Rope (1948)
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Product details
Actor: Constance Collier, Douglas Dick, Edith Evanson, Joan Chandler, John DallPrimary Contributor: John Dall
Primary Contributor: Farley Granger
Primary Contributor: James Stewart
Edition: VHS Tape
Audio: English (Original Language), Analog
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC, Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
Running Time: 81 minutes
Release Date: 1999-08-03
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Publisher: Universal Studios
Studio: Universal Studios
VHS Movie Reviews of Rope (1948)
Movie Review: An Ode to "Rope" -- One of Hitchcock's Underrated Best
Summary: 5 Stars
Alfred Hitchcock's "Rope" (1948) is a claustrophobic masterpiece - a spiraling descent into the dark recesses of human nature. Hitchcock explores the rough edges of ego and impulse and how they can lead to horrible consequences.
It may be Hitchcock's greatest movie. Certainly it is his most tightly constricted piece - filled with long takes in near real-time. It's an amazing achievement of controlled tension.
The only exterior shot in the film comes during the opening credits. The camera rests on an apartment window with the curtains pulled shut. There is a muffled scream and then suddenly we're inside the apartment where David Kentley is being strangled to death by two of his friends.
The movie setting goes internal. It reflects the direction of the film because we're about to get inside the minds, motivations, and the personalities of the characters. We're trapped inside the apartment for good - just like poor, dead David who has been stuffed into a chest.
His murderers are two wealthy, intellectual young men named Brandon Shaw (John Dall) and Philip Morgan (Farley Granger). They have killed their friend for one reason - to experience the sensation of murder. They want to pull off the perfect crime - and revel in their superiority.
To make matters even more horrifying, Brandon and Philip are throwing a dinner party and inviting David's family, his girlfriend (Janet), the girlfriend's ex-boyfriend, and their former academy teacher Rupert (their mentor who has inspired their crime with his misinterpretations of Nietzchian philosophies of the Superman).
"Nobody commits a murder just for the experiment of murder," Brandon says as he pops a bottle of champagne. "Nobody except us."
But the celebration isn't what Brandon expects because the heavy weight of their crime begins to crush the more sensitive Philip. Brandon is the cold, charming snob - and a classic sociopath. Philip, however, slowly begins to unravel. He gashes his palm after crushing a wine glass in his hands when David's aunt mistakes another guest for David.
But even the cool and calm Brandon has moments of panic. When David's father asks where his son is, Brandon stammers: "I thought he was coming with you!"
Rupert (Jimmy Stewart) doesn't show up until 30 minutes into the film. And once he arrives the film becomes his. Stewart - one of the greatest actors in American history - is amazing in "Rope." Personally, he didn't like his performance, but the movie is in essence about the transformation of Rupert - his growth from a bitter cynic into a connected human being. And it works.
Here's a peek into Rupert. Introduced to Janet (Joan Chandler):
"Ah, Miss Walker," he says.
"How did you know?" she asks.
"Brandon has spoken of you."
"Did he do me justice?"
"Do you deserve justice?" he asks and then waltzes off with a smirk.
The commanding personality of Rupert begins to melt Brandon. He joins Philip as the weight of his crime is reflected back to him in the presence of his mentor.
Rupert - a naturally suspicious and cunningly observant man - gets his first thread to pull when Brandon - a game player - serves chicken for dinner. Philip no longer eats chicken after having to strangle one at Brandon's farm. When Brandon tells the story with an evil twinkle in his eye, Philip has an outburst of anger. The scene gives Rupert his first clue and his investigation begins.
He comes up with gems like this: "You're more than unusually allergic to the truth tonight Philip. That's the second time you haven't told it."
Ultimately the keen Rupert finally discovers the grim secret in the bottom of the trunk. It's a chilling scene. The movie ends with Rupert throwing open the apartment window and letting the outside cleanse the inside of the apartment with its noise and voices.
And Philip utters the last words of the movie: "They're coming." They don't make movies like "Rope" anymore. But they should.
For more literate blather visit the Dark Party Review ([...])
Movie Review: Great print of a great movie
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of Hitchock's best films - they are all great, but this one and "Rear Window" are my favourites. The technical transfer of this film to DVD is solid; the storyline is incredible, given the time in which this film was produced.
There's quite a bit more "story" to the story, in the relationship between the two main characters - a relationship that possibly doomed this film to very specific audiences in 1948 when it was released. Don't miss this one - if it's not in your Hitchcock collection, it should be. Definitely ranks as one of the top 5.
There are also a number of extras on the disc that are very well-done and entertaining, especially to see how the film was made using an incredibly limited number of takes (a first for film), using something only Hitch would have pioneered to camoflauge the end of each reel and provide a seamless transition to the next.
Enjoy!
Movie Review: A different kind of Hitchcock
Summary: 4 Stars
3.5 stars. A film inspired by the true crime case of Leopold and Loeb, Hitchcock tried to do a few different things with this film and I'm not too sure it worked. The decision to shoot in eight ten minute long sequences might have sounded appealing, but to me it came off a bit too gimmicky. The film is also a little slow in getting started and doesn't really pick up until Jimmie Stewart comes onto the scene. Jimmie, as always, is perfect and it is he who steals the show. Of course, I don't know how either of the boys thought this was the perfect crime, but then again, what do I know. Still the third act turns out to be quite suspenseful and is what made this film enjoyable. Recommended.Movie Review: The More You Watch, the Tighter the Suspense Grows
Summary: 5 Stars
Brandon (John Dall) and Phillip (Farley Granger) feel they are superior to their friends in every way. As such, they think they can plan the perfect murder and get away with it. Their victim is David Kentley (Dick Hogan). And to prove just how superior they are, they invite his family and friends over for a dinner party with his still cooling body in a trunk in the room.
Among the guests is their old school advisor Rupert (James Stewart), the only person Brandon thinks can figure out what they've done. Will they get away with murder? If not, which will give them away first, Brandon's arrogance or Phillip's guilty conscience?
This is a very intriguing psychological thriller. Based on a play, the movie was filmed on one rather limited set and was filmed in as few takes as possible. While those transitions (to reload film) are obvious, the constant rolling of the camera adds to the suspense. There are some strange camera angles at times, but they build the suspense as well. The limited set is an added bonus as it focuses our attention to build the suspense.
The acting is absolutely wonderful. While it does suffer at times from the overacting prevalent at the time (at least by today's standards), it captures the characters and their emotions perfectly. This is especially true of John Dall and Fraley Granger who bring such nuance to their characters we always know their thoughts. Their two characters are rich enough for some pretty in depth character studies.
To be honest, I found how much I enjoyed this movie a little disturbing. It will entertain you and make you think for some time afterward. So if you have missed this gem, watch it today.
Movie Review: An overlooked masterpiece
Summary: 4 Stars
I was a kid when I first saw ROPE, some 15 years ago. I vividly remembered that scene of the maid cleaning up after the party - the camera nailed down to one spot; just the one view of the maid clearing-off the table/chest, unaware of its ghastly contents. You watch her up close as she picks up plates from atop the chest and then she walks into the distance to the kitchen and then she comes back to us to take more things off the chest and then goes away again, back and forth, again and again, cleaning, working her way closer and closer --- all the while you know what's inside that chest and that, once she clears it off, if she were to look inside...
...and you wait and watch in euphoric agony.
And it was then, all those years ago, watching Rope, watching that scene, I first understood what it was a director did (or at least one of the most important things he does). I understood the director's role in how the story is told - from what the camera reveals and how the images are presented to you. There's an intelligent design behind the unfolding of the story that is a character in itself. It has a tangible personality. And that character is rarely as vivid and forceful than when it's Hitchcock.
I saw Rope for the second time just a few days ago and it is even better than I remembered. But, for me, it's a stretch to believe Jimmy Stewart could or would want to expound upon Nietzschean philosophy. He's exudes too much homespun wholesomeness to be talking about the ?bermensch. Gregory Peck might have been a better choice for that role. He can seem dark and brooding while conveying enough inner goodness to keep the audience's affection, if that was the goal in choosing Stewart. James Mason would be even better and that would have made it a very dark picture, but perhaps too dark for the time.
Still, ROPE is Hitchcock using all his powers of suspense and his genius for direction. Notorious, Psycho, North By Northwest and The Birds may get a lot of attention, but this is a film no Hitchcock fan should miss and it is too often overlooked. Also be sure to watch the extras, there is a very illuminating little documentary piece you should see.
Summary of Rope (1948)
An experimental film masquerading as a standard Hollywood thriller. The plot of Rope is simple and based on a successful stage play: two young men (John Dall and Farley Granger) commit murder, more or less as an intellectual exercise. They hide the body in their large apartment, then throw a dinner party. Will the body be discovered? Director Alfred Hitchcock, fascinated by the possibilities of the long-take style, decided to shoot this story as though it were happening in one long, uninterrupted shot. Since the camera can only hold one 10-minute reel at a time, Hitchcock had to be creative when it came time to change reels, disguising the switches as the camera passed behind someone's back or moved behind a lamp. In later years Hitchcock wrote off the approach as misguided, and Rope may not be one of Hitchcock's top movies, but it's still a nail-biter. They don't call him the Master of Suspense for nothing. James Stewart, as a suspicious professor, marks his first starring role for Hitchcock, a collaboration that would lead to the masterpieces Rear Window and Vertigo. --Robert HortonClassics Video
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