Log in / Sign up
 
    Share this page

    Rope

    Reviewed by
    pietroantoni@

    ROPE was an experiment in film for Alfred Hitchcock on several levels. First off he would be dealing with blatant homosexuality in the film (not sexual, however) he wanted to go darker with theme and thirdly he wanted to shoot in closed quarters. I can't comment a great deal on the first two ideas without giving away much of the film. Suffice to say that lovers Farley Granger and John Dall are perfect in their roles as upper crust devients, intending no slur on their sexuality, merely trying to define them as the full blown men they happen to be.

    What Hitch does with shooting in this single room of an apartment flat, the lone set of the film is extraordinary, but to quote Hitchcock himself: " It was a nightmare!" He's basically shooting a play. This has been done many times with the filming from an actual stage production in a theatre. That, of course, poses few, if any, problems. Technichally, shooting in this room, all within real time, all as if it were one long take required enormous hard work on the entire crew. The film consists of several 10 to 12 minute shots which would then make up the real time action. The problem lay in that the bulky cameras and other equipment had to be constantly shifting with every 10 minute take. But it all works out with tremendous effort by all including the actors who felt they were trapped in an elevator.

    Not enough credit is given to ROPE. I believe everyone understands the difficulty of shooting a film in such a way, that Hitch could have had it very easy by shooting on set, but he wanted us to experience what the actors were experiencing in the confines of this prison of a room. Farley and John are perfection, but so is stalwart Jimmy Stewart in a role most have forgotten about or put on the back burner. The supporting, cast which includes greats like Constance Collier and Sir Cedric Hardwicke, help us mingle with the other guests at that cocktail party. The afternoon party rolls smoothly along, but with every shot, we come closer and closer to the grim reality of the entire twisted situation.

    It's rather peculiar that several of Alfred Hitchcock movies were out of circulation for a 15 year period due to copyright agreements with the studio. Rope and Vertigo happened to be two of the films. The other two would only constitute a guess, but they belong to Hitchcock films between 1950 and 1955. It certainly is wonderful to have access to the entire Hitchcock library.

    9
    HelpfulNot helpful  Reply
    pietroantoni@  6.6.2015 age: 36-49 14,540 reviews

    Show all reviews for this movie
    Note: The movie review posted on this page reflects a personal opinion of one user. We are not responsible for its content.

    Did you see ''Rope''?

    There is a problem with your e-mail address and we are unable to communicate with you. Please go to My Account to update your email.

    How do you rate this movie?

    Select stars from 1 to 10.
    10 - A masterpiece, go, see it now
    9 - Excellent movie, a must see
    8 - Great movie, don't miss it
    7 - Good movie, worth seeing
    6 - Not bad, could be much better
    5 - So so, okay if you don't pay
    4 - Not good, even if you don't pay
    3 - Poor movie, not recommended
    2 - Very bad, forget about it
    1 - Worst ever, avoid at all costs

    Please explain. Write your comment here:

    Please choose a username to sign your comments. Only letters, digits, dash - or period. Minimum 4 characters.

    Your age and sex:

    We publish all comments, except abusive, at our discretion.