First, let me start by saying something that may turn some of you against me. Of all the directors that I make a point of following, and the screenwriters, and even the actors I respect, Alfred Hitchcock is one director that I am not particularly familiar with. Of course I've seen the majority of his major successes - Psycho, Rear Window, Vertigo, and North by Northwest being the few that I have seen. In an effort to become more acquainted with his work, I purchased the Alfred Hitchcock Masterpiece collection, recently released on DVD. It includes the aforementioned films (with the exception of North by Northwest, which is owned by Warner - this set was distributed by Universal). As the concept of Rope intrigues me very much, I opted to make it the first film of this set which I would review.

Rope is an incredibly simple story: The film begins with the strangulation of a young man, David Kesler (?), by his two acquaintances, Brandon and Phillip. It is revealed shortly after, that they believe their superior intellect justifies this "Perfect Murder". They treat it as a game, having the murdered David's Father and Aunt over for dinner that very same evening, as well as David's fiancé, Janice, and her ex-boyfriend Keith. The final guest is the one man Brandon believes may be able to appreciate the rather twisted situation, Rupert Cadell (played by the great James Stewart). This is the set-up. This is all I will reveal, as I am a big supporter of the "less you know, the more effective the movie watching experience" camp.

Consider, if you will, the amount of suspense inherent in a story about a number of people at a dinner party, while a recently murdered corpse has been stuffed in a chest in the middle of the room. If any of you reading this review can think of a story with more potential for suspense, I encourage you to write me, as I will script the film myself. I highly doubt there's a story or idea which could suggest the amount of suspense built into the core idea of this film. There is a shining example of this in the film, which I will get to in a minute, once I've discussed the style and execution of Rope.

Rope was Hitchcock's first color film, produced in 1948. It was adapted by Hume Cronyn, from Patrick Hamilton's stage play. Arthur Laurents was credited with the final screenplay, however. It may also be noted that the play itself was based on a true story. The script is solid, but not without a few slight problems. The reason the film works so well however, is not a benefit of the script, but more of the manner in which it was filmed. The scenes throughout Rope are no more than a series of roughly 8-minute takes, edited together to create the appearance of one continuous shot throughout the entire picture. There are, I believe, only three deliberately noticeable cuts throughout the entire film, which runs approximately eighty minutes. I am fairly certain this was the first film to attempt this style of filmmaking, however it was not the last, as in previous years, we've seen films such as Timecode, and Josh Becker's Running Time. It lends itself incredibly well to this particular film, as the real-time effect boosts the sense of urgency, as well as the level of suspense in the film. One particular positioning of camera, in this film, reveals the maid, cleaning of the top of the chest, with the intention of putting a number of books back in the chest, which had been removed prior to the beginning of the film. The sequence is incredibly suspenseful, perhaps one of the most suspenseful I have ever seen.

Everyone involved, from an acting standpoint, handle themselves quite well- The two friends responsible for the murder, John Dall as Brandon, the cockier of the two, and Farley Granger as Phillip, who loses composure as the film progresses, as he becomes more paranoid about being caught. The star however, is obviously James Stewart. His Rupert Cadell is perfectly restrained throughout the film, without losing an ounce of the charm you'd expect from him.

The only problem I have with the development of the story... There are a few instances in which information is revealed about our two murderer's pasts, which blatantly imply their guilt. It's not significantly detrimental to the film, but for a second, if only a brief one, you almost want to let out a groan at the lack of subtlety on display. Aside from this very small gripe, I believe Rope to be the most significant example of brilliant filmmaking in Hitchcock's large catalogue. Rope is a brilliant film in both concept, and execution. Probably not the best Alfred Hitchcock made, but a significant film, and enjoyable from start to finish.