Rope
James Stewart stars with Farley Granger and John Dall in a highly-charged thriller inspired by the real-life Leopold-Loeb murder case. Granger and Dall give riveting performances as two friends who strangle a classmate for intellectual thrills, then proceed to throw a party for the victim's family and friends - with the body stuffed inside the trunk they use for a buffet table. As the killers turn the conversation to committing the "perfect murder", their former teacher (Stewart) becomes increasingly suspicious. Before the night is over, the professor will discover how brutally his students have turned his academic theories into chilling reality in Hitchcock's spellbinding excursion into the macabre.
Member Reviews
Excellent - ShawnConnery
I'm surprised why this Hitchcock isn't as well known; it's great. Containing talented actors (particularly Stewart, Dall, and Granger), great dialogue, and incredible suspense (particularly in the last 20 minutes), and much of the technical achievements and psychological implications that made Hitchcock famous. Well-done, and powerful.One of Hitchcock's best films - Lone_Wolf
Enter his lesser known ‘Rope’, a film presented as one shot (though is technically three or four) about two intellectuals who murder ‘because they have the privilege to’, and then hide the body in a table. They then host a party moments after the murder and give hints and clues about the murder and the body – poking and prodding at their guests as they bolster their pride. However, their professor was also invited, and he begins to catch on. Being that Rope is a Hitchcock thriller, you can imagine how the film unravels.
What really struck me was that Rope has almost every single problem that Hitchcock films tend to have, yet I still loved it. I really have a hard time explaining even to myself how it could have hade wooden acting (even from James Stewart, yes) and convenient explanations that tie everything up. I still view these as flaws in Rope, but they are not nearly as damaging as they are with his other films, and don’t really overtly affect the film. I still loved it in the end.
Rope has plenty of suspense throughout, with near discoveries of the body and of course the murderers constantly pushing their luck with what they say and do, constantly hinting towards their crimes. One thing that really helped was that the film was presented as one shot, so it felt as if it were real time and we were in the room with everyone, watching it all unfold with a birds eye view. Of course, I was easily able to predict exactly how it would ending by reading a five sentence plot description – and was right – but I guess Rope was a case of the fun being in the journey instead of the destination. I may have known where it was going, but I still loved seeing how Hitchcock brought us there.A Study of Subtlety - Mookie
This Hitchcock thriller looks effortless when you first watch it but behind the simple story there is a masterful director and some outstanding acting by the leads. Add to this is the fact that it was shot in a series of 8-10 minute takes and you have an often overlooked gem from the impressive library of Hitchcock.
It is this decision to shoot the film in a series of long takes (which are sewn together so they seem (seam) all one take) that gives this movie its momentum. Many fans of Hitchcock love the bigger thrillers like Psycho and Birds, but for my money it is the understated thrillers like Dial M for Murder and Rope that establishes him as one of the greatest thriller directors of all time.
Member Reviews
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Excellent - ShawnConnery
I'm surprised why this Hitchcock isn't as well known; it's great. Containing talented actors (particularly Stewart, Dall, and Granger), great dialogue, and incredible suspense (particularly in the last 20 minutes), and much of the technical achievements and ...One of Hitchcock's best films - Lone_Wolf
Enter his lesser known ‘Rope’, a film presented as one shot (though is technically three or four) about two intellectuals who murder ‘because they have the privilege to’, and then hide the body in a table. They then host a party moments after the murder and ...A Study of Subtlety - Mookie
This Hitchcock thriller looks effortless when you first watch it but behind the simple story there is a masterful director and some outstanding acting by the leads. Add to this is the fact that it was shot in a series of 8-10 minute takes and you have an often ...