Review of Rope (1948) by Joshua L — 07 Sep 2014

This is probably my favorite of Hitchcock's lesser known films, and maybe even my favorite overall. This film is cut to appear like a stage production, that is, it looks like one long take with no cuts. It's a bit trickier than that... Through clever camera tricks, Hitchcock hides the fact that he uses five or six cuts. But still, five or six cuts over the period of almost an hour and a half? That's still a staggering 10-15 minutes a take. Technically, it's a masterpiece and would serve as inspiration for other directorial masters like Kubrick and Cuaron.

The film is based off of a play called "Rope's End" which, itself, is an adaption of the crime that lead to the now-infamous Leopold and Loeb trial. The trial ended when the immoral lawyer argued that the perpetrators of a murder should not be found guilty on the basis that they evolved in such a way to murder, and, instead of blaming the kids, we should just blame evolution.

The film is rife with pro-human, anti-Nietzsche arguments from Jimmy Stewart's professor. But all of that is secondary to the plot, which is just as suspenseful today as it was 55 years ago.