 "How can anyone like this film"" | 2010-01-01 |
| - Reviewed By Doro |
| I think the worst thing about this film was the acting of the great Jimmy Stewart. He, afterall, was the instigator of the dastardly deed done by 2 unpleasant fools. Were they gay guys I couldnt tell? Is being gay supposed to make them stupid? Jimmy had blabbed on and on when he was their teacher or something in an expensive un-named prep school in new england on how the superior people of the world had every right to kill the inferior people. He even ran on about it in front of us while sitting on the sofa. But hey...that was just irony or something. Ole Jimmy didn't ACTUALLY MEAN IT. HE JUST SAID IT TO BE CUTE. A great performance is given by cedric hardwick as the dad of the unfortunate victim. The other actors also played their roles well. Then..ole Jimmy wonders where the victim is and as he is VERY INTELLIGENT he hangs around and follows clues and discovers the corpse. The boys tell him why they did it and Jimmy gets on his high horse...You is bad boys! and its very funny how Jimmy shoots bullets out the window of a nyc skyscraper to get the police to come. very confusing message: jimmy is his usually honey lovey guy...the gay boys are burdened with all the blame. And all those aimless bullets sprayed over Manhattan just like Jimmy's nonsense verbiage. Maybe they the vagrant bullets killed someone just like his words did but Jimmy gets off scot free. |
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 "A Forgotten Hitchcock Classic" | 2009-12-09 |
| - Reviewed By Amos Lassen from Little Rock, Arkansas |
"Rope"
A Forgotten Hitchcock Classic
Amos Lassen
"Rope" is Alfred Hitchcock's first color film and it is a compelling view. What Hitchcock does here and what he has always done so well is to show the selfishness and superficiality of America's culture by giving us two guys who think of themselves as intellectuals. Brandon and Phillip twist Nietzche's words to cover up a crime and then use a party as a façade. The film looks beneath social conventions.
The film is loosely based on the Leopold-Loeb murder case. It involves two friends who want to commit the perfect murder. This murder is committed within minutes of the opening credits and once committed; we watch the differences of the two men unfold before our very eyes. They put the body in the very spot where people will have a party and we see Phillip's (Farley Granger) passiveness and paranoia. When Rupert Goodell (James Stewart) comes to the party, he knows something is not right and Brandon (John Dall), who is Phillip's opposite, shows just how sly and sneaky he is. He is a malicious person who gets a thrill from having committed the murder but also from trying to be brazen and get away with it openly.
The screenplay is wonderful. There is little action as this is basically a talky film. Suspense continues to build and the last twenty minutes of the film are nerve-wracking intense. The strange behavior of Brandon and Phillip heightens the suspense and the tension and the rope that is used to commit the murder is on view almost all through the film. The viewer finds himself hoping that the two will not get caught which is one of Hitchcock's touches of brilliance.
Made in the 1940's, the film has held up well and this is a real treat to watch.
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 "Submissive archetype & the dominant partner..." | 2009-09-19 |
| - Reviewed By Akethan from Arlington, VA United States |
| From the opening 'rope trick', this movie kept moving. "Inspired by the real-life Leopold-Loeb murder case" is the snippet on Netflix. Well, this is such a different thing in some ways - especially considering the age & interconnectedness to their victim. Stewart was ... well... himself in this film. Nothing surprising and his face broadcast nearly everything he was thinking. Farley Granger was crawling the walls during the entire party - and it was fun to watch him slowly come unglued. Like the "Telltale Heart" - the elephant was in the room with him and he couldn't bear it. But I was glued to John Dall's oily self-assuredness. Everyone on the film was completely charmed by Dall. This would be a good one to update... |
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| "Shallowness" | 2009-07-22 |
| - Reviewed By CurlyAl34 |
Although I may not find this film as great as Rear Window, To Catch A Thief, Vertigo, Dial M, or Stage Fright, I can't help finding it compelling, or almost as good as any of the aforementioned Hitchcock film. I haven't seen all the Hitchcock movies, but I hypothesize that this is the only Hitchcock film where you don't have a leading lady along with a leading man. Perhaps, that will explain the lack of success of this Hitchcock film. After all, the great director always had to have a great leading lady and some good romance.
Along with many of his other great films, Hitchcock reveals the shallowness and superficiality of middle-class culture, as revealed by the stupidity of these two pseudo-intellectuals who misread Nietzche, to the chagrin of a person's life. Brandon and Phillip twist the philosopher's words only to cover up what they really wanted to do all along. Shallowness is also shown to us through the party. This party works as a facade. Not only does it work to cover up a crime, but it also shows other cover ups. Why is it that Janet wants to marry David? Is she really in love with him? Throughout her presence, we can see a lot of ambiguity in her words, as well as in her gestures. There is plenty of shallowness and superficiality in the small talk of the guests, especially, David's aunt, whom refers to the horoscope and does some hand-reading to say ironic things (stressing the more on how ignorant is she about what's really going on beneath the surface). Apparently, Rupert is the only character who can read beyond the surfaces, catching the nuances of Brandon's and Phillip's nervous behavior and speech, he makes fun on small talk about the movies by Mrs. Atwater. And one can also read between the lines of his words toward Janet, "Do you deserve justice?"
Following this line of thought, one may argue that the film tries to reveal what is underneath social conventions. A party about books is not really about books; marriages are not about love; Harvard graduates are not different from the average person; and middle-class people are not more intelligent than the maid, who also percieves that something funny is going on. The film begins with an exterior shot, which shows a world of safetiness and order (a cop helps a little boy cross a street). But under this appearance of tranquility, behind the closed curtains, there is something dark and sinister taking place. This beginning serves well as a framework to the film. Interestingly, at the very end, when Rupert makes his discovery, instead of calling the police on the phone, he opens the window and shoots to let the world in the room. The noises, the voices, and all the sounds coming into the room is as if Rupert had broken the distance between the surface and what goes on under it.
Looking at it from this perspective, this film is brilliantly done. And it doesn;t depart from Hitchcock's tradition of works, except for the lack of a leading lady. |
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| "Great script, sort of a neglected Hitchcock classic" | 2009-06-23 |
| - Reviewed By fra7299 from California, United States |
Rope, a thriller from Alfred Hitchcock, is based on the Leopold-Loeb murder case and involves two friends who have an idea of creating the perfect murder. Hitchcock decided to make Rope a bit of an experimental film, filmed with one long set, so there are several pauses where the camera actually goes in back of a character. While this was a unique way to create the film, it does have its advantages. Rope seems to play out almost like a "stage play" in which the camera is still, but characters move around on the set. Much like Rear Window, the setting of the film does not move to other spots, but stays right in the very apartment where the murder was committed. Rope is more a psychological thriller about whether the two men will get caught than whether they actually did it, and it examines what goes through the conscious of those who have killed.
The murder is committed within moments after the opening credits, as the two friends kill David and then put his body in the very spot where people will later gather for a party. Once the murder is committed, the differences of the two men begin to unfold before the audience. Philip is more passive and nervous about what they have done, and clearly he has second doubts as to what they should do or whether they should have done this at all. His motives come from not being caught, and taking the necessary precautions. As the night wanes on, Phillip becomes more and more paranoid about the murder, and the questions he gets asked by his former school master, Rubert Goodell (James Stewart), who knows something is amiss. Brandon, on the other hand, is Phillip's opposite. Brandon is sly, sneaky, and has a malicious and dark humor throughout. He seems to get a "thrill" not only about having committed the murder, but the idea of trying to get away with it, and his callously bold attitude is evidenced as the story unfolds. He cleverly has everything all planned out, and can deflect questions and suspicion with ease. But, will he be able to outwit the equally resourceful Rupert? As more characters show up to the party, things get more and more dicey for the pair, and Rupert smells foul play.
The skill in this film is clearly in a superb screenplay. Some viewers might not like the fact that there is little movement, or "action", but the exceptional feeling of suspense builds as more and more pieces of the puzzle come to light. The script is quite amazing, and leads to a suspenseful "cat and mouse" game between Brandon and Rupert. The last twenty minutes of the film are superbly crafted and written; it is during this part where Hitchcock's genius is evident.
Over all, this is a highly overlooked classic from the master of suspense. The extras included on the DVD include a commentary on the film entitled "Rope Unleashed."
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| "The perfect murder?" | 2009-06-19 |
| - Reviewed By J. Green from Los Angeles, California |
Two friends, Brandon and Phillip (John Dall and Farley Granger), kill a classmate - mainly for the thrill - but also because they believe themselves intelligent and superior enough to get away with it. They then have a dinner with several of the victims friends and family, all while the body lies inside a large wooden chest from which the food is served. But Phillip is bothered by the murder, and acts nervously and drinks constantly. Brandon, on the other hand, is thrilled at having done it, and can't help but make suggestive comments in front of the group. One of the guests, Rupert (James Stewart), is a former teacher of the young men, and begins to notice the odd behavior of the pair and suspects something is wrong.
Had I seen this film a few years ago I'm not sure I'd have enjoyed it very much. On the surface it's not a very exciting film, but it's actually a very well-told story. The idea came from the very sensational and disturbing crime of the teenage "thrill killers" Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb in 1924, but the thought of justifiable murder of "inferior persons" was perhaps a reflection of Nietzsche or the recent Nazi holocaust (the film was made in 1948).
But the strange behavior of the pair serves to heighten the tension and build suspense throughout the film. The rope used in the murder turns up in a rather shocking way, and a scene where the housekeeper cleans up, almost uncovering the body, is quite dramatic. You almost find yourself hoping they won't get caught. For budgetary considerations, the whole film was shot inside the apartment in maximum 10 minute segments (the limit of a roll of film), giving the real-time feeling that you're in the room or maybe watching it as a play. The transitions from one roll to the next are a bit odd, but nonetheless clever.
While it wasn't a commercial or critical success when released, and even Hitchcock wasn't particularly pleased with it, it's still an interesting and entertaining film. |
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