Figure 1 - Film Still - Rope (1948)
Alfred Hitchcocks' Rope is a film out of place in time, it wasn't received well at the time of release but now has made it into the category of Fine Art in film. It is masterful in the way it portrays suspense for the audience where the trick is to give them privileged knowledge which the characters are naive to."The audience must know that the body is always right there in the trunk." (Ebert, 1984) is something Roger Ebert mentions in a film review of Rope. It suddenly becomes an internal struggle for the audience to sit and watch, and especially with Rope we can only stare on and wait. It is not so much the suspense which is the big factor in this movie, it is more the length of time it progresses for, the chest containing the body is never too far from the camera, which is shot continuously in a tiny, claustrophobic flat in New York. It is important that the film played with no editing, and was shot as close to real-time as possible because even a single visible edit would be able to break the suspense, as it is we feel like another guest at the party, or a fly on the wall watching events unravel.
Figure 2 - Film Still - Rope (1948)
Hitchcock was a very intelligent man and excelled in the area of film, like in Rear Window (1954) he went on to show that suspense and time are very important. It is arguable that Hitchcock had planned this film around his own thought, Hutchinson remarks that "Hitchcock is torturing his audience, for sure, but he is also parading his own cleverness, and like Brandon, on some level he wants to be found out, too." (Hutchinson, 2012), the idea is supported that the characters of Rope namely John Dall as Brandon and Farley Granger as Philip are mirroring the idea of Hitchcock, and his desire for the audience to think more into the Director of the film and why he does it the way he does.
Figure 3 - Film Still - Rope (1948)
There is another aspect of the film which is more noticeable now in time, the aspect that the two characters are in fact Homosexual. "What makes this film so compelling and disturbing is the deliciously macabre dialogue that verges on almost sexual ecstasy when discussing the murder." (Adamscovell, 2012) remarks in a review that is something sexual in the dialog chosen by Hitchcock to be exchanged by the two men. There is a subliminally sinister element plagued with sexual symbolism involving the death of David (Dick Hogan). For example the lighting of a cigarette suggests intercourse has taken place, between the two murderers, Brandon is overcome with a loss of words to describe their actions as a result. The effect adds to the Melodrama, it could be suggested that it also speaks to the suspense and narrative, in its time it was not allowed for homosexuality to be aired in film. What this results in is the suggestion of it instead, possibly from fear of discovery, much like the body of David in the chest.
The film uses suspense, camera and the use of real time to create a film which not only keeps the audience on the edge of its seat, but in a state of struggle ranging from mere uneasiness to sheer panic, there is a feeling pulling in many different directions, from not wanting the box to be opened, to wanting someone to open the box, to wanting everyone to leave and also for the murderers to get found out subconsciously the film is very distressing.
Bibliography:
Ebert, R. (1984). Rope Movie Review & Film Summary (1948) | Roger Ebert. [online] Rogerebert.com. Available at: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/rope-1948 [Accessed 18 Jan. 2018].
Hutchinson, P. (2012). My favourite Hitchcock: Rope. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2012/jul/27/my-favourite-hitchcock-rope [Accessed 18 Jan. 2018].
Illustrations:
Figure 1 - Rope (1948) [Film] - Alfred Hitchcock: James Stewart - Transatlantic Pictures, Warner Brothers Burbank Studios
Figure 2 - Rope (1948) [Film] - Alfred Hitchcock: James Stewart - Transatlantic Pictures, Warner Brothers Burbank Studios
Figure 3 - Rope (1948) [Film] - Alfred Hitchcock: James Stewart - Transatlantic Pictures, Warner Brothers Burbank Studios
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