Rope

NOTE: This post is a review of a Hitchcock film that was seen projected on 35mm at the Belcourt Theater in Nashville, TN, as part of their Alfred Hitchcock: Master of Suspense Series. These movies were not watched on DVD, but in a theater, projected on film.

Rope is one of my favorite Hitchcock films. I had seen it years and years ago on DVD, but had always wanted to see it on the big screen. Rope is the story of two post college grads, Brandon (John Dall) and Phillip (Farley Granger), upper crust society types, who decide to try and commit the perfect murder by killing a "lesser" friend of theirs, right before a party in which his parents and girlfriend are some of the guests. They stuff his body into a large trunk that sits in the very living room they are entertaining their guests in. But the two can't seem to keep it together. Between Brandon's "it's written all over my face" non-gloating, and Phillip's paranoia, they tip off one of the party guests, Rupert (played by Jimmy Stewart) that something is wrong.

Rope was based on a stage play, and, I would imagine, is even more suspenseful in that arena. However, Hitchcock does a pretty amazing job at mining every bit of suspense and awkwardness that he can from the film. Often times thought of as one of Hitch's lesser films because of it's "single take" set up, the lack of cuts actually helps to keep the feel of watching a live play.