Film Review: Rope

Rope (1948) 80min

(Figure 1: Rope Poster)

Rope, (1948) is an American thriller film based on a real life murder that took place back in the 1920's. It involves the antagonists Dall and Granger as they try to cover up their crime by hosting a party after strangling a fellow pupil and hiding his body within a trunk. Alfred Hitchcock has directed this film in a way that it was designed to look unedited and seamless, unlike most films of its day. The film itself is mostly constructed around script, yet within some scenes the piano is played which ironically dramatizes current encounters and situations.

Unlike modern 21st century blockbusters, Rope only consists of one room, and the audience become the spectators. As Robert Snow says in his film review; "The film is excellently plotted, with all the twists and turns of an Agatha Christie murder mystery. The difference is, it is a murder mystery seen from a different perspective – that of the perpetrators – and so the suspense in the movie is not generated by a lack of information about the killers, but by whether or not the murderers will be found out." (R. Snow, 2011) This sets the scene to be very stage-like, but what is mostly off putting is that the audiences main focus of attention (the tunk) is set in the foreground and not the mid-ground.

(Figures 2 - 4: NYC Background)

Noticeably featured in the background, Hitchcock has tried to show time passing; although not in real time. As Wayne Malin says in his film review; "There's also the VERY impressive cyclorama background of NYC where we slowly see day turn into night." (W. Malin, 2004) As this Malin's quote says, Hitchcock has made us feel that time is passing us by quickly, however his actions have also shown a technique to bring in the use of colour and its symbolism. This scene is highly visible when their so-called friend Stewart interrogates Granger and becomes closer to discovering the mystery behind their strange ways.

(Figure 5: Stewart Interrogating Granger)

To conclude, Rope, although not one of Hitch's most popular film, however it still conveys a powerful and interesting twist to modern film. As David Becker states in his film review; "It may not be Hitchcock's most stylistic picture, but Rope is certainly one of his most fascinating” (Becker, 2012) Although this film lacks the vibrancy and action from other films, we can all acknowledge the theatrical side to tension and atmosphere in its most simplest of forms.

Bibliography:

Becker. D, (2012) Rope Film Review URL At: http://www.dvdinfatuation.com/2012/10/807-rope-1948.html

Malin. W, (2004) Rope Film Review URL At: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040746/reviews

Snow. R, (2011) Rope Film Review URL At: http://robertsnow.wordpress.com/2011/08/17/review-rope-1948/

Illustration List:

Fig. 1. Rope Poster (1948) From: Rope Directed by: Alfred Hitchcocks [Poster] United States. Warner Bros. URL At: http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/rope-1948

Figs. 2 - 4. NYC Background (1948) From: Rope Directed by: Alfred Hitchcocks [Film Stills] United States. Warner Bros. URL At: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0402Fgyg_Fg

Fig. 5. Stewart Interrogating Granger (1948) From: Rope Directed by: Alfred Hitchcocks [Film Still] United States. Warner Bros. URL At: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0402Fgyg_Fg