191. Rope (1948)
He was a Harvard undergraduate. That might make it justifiable homicide.
Title: Rope
Date Watched: 12/30/2012
Original Ranking Out of 10: 10
Revised Ranking Out of 10: 8
Synopsis: Two men murder a man, put the body in a chest, and invite his friends and family over for a party.
The Good: Awesome camerawork in one of Hitchcock's darkest and funniest movies.
The Bad: Maybe a little too stagey?
Why Do I Own This Movie?: Hitchcock blu-ray collection.
Should I Still Own This Movie?: Yes.
What Did I Notice That I Didn't Notice Before?: Good lord the dialogue is stilted. Also, the piano playing doesn't even come close to matching up.
Other Impressions: Rope is one of those Hitchcock movies that gets slid under the rug, hiding in the shadows of some of his later fare, such as Rear Window and Psycho, but it's still a solid effort, if a bit gimmicky. The movie is shot in a series of very long takes (only 10 throughout the 80 minute movie) and, though I'm not exactly sure what it adds to the story, it's absolutely exhilarating. Sure, they're not as elaborate as the tracking shots in Goodfellas or (especially) Children of Men, but they do give the movie a unique style. If you're going to essentially film a play, you might as well do what you can to keep it visually interesting.
One of the other aspects that Hitchcock emphasizes (possibly only to amuse himself) is the sexuality of the villains. The aftermath of the murder in the opening moments of the movie feels absolutely post-coital, with one character smoking a cigarette and begging the other to wait just a little bit longer before they move on. The censors at the time obviously didn't like this, but for some reason they allowed it in. While many praised Javier Bardem's performance in Skyfall, my feeling was that we're pretty much done with making the villain really, really gay. Maybe it was fresh in Rope, but by now it seems like it's jumped the shark.
Some may enjoy the philosophical implications in Rope, but I found them to mostly be heavy-handed and not particularly interesting. When Jimmy Stewart acts appalled that his students misinterpreted his teachings, I can't for the life of me imagine how else they could have interpreted them. But that's neither here nor there. This is an exercise of a movie -- much like Lifeboat -- but Hitchcock manages to keep things suspenseful throughout, using his self-inflicted limitations to heighten the tension. This probably doesn't belong in a list of the very best his career (and the original rating that I granted it was too generous), but any fan of the director owes it to herself to check this one out.
The List
Title: Rope
Date Watched: 12/30/2012
Original Ranking Out of 10: 10
Revised Ranking Out of 10: 8
Synopsis: Two men murder a man, put the body in a chest, and invite his friends and family over for a party.
The Good: Awesome camerawork in one of Hitchcock's darkest and funniest movies.
The Bad: Maybe a little too stagey?
Why Do I Own This Movie?: Hitchcock blu-ray collection.
Should I Still Own This Movie?: Yes.
What Did I Notice That I Didn't Notice Before?: Good lord the dialogue is stilted. Also, the piano playing doesn't even come close to matching up.
Other Impressions: Rope is one of those Hitchcock movies that gets slid under the rug, hiding in the shadows of some of his later fare, such as Rear Window and Psycho, but it's still a solid effort, if a bit gimmicky. The movie is shot in a series of very long takes (only 10 throughout the 80 minute movie) and, though I'm not exactly sure what it adds to the story, it's absolutely exhilarating. Sure, they're not as elaborate as the tracking shots in Goodfellas or (especially) Children of Men, but they do give the movie a unique style. If you're going to essentially film a play, you might as well do what you can to keep it visually interesting.
One of the other aspects that Hitchcock emphasizes (possibly only to amuse himself) is the sexuality of the villains. The aftermath of the murder in the opening moments of the movie feels absolutely post-coital, with one character smoking a cigarette and begging the other to wait just a little bit longer before they move on. The censors at the time obviously didn't like this, but for some reason they allowed it in. While many praised Javier Bardem's performance in Skyfall, my feeling was that we're pretty much done with making the villain really, really gay. Maybe it was fresh in Rope, but by now it seems like it's jumped the shark.
Some may enjoy the philosophical implications in Rope, but I found them to mostly be heavy-handed and not particularly interesting. When Jimmy Stewart acts appalled that his students misinterpreted his teachings, I can't for the life of me imagine how else they could have interpreted them. But that's neither here nor there. This is an exercise of a movie -- much like Lifeboat -- but Hitchcock manages to keep things suspenseful throughout, using his self-inflicted limitations to heighten the tension. This probably doesn't belong in a list of the very best his career (and the original rating that I granted it was too generous), but any fan of the director owes it to herself to check this one out.
The List