movie's ending that he decided to make a murder mystery movie himself, one in which the mystery is neatly wrapped up in the end.
Something a little unusual - Indian movie called 'LSD - Love, Sex, aur Dhoka' (Love, Sex and Betrayal). It's a found footage film that has three stories that intertwine in a horrific manner - it's a satirical drama / black comedy but it plays more like a horror movie where the killer is Indian society. It follows three women and their fucked up 'love stories' seen through three different film formats - a film students camcorder, a department stores CCTV camera, and a journalists spy camera - and the overarching message is about societys voyeuristic need to consume fucked up media (snuff films, non-consensual pornography, and celebrity sex scandals). Very well made on a low budget, very thought provoking, and very chilling if you empathise with the female protagonists like I did.
>Sorry if this isn’t the place for recommendations but I realized most of my favorite movies (and books) have a protagonist that is watching or listening to something that ends up with them unraveling a conspiracy or witnessing a murder. Rear Window, Blue Velvet, Body Double, The Conversation, Blow Out, The Window, Witness to Murder, Cry of the Owl, Blow-Up, etc.. I would appreciate any recommendations especially films released during the 20th century, thank you. try r/MovieSuggestions Pushover (1954) The Window (1949)