This movie is a master piece. In understanding why this movie was ground breaking, you will find beauty in the artful way it portrays nearly every aspect of human life.
rather the movements of our muscle and the environments effect on an individual. Hitchcock achieved greatness because he was able to manipulate the human mind into believe that in actuality time was cut short. Imagine, seeing these events unfold without any takes in a movie theater where you are completely oblivious to the outside world. You must also take into consideration the time period, nowadays we have clocks everywhere, when this movie was made, such was not the case.
This in essence is the face value of this movie. The actuality is this movie revolves around the concept of time. Look closely at the moments when the movie blacks out; examples are when the camera moves into Brandon's jacket. If you pay close attention you will see the day unfolding. The movie starts off in the afternoon and ends at night. "Rope" was actually Hitchcock's experiment on the human internal clock. How we sometimes forget that our lives is not governed by the clock in the wall but
Therein lies the irony. Rupert is the unifying figure. He understands why he says what he said, did what he did, and to this end, the reason why both Phillip and Brandon are caught. More accurately though, the three characters represent the three characteristics of Freudian psychology. Rupert is the superego; his job is to reinforce the ego and eliminate the id. Phillip is the ego, the neutral party who must take in what the super ego says and combat the id. Obviously, Brandon is the id.
Moreover, each character serves his own personality. All characters play the role of the intellectual, for the exception of Brandon, whom is bombarded by his unconscious behavior and emotional instability. He understands little of his actions, and why he has committed such an atrocity. It is also safe to assume he is the most moral of all characters in this play. Phillip is the cynical mastermind in this movie, he is an idealist and a elitist and is perhaps the least intellectual of the group.
For those of your having a difficult time understanding what themes this movie revolves around you must first understand the psychology of each character.
This movie is a favorite by the few that watch because they admire everything that is stands for. There is the work of Freudian psychology; the id, ego, superego. How our decisions hold unconscious reactions to that of the stimulation that occurs around us. All characters share a common misconception on the psych of human behavior. - Part 1
there's a hidden dead body in the middle of the room, and on the other hand the continous filming makes the movie so "living", as if David's life had been transfered to the cam...
The gayest film in Hollywood history. Screenwriter Arthur Laurents (who did a page one rewrite of Patrick Hanilton's very British original) was having an affair with Farley granger at the time. John Dall was gay as was the set deisgner. Hitchcock wanted Cary Grant to play Rupert, but he turned it down -- for reasons that are obvious to anyone who knows anything about Cary Grant.
Well what are those reasons about Cary Grant if you please?? I know he was no stranger to a dramatic role once in awhile. I've heard talk he was gay and that he wasn't. Who even knows?
they were all long takes..when the camera goes black is when the film was changed there are i think only nine in the whole movie...as far as everyone arguing about this movie.. he was trying to capture a theater feel..so of course its not going to be his best but in those days to accomplish something like this is actually remarkable.
Yes, and considered "impossible" to do at the time.
Some argue that it's not continuous, as there are moments where the camera's eye is obscured. Those are the necessary pauses of early film-making: each reel could only record for X amount of time (10 minutes, if memory serves). Hitchcock essentially took a 1-act play and, by making the camera "blink", turned it into a movie.
Wonderful work by Stewart and Granger. Did you know Stewart originally hated it and didn't want to do it?
What changed his mind I wonder? It is a sordid tale. There were quite a few risque and sordid movies many decades ago. Sometimes I marvel that they got made.
Major plot hole: when someone dies, they lose control over all muscles, and they urinate and defecate. That smell would have been obvious to everyone present.
not necessarily; if david's bladder/bowels had been relieved beforehand then once his muscles relaxed there'd be nothing left to release. for all we know david's last moment of comfort could've taken place in the bathroom...
Yes, but that meanas that Brandon and Phillip had to count on David's going to the bathroom right before killing him. You don't plan a "perfect murder" by relying on a factor that is completely beyond your control and which probability is against.
true, but the crime was imperfect from the get-go. i mean who leaves the victim's hat in the closet? it's impossible to committ the so called "perfect crime" and not to mention morally wrong, being human we make mistakes and multiple things can (and probably will) go wrong. i think this is the message hitchcock was trying to get across; we are human, incapable of superiority that exempts us from mortal ties, physically (evidence wise) and mentally (slip-ups, guilt induced or not).
So is Brandon a sociopath? Is that what james Stewart's character is trying to say? That Brandon didn't think before acting, that there was no real logic or motive behind his actions?
Lol, what is reasonable? Do you get to decide what is reasonable? Do I? I think your statement is absurd and irresponsible. Prove me wrong. You can't, because it is subjective. I feel sorry for the students you teach. All my best professors thought outside the box and were not constrained by society's norms and conventions.
Theories considered stupid at one time: Blacks are as intelligent as whites, the sun is the center of the solar system, quantum mechanics is the basis of physics, etc...
only now did i notice that the suits represent in a scale the intentions of the individuals rupert-light grey representing good; Brandon-dark blue evil and phillip-brown a midway he is the repent one but tries to deny it strange ha?
Firing the shots only took a few seconds... while calling the police would have been lengthier... leaving potential for Brandon or Phillip to stop him.
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Whoa! Fire a pistol into a crowded city - there's probably 3 deads more.Smoking, drinking, and shooting...those were the good old days.
Great film until the ending. Speech quite clumsy as rupert tries to make the distinction between the man who teaches impressionable youths that murder is fine, and the poor deluded youths who actually carry out his fine vision.
This is one of my favorite scenes in Alfred Hitchcock history! "Did you think you were God Brandon?" I love that line and i love jimmy stewart! if AFI ever made a list on 100 best speechs in a movie this would cartainly be one of them!
The play was a huge hit; but Hitchcock did not want to create a "filmed play" - he believed the audience would respond better if the movie was shot POV, by the "single continuous shot" - impossible in the days before DV. So he invented the "body wipe" - the actor walks into/across the field of view, allowing an invisible cut to the next reel. On set he organised the crew to move furniture away (and replace it), to slide away walls and change lighting rigs during each shot. He remains a legend.
. The greatest and most influential director of suspense movies was also one of the greatest directors of ANY genre ever. 'Rope' deserves to be mentioned in any list of his ten best movies. 55 years after it was originally released it is as fascinating and entertaining as ever. Highly recommended!
This is based on a true story. Nathan Leopold, 18, and his gay lover Richard Loeb, 18, tortured and murdered 14 year old Bobby Franks in May of 1924 just to see if they could get away with murder. Apparently. they didn't . They were convicted in 1925. Nathan Leopold was released in 1958 and died in 1971 and Richard Loeb was killed in jail in 1936. He tried to rape another inmate.
the end, like the whole thing, is inevitable+predictable. i knew from the start they'd get caught, what with their stupid mistakes that they thought to be brilliant. and when stewart was their nosy guest, hell, even before that i had the feeling that stewart would be the sleuth who discovers the truth. so is the way that stewart found them out so special, so suspenseful, so gripping? nah. better to watch "rear window" or "strangers on a train." even "sabotage."
What are they going to do with the last 2 bullets left? I thought Brandon and Philip were going to shot their heads with those bullets. Anyway, I do like it. Without a book named Time: A User's Guide, I would have experienced this wonderful flick of Hitchcock's. Thanks!
man i just loved the guy playing Brandon ...he is so calm and sinister his look everything is perfect and he honestly sounds like an elite intellectual..he speaks so well
I just realized how overly dramatic and pointless that firing the gun into the darkened Manhattan night is. The gun wasn't the murder weapon. All Jimmy Stewart's character had to do was go to the telephone and dial the police
This movie is a master piece. In understanding why this movie was ground breaking, you will find beauty in the artful way it portrays nearly every aspect of human life.
OblivialMaster 1 year ago
rather the movements of our muscle and the environments effect on an individual. Hitchcock achieved greatness because he was able to manipulate the human mind into believe that in actuality time was cut short. Imagine, seeing these events unfold without any takes in a movie theater where you are completely oblivious to the outside world. You must also take into consideration the time period, nowadays we have clocks everywhere, when this movie was made, such was not the case.
OblivialMaster 1 year ago
This in essence is the face value of this movie. The actuality is this movie revolves around the concept of time. Look closely at the moments when the movie blacks out; examples are when the camera moves into Brandon's jacket. If you pay close attention you will see the day unfolding. The movie starts off in the afternoon and ends at night. "Rope" was actually Hitchcock's experiment on the human internal clock. How we sometimes forget that our lives is not governed by the clock in the wall but
OblivialMaster 1 year ago
Therein lies the irony. Rupert is the unifying figure. He understands why he says what he said, did what he did, and to this end, the reason why both Phillip and Brandon are caught. More accurately though, the three characters represent the three characteristics of Freudian psychology. Rupert is the superego; his job is to reinforce the ego and eliminate the id. Phillip is the ego, the neutral party who must take in what the super ego says and combat the id. Obviously, Brandon is the id.
OblivialMaster 1 year ago
Moreover, each character serves his own personality. All characters play the role of the intellectual, for the exception of Brandon, whom is bombarded by his unconscious behavior and emotional instability. He understands little of his actions, and why he has committed such an atrocity. It is also safe to assume he is the most moral of all characters in this play. Phillip is the cynical mastermind in this movie, he is an idealist and a elitist and is perhaps the least intellectual of the group.
OblivialMaster 1 year ago
@OblivialMaster Change Brandon with Phillip, made a mistake with the character names.
OblivialMaster 1 year ago
For those of your having a difficult time understanding what themes this movie revolves around you must first understand the psychology of each character.
This movie is a favorite by the few that watch because they admire everything that is stands for. There is the work of Freudian psychology; the id, ego, superego. How our decisions hold unconscious reactions to that of the stimulation that occurs around us. All characters share a common misconception on the psych of human behavior. - Part 1
OblivialMaster 1 year ago
5:06
He couldn't simply call the police?
NearVSMello 2 years ago
there's a hidden dead body in the middle of the room, and on the other hand the continous filming makes the movie so "living", as if David's life had been transfered to the cam...
Kalterthewriter 2 years ago 3
The gayest film in Hollywood history. Screenwriter Arthur Laurents (who did a page one rewrite of Patrick Hanilton's very British original) was having an affair with Farley granger at the time. John Dall was gay as was the set deisgner. Hitchcock wanted Cary Grant to play Rupert, but he turned it down -- for reasons that are obvious to anyone who knows anything about Cary Grant.
Walbrook48 2 years ago
@Walbrook48
Well what are those reasons about Cary Grant if you please?? I know he was no stranger to a dramatic role once in awhile. I've heard talk he was gay and that he wasn't. Who even knows?
oohyllab 2 years ago
@Walbrook48 who cares. it's still a great film.
BirthofCharlie 2 years ago
they were all long takes..when the camera goes black is when the film was changed there are i think only nine in the whole movie...as far as everyone arguing about this movie.. he was trying to capture a theater feel..so of course its not going to be his best but in those days to accomplish something like this is actually remarkable.
ustexan55 2 years ago
it wasn't a continuous shot they had moments where they covered or obscured the view of the camera
crazyandsuicidal 2 years ago
the continuous shot was wonderfully done
it's quite hard to pull off especially for a long movie
marchingbandrocks 2 years ago
Yes, and considered "impossible" to do at the time.
Some argue that it's not continuous, as there are moments where the camera's eye is obscured. Those are the necessary pauses of early film-making: each reel could only record for X amount of time (10 minutes, if memory serves). Hitchcock essentially took a 1-act play and, by making the camera "blink", turned it into a movie.
Wonderful work by Stewart and Granger. Did you know Stewart originally hated it and didn't want to do it?
Merricat42 2 years ago
@Merricat42
What changed his mind I wonder? It is a sordid tale. There were quite a few risque and sordid movies many decades ago. Sometimes I marvel that they got made.
oohyllab 2 years ago
One of my fave Hitchcock's! Very suspenseful...Reminded me of Poe's "Telltale Heart"!
Mikkimuse 2 years ago
Major plot hole: when someone dies, they lose control over all muscles, and they urinate and defecate. That smell would have been obvious to everyone present.
7beers 2 years ago
not necessarily; if david's bladder/bowels had been relieved beforehand then once his muscles relaxed there'd be nothing left to release. for all we know david's last moment of comfort could've taken place in the bathroom...
SunshineMints 2 years ago 3
Yes, but that meanas that Brandon and Phillip had to count on David's going to the bathroom right before killing him. You don't plan a "perfect murder" by relying on a factor that is completely beyond your control and which probability is against.
7beers 2 years ago
true, but the crime was imperfect from the get-go. i mean who leaves the victim's hat in the closet? it's impossible to committ the so called "perfect crime" and not to mention morally wrong, being human we make mistakes and multiple things can (and probably will) go wrong. i think this is the message hitchcock was trying to get across; we are human, incapable of superiority that exempts us from mortal ties, physically (evidence wise) and mentally (slip-ups, guilt induced or not).
SunshineMints 2 years ago 3
Why did Rupert's hand get injured when the gun went off?
7beers 2 years ago
@7beers The bullet must have glazed over his hand, injuring it, but not completely hitting it.
TangledWeb 2 years ago
Thanks.
7beers 2 years ago
So is Brandon a sociopath? Is that what james Stewart's character is trying to say? That Brandon didn't think before acting, that there was no real logic or motive behind his actions?
redplaguethe3rd 2 years ago
@redplaguethe3rd I was thinking that Brandon took Rupert's teaching too seriously. Rupert says that there was something in him that could never kill.
TangledWeb 2 years ago
Ahhhhh, now I get it. Knowledge equals power, but we have to be careful how we teach it and how the student applies it...right?
redplaguethe3rd 2 years ago
Yes, I'd say you're on the right track. Theory meets practice, and it's a head-on collision.
It's also a fictionalization of the Leopold and Loeb murders.....but you probably already know that.
Merricat42 2 years ago
doskonałe
arwojek 2 years ago
Is that James Stewart's natural hair color? He's only 39 here. And if they dyed it, why?
7beers 2 years ago
James Stewart's character is a hypocrite. He disowns his own philosophy when he can't stomach its conclusion.
7beers 2 years ago 3
No, he never meant murder is acceptable. He stated that.
skylur44 2 years ago 2
If it's true wuv, then it's spelled, and pronounced:
W-U-V!!!!!!!
7beers 2 years ago
What subject do you teach?
7beers 2 years ago
Mmmm, I wuv waffles!!!!! :) :) :)
7beers 2 years ago
I think he shot a pigeon
7beers 2 years ago 3
Lol, what is reasonable? Do you get to decide what is reasonable? Do I? I think your statement is absurd and irresponsible. Prove me wrong. You can't, because it is subjective. I feel sorry for the students you teach. All my best professors thought outside the box and were not constrained by society's norms and conventions.
Theories considered stupid at one time: Blacks are as intelligent as whites, the sun is the center of the solar system, quantum mechanics is the basis of physics, etc...
peacenlove4every1 2 years ago
only now did i notice that the suits represent in a scale the intentions of the individuals rupert-light grey representing good; Brandon-dark blue evil and phillip-brown a midway he is the repent one but tries to deny it strange ha?
JaimeDeLonetDelgado 2 years ago
thats a good imagination wonder if thats what they thought when choosing the suits?
dragonkilla7 2 years ago
they did have cuts. when it zoomed in at a dark object it cuts, they just zoom in at the darkness again and start again
ToTaLfReAkAzOiD911 2 years ago
im sure the actors were acting contiunuously with no cuts (if so superb)
urbanfilmcompany 2 years ago
Firing the shots only took a few seconds... while calling the police would have been lengthier... leaving potential for Brandon or Phillip to stop him.
carlosmnyc 2 years ago
Brilliant. I liked the speech; the elitist academic realising that these psycho yuppies have taken his credo and ran with it!
badnewswade 2 years ago 7
Best. Ending. Ever.
SwampLord9 2 years ago 10
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Whoa! Fire a pistol into a crowded city - there's probably 3 deads more.Smoking, drinking, and shooting...those were the good old days.
Great film until the ending. Speech quite clumsy as rupert tries to make the distinction between the man who teaches impressionable youths that murder is fine, and the poor deluded youths who actually carry out his fine vision.
turneriver 2 years ago
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I agree completely.
The firing of the pistol out the window is insane--
And Rupert waffled big time in the matter of his philosophy (as he presented it) and words.
psychkoala 2 years ago
I absolutely LOVE Jimmy's speech in this. I think every murderer needs to hear it.
NarniaNut1898 2 years ago 5
This is one of my favorite scenes in Alfred Hitchcock history! "Did you think you were God Brandon?" I love that line and i love jimmy stewart! if AFI ever made a list on 100 best speechs in a movie this would cartainly be one of them!
DrNoYes9 2 years ago 5
The play was a huge hit; but Hitchcock did not want to create a "filmed play" - he believed the audience would respond better if the movie was shot POV, by the "single continuous shot" - impossible in the days before DV. So he invented the "body wipe" - the actor walks into/across the field of view, allowing an invisible cut to the next reel. On set he organised the crew to move furniture away (and replace it), to slide away walls and change lighting rigs during each shot. He remains a legend.
twodeltas 2 years ago 2
. The greatest and most influential director of suspense movies was also one of the greatest directors of ANY genre ever. 'Rope' deserves to be mentioned in any list of his ten best movies. 55 years after it was originally released it is as fascinating and entertaining as ever. Highly recommended!
darshananc 2 years ago 3
This is based on a true story. Nathan Leopold, 18, and his gay lover Richard Loeb, 18, tortured and murdered 14 year old Bobby Franks in May of 1924 just to see if they could get away with murder. Apparently. they didn't . They were convicted in 1925. Nathan Leopold was released in 1958 and died in 1971 and Richard Loeb was killed in jail in 1936. He tried to rape another inmate.
caban70 2 years ago 7
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the end, like the whole thing, is inevitable+predictable. i knew from the start they'd get caught, what with their stupid mistakes that they thought to be brilliant. and when stewart was their nosy guest, hell, even before that i had the feeling that stewart would be the sleuth who discovers the truth. so is the way that stewart found them out so special, so suspenseful, so gripping? nah. better to watch "rear window" or "strangers on a train." even "sabotage."
s4mth16ngstr24nge 2 years ago
What are they going to do with the last 2 bullets left? I thought Brandon and Philip were going to shot their heads with those bullets. Anyway, I do like it. Without a book named Time: A User's Guide, I would have experienced this wonderful flick of Hitchcock's. Thanks!
nobita5555 2 years ago
What a great movie. You gotta love Jimmy Stewart's acting especially when he goes off on a rant. Whomever you are thank you very much for posting!
mmcclain66613 2 years ago 11
Nothing like a Hitchcock flick; it made special an otherwise mundane day. Thanks O.P.
billyshake 2 years ago 4
We watched this in my Film Studies class in school. Everyone hated the movie except for me. The ending was superb. One of the best I've ever seen.
Thanks for the upload!
SwampLord9 2 years ago 8
man i just loved the guy playing Brandon ...he is so calm and sinister his look everything is perfect and he honestly sounds like an elite intellectual..he speaks so well
SDSen 2 years ago 4
Great post ! :]
allertonoff2 2 years ago
I love the ending of this film. the siren getting louder and louder, so atmospheric and tense...
placeboxo 3 years ago 4
Notice how the credits depict everyone in relation to David except Rupert.
darrinthebold 3 years ago 3
Shades of Leopold and Loeb.
skylur44 3 years ago 3
i love the ending to this film, thank you for posting. Hitchcock is art.
zeppelinator18 3 years ago 7
Thanks for posting.
DinoAgent69 3 years ago
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I just realized how overly dramatic and pointless that firing the gun into the darkened Manhattan night is. The gun wasn't the murder weapon. All Jimmy Stewart's character had to do was go to the telephone and dial the police
jonwiley 3 years ago
Not in his mind, hes not exactly sane after hearing someone took his lectures to heart and murdered someone.
sorryman105 3 years ago 6
He also fired to empty the barrel just incase
SDSen 3 years ago 5
Thank you SO MUCH for posting this film. I'm a hitchcock junkie, and this film is hard to find.
syamsyam1234 3 years ago 6
Bullets have to land, you know!
msb0000 3 years ago
They lose their trajectory though, are not as dangerous as they were when fired.
sayward12 3 years ago