- Actors: James Stewart, John Dall, Farley Granger, Dick Hogan, Edith Evanson
- Directors: Alfred Hitchcock
- Writers: Arthur Laurents, Ben Hecht, Hume Cronyn, Patrick Hamilton
- Producers: Alfred Hitchcock, Sidney Bernstein
- Format: PAL
- Language English
- Subtitles: German, English, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish
- Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
- Aspect Ratio: 4:3 - 1.33:1
- Number of discs: 1
- Classification: PG
- Studio: Universal
- DVD Release Date: 17 Oct 2005
- Run Time: 80 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
- ASIN: B00005EAX9
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 31,608 in Film & TV (See Top 100 in Film & TV)
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Reviews
Amazon.co.uk Review
An experimental film masquerading as a standard Hollywood thriller. The plot of Rope is simple and based on a successful stage play: two young men (John Dall and Farley Granger) commit murder, more or less as an intellectual exercise. They hide the body in their large apartment, then throw a dinner party. Will the body be discovered? Director Alfred Hitchcock, fascinated by the possibilities of the long-take style, decided to shoot this story as though it were happening in one long, uninterrupted shot. Since the camera can only hold one 10-minute reel at a time, Hitchcock had to be creative when it came time to change reels, disguising the switches as the camera passed behind someone's back or moved behind a lamp. In later years Hitchcock wrote off the approach as misguided, and Rope may not be one of Hitchcock's top movies, but it's still a nail-biter. They don't call him the Master of Suspense for nothing. James Stewart, as a suspicious professor, marks his first starring role for Hitchcock, a collaboration that would lead to the masterpieces Rear Window and Vertigo. --Robert Horton, Amazon.com
Special Features
English
Region 2
Region 2
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Rope is a superb piece of cinema and a classic Hitchhock Thriller in the same vain as Rear Window. It's one of my favourite Hitchcock films, and one that I feel is sadly missed and often underrated. Based on a stage play of the same name, Rope is inspired by the infamous Loeb & Leopold murder case in 1920s Chicago.
In Rope two rich-kid roommates living in a large apartment in New York murder one of their friends (don't worry this is not a spoiler; it is the opening scene of the film). They then invite the boys parents, girlfriend and one of their teachers for dinner party with the dead body hidden in the room. What follows is a taut thriller and a deadly game of cat and mouse as the kids try to get away with the "perfect crime".
Rope is a triumph; the whole film is set in one space and Hitchcock uses clever camera techniques to give the impression that it is almost one long camera shot from start to finish. The superb acting by James Stewart (Rear Window), Farley Granger (Strangers on a Train) and John Dall bring the story to life and make this an unmissable thriller. Despite rave reviews (it scores 8/10 on IMDB), this is an often overlooked Hitchcock gem.
The DVD version is fairly light on extras and features. The version I have includes the film, with English and foreign language subtitles, plus a short "Making of" programme, a small art gallery and a compilation of original trailers.
Rope is an essential watch and should be in any film buff's collection; regardless of whether you're a big fan of Hitchcock. For £6 you can't go wrong with this DVD.
In Rope two rich-kid roommates living in a large apartment in New York murder one of their friends (don't worry this is not a spoiler; it is the opening scene of the film). They then invite the boys parents, girlfriend and one of their teachers for dinner party with the dead body hidden in the room. What follows is a taut thriller and a deadly game of cat and mouse as the kids try to get away with the "perfect crime".
Rope is a triumph; the whole film is set in one space and Hitchcock uses clever camera techniques to give the impression that it is almost one long camera shot from start to finish. The superb acting by James Stewart (Rear Window), Farley Granger (Strangers on a Train) and John Dall bring the story to life and make this an unmissable thriller. Despite rave reviews (it scores 8/10 on IMDB), this is an often overlooked Hitchcock gem.
The DVD version is fairly light on extras and features. The version I have includes the film, with English and foreign language subtitles, plus a short "Making of" programme, a small art gallery and a compilation of original trailers.
Rope is an essential watch and should be in any film buff's collection; regardless of whether you're a big fan of Hitchcock. For £6 you can't go wrong with this DVD.
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I have a feeling that this Hitchcock is an underated movie. Harly anyone seems to know of it when I mention it but I haven't stopped talking about its brilliance all week! It is an amazing film, filmed in one room, based on a play (which is very obvious because the actors perform in a specific way that would only be linked to a play i.e. standing so that they are all facing the front with no backs facing the audience) which is of course based on the Leopold-Loeb case of 1920's America. James Stewart is as usual comical and quick- thinking, with John Dall and Farley Granger as the two murderous men, who decide to commit the perfect crime by murdering their friend and putting him inside a chest in their front room, then inviting all his friends and family round for tea. Things are going fine but then James Stewart begins to get suspicious... One word - Classic!
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Two over-privileged young men commit the perfect murder. Their victim's body is hidden in a large trunk. They invite friends round for a small dinner party, amongst them their old tutor, Jimmy Stewart, the man who once claimed that some people have the right to commit murder ... the man who is most likely to expose their crime. They aim to subject themselves to his inquisitorial intrusion ... just to add a bit of spice to the murder. All this we learn, all this we are given. The tension in the film, the drama, lies in whether or not they will be caught ... and, if so, how?
"Rope" is wonderfully transparent in the way the drama is structured ... you can see the clues being put neatly into place, like a master builder placing brick upon brick. There is a famous Chekhov adage that if, in a play, the audience can see a rifle on the wall in Act One, it will have to be used in Act Two. In "Rope", a whole arsenal of weapons is hanging on the wall. You know why they're there, you don't know when they'll make their entrance into the plot.
Hitchcock films this story in what almost appears to be one long, long take ... as if he's just recorded a live stage production. The lack of cinematic sophistication only adds to the tension. It creates a sense of claustrophobia. The actors seem to be left to speak for themselves without the aid of rapid cutting or dramatic close ups. Words and action have to sustain the plot.
The camera work is simple - it follows the action. There is a magnificent scene where the surly maid clears away the dinner dishes. The camera follows her movements, almost intrusively, as she walks on and off the set, slowly removing the dishes. Tension mounts. Surely, she must discover the body next time?
Watch the background. The action takes place in a studio flat with a huge picture window at the back. As the drama unfolds, night slowly falls over the New York cityscape. Ominous clouds take on a Daliesque prominence, hugging the skyscraper silhouettes. It gives a real sense of time passing ... and impending doom.
And James Stewart plays a wonderfully understated role. He uncovers not a murder, but his own sense of guilt at suggesting that someone might have the right to kill. The melodrama is swept away. Suddenly we have a fragile human being caught up in his own intellectual trap. Thrown centre stage, Stewart's portrayal is superb.
A magnificent, and highly unusual movie.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
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'You just, astound me. As always.' 'That's even better.'
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