Rope (1948) was Alfred Hitcock's first film as Director and Producer and was also the first of his movies to be filmed in colour.
The film opens quite startlingly as we witness the murder of poor David by two of his fellow academics, Brandon and Phillip. After being strangled with the rope to which the title refers, David's lifeless body is unceremoniously heaved into a large wooden chest in the centre of the apartment in which the entire film unfolds. We quickly learn that the murder was committed out of a sense of intellectual privilege by the young men following conversation with a former tutor, Rupert Cadell (played convincingly, as always, by James Stewart). "Murder is the privilege of the intellectually superior". Taking this flippant statement rather too literally led to the opening scene.
To add further insult to their act the boys take delicious perversion in inviting a select crowd, including David's father, his aunt and his fiance, along with the aforementioned tutor, to the apartment that very evening for a party with a buffet served on the very chest that contains the body! How could they, the morally and intellectually elite, ever be found out for such a perfectly executed crime?...
This is yet another classic Hitchcock. A minimal set, a handful of charaters beautifully realised by a wonderful cast and a typically suspenseful story to draw you in.
What's extra-special about this particular film is that there was virtually no film editing involved. The entire movie was filmed on 10 individual tapes which each ran continuously and then were simply spliced together to form the whole reel. It was truly groundbreaking and you will observe the various shots that were used to provide continuity between the individual reels, for example by focussing in on charater's backs.
If you haven't seen this film before you're in for a complete treat. And if you have seen it before, do yourself a favour and check it out again. "Masterpiece" is a word which is often overused but Rope truly is one.
Review also on dooyoo.co.uk
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Thriller - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Timothy West, Neil Morrissey, Tara Fitzgerald, Annette Crosbie, Pauline Quirke, Rob Brydon, Denise Van Outen, John Thomson, Kevin Whately, David Suchet
Production Year: 2002 - Thriller - Director: Bharat Nalluri, Rob Bailey, Andy Wilson - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Matthew MacFadyen, Keeley Hawes, David Oyelowo, Peter Firth, Jenny Agutter, Lisa Faulkner
Advantages: Good for those pushed for time; mostly well instructed Disadvantages: Cardio Box difficult to follow initially; not really challenging enough
Advantages: Wrestler vs Boxer, Heartbreak Kid vs Nature Boy, Celebs and Wrestling. Disadvantages: Light failure in a smaller card match womens match - 5 seconds max.
Jun 9th, 2009
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