ROPE (1948) Movie Reaction w/ Coby FIRST TIME WATCHING
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- Опубліковано 18 лют 2024
- "Nobody commits a murder just for the experiment of committing it... Nobody except us."
-Brandon
Rope movie reaction. Check out Coby's first time watching Rope reaction. The psychological crime thriller was directed by Alfred Hitchcock in 1948 and stars James Stewart, John Dall and Farley Granger.
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Movie reactions, first time watching Rope, Rope 1948, 2024 Rope film reaction, 2024 Rear Window movie reaction, reacting to Rope, Rope first time watching, reacting to Hitchcock Rope Film, Alfred Hitchcock movie reactions, James Stewart movie reactions
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Coby + Hitchcock -- Round 4 !
Did you notice the big majority of takes are between 8 and 10 minutes long while the camera weaves around the chsracters? Hitchcock wanted the camera to be like a rope encircling everyone.
Love seeing these reactions from Coby!
My fave Hitchcock movie is Lifeboat! 2nd and 3rd are Psycho and The Birds.
Please watch Witness for the Prosecution (mid 50s), it’s not Hitchcock but it is Agatha Christie! Subscribed!
If you could react to "Dial M for Murder", one of the best Hitchcock.
The more I see Rope, the more I think it’s a masterpiece
Agreed.
Based on the 1924 murder of young Bobby Franks by Leopold and Loeb.
As I recall, an unusual aspect was that the killers were a gay couple. Clandestine of course.
@@davis.fourohfour Probably the biggest parallel between this movie and the real-life case, aside from the murder of course
Can't tell you how much fun it is for an old Hitchcock lover like me to see younger people ( like you) discover the magic of "the master of suspense." You've watched most of his more famous films, but there are so many more. Good job!
Don't forget Shadow of a Doubt and Dial M. for murder!😁
Yeah it's a must-see!
You're fast becoming an Alfred Hitchcock fan, and also a Jimmy Stewart fan I presume. If you'd like to see Jimmy Stewart in a wonderful courtroom drama that's not a Hitchcock film, check out Anatomy of a Murder. 🙂
I love your reactions to Hitchcock. Two more crime stories would be “Strangers on a Train” and “Dial M for Murder”. One has Farley Granger and the other has Grace Kelly.
Very underrated movie. Brandon lacks the intellect to understand that Rupert is only discussing, life, death and morality, in purely philosophical terms.
just a psychopath excited to be given a justification for his evils
"Let's do another Hitchcock!" Love it, and I'm right there with you. "Psycho" "The Birds" "Shadow of a Doubt"
Very well done wasn't it? Harvey is another Stewart film you might like. Stewart said in an interview that it was one of his favorite parts. Good reaction. Keep digging.
In ‘Rear Window,’ Hitchcock had them build an incredibly elaborate indoor set, to create the appearance of gritty apartment buildings surrounding a small courtyard; In ‘Rope,’ the prep was almost as elaborate:
The camera tracks the characters from one room to another. That required the set to be constructed with walls that would slide SILENTLY out of the way for the cameras. 1940s tech was bulky and heavy, so the set crew had to wrangle cables for the moving camera in real time - all silently and in a way that the crew wouldn’t trip over one another.
Hitch wanted the film to feel as if the whole thing were ••ONE LONG SHOT••. Hence, the moves where the camera momentarily focuses on one of the actors’ backs (to change the film magazine in the camera). (In reality, there are also a few cuts during the story.)
A very good explanation. Making something that gives the experience of a play is actually a technical achievement.
In addition to this great movie, there is another great movie that tells the story of Leopold and Loeb -- it's the 1957 movie Compulsion with Orsen Welles, Dean Stockwell, and Bradford Dillman. It's almost like two movies in one. The second half of the movie is their murder trial, with Welles as their lawyer. You'd love it.
Great film! The three actors shared the Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival.
You're slightly off on the date -- *Compulsion*.was made in 1959.
Another great reaction by Coby. One of my favorites by Hitchcock is Strangers on a Train.
coming soon !
@@criminalcontent Good evening !. You can also watch "Saboteur" which came out in 1942. It's another Hitchcock movie. Don't mistake with "Sabotage" (1936). "Saboteur" looks like "North by Northwest". "Saboteur" is very underestimated in my opinion; even if "North by Northwest" is better.
Great reaction! This is in my top 5 Hitchcock films along with Frenzy, Rear Window, Psycho, and North By Northwest. I love the amount of tension created at times, like the near opening of the chest, not to mention his clever camera work.
The writer of the original play was Patrick Hamilton and he wrote another stunning movie Gaslight. The term gaslighting actually originates from this movie. It is another stunning old black&white movie from 1944 with a very young Ingrid Bergman which is even after 80 years still actual, captivating and very disturbing.
Thank you for all these wonderful Hitchcock reactions ! Hoping you have Rebecca and Notorious in your list
yes and yes !
Coby what a surprise! Rope is in my top 5 favorite Hitchcock's with Rear Window, and Psycho. Hitchcock on Caviitt said the first shot was 75 3:24 0 feet of tracking. Great reaction, but your best with me is forever Rear Window. I watched it twice.😉
Another Coby gem of a reaction.
Another great reaction! Thanks.
Good Hitchcock: "North by Northwest," "Psycho," "Marnie," "Rebecca," "Suspicion," "Lifeboat," and "The Lady Vanishes."
Hitchcock wanted to film this as if it was a stage production. Think he only used single camera.
Thank YOU!! for including Rope!
Rope is a play from 1929 by the British writer Patrick Hamilton. He also wrote the play Gaslight - which led to our use of the expression "gaslighting". Rope was inspired by the Leopold and Loeb murder in Chicago.
The entire movie is shot in long takes - 10 minutes, a whole reel each time.
Hitchcock had two favourite male actors - Cary Grant and James Stewart, with four movies each. And two favourite females - Ingrid Bergman and Grace Kelly - with three each.
My two fav Hitchcocks are Foreign Correspondent and Lifeboat. I would swoon with joy if you ever reacted to them! Awesome work so far!
duly noted !
Awesome! I was the one who mentioned this in the Rear Window comments. This is inspired by the real life events of the Leopold and Loeb case.
Philip character also was in Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train. Another murder tale. Also a really good Hitchcock classic.
The actor was, not the character. (Just to clarify.)
That was such a fun reaction to "Rope"! Love how invested she was, right from the first shot, I don't think I've ever seen her want to strangle a pair of characters as much as these two clucks! PS: Is she wearing a Beatles shirt? Man oh man, if she ever wants to react to one of the Beatles' movies like "A Hard Days Night" or "Yellow Submarine", those are great (and short!)....but you need a reactor who sort of already is a fan! Just putting it out there, I would never think to suggest them if it wasn't for the shirt.
"Rope" is a masterpiece! Loved your comments and reactions. Many people overlook the real relationship between the 2 hosts. Did you?
my second fav Hitchcock film, watching this with some devils lettuce is an experience
Other Hitchcock suggestions:
The 39 Steps
The Lady Vanishes
Rebecca
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)
The Birds
Frenzy
And Lifeboat and Foreign Correspondent
10:19 The movie with Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman, that Mrs. Atwater and Janet are trying to remember for Mr. Cadell - that was Notorious (1946), also an Alfred Hitchcock movie.
The skyline gradually changing from day, to evening, to night, is mesmerising. What a backdrop!
Oh wow, Thank u so much for reacting to this one, one of my favs!!! I will watch this tonight with a beer!!! :P
Love the fact that you're getting into Hitchcock's stuff. A lot of people miss out on his filmography because they think movies from that time are too old or dated, but really, a lot of his movies are more or less timeless and have enormous rewatch value. Might I recommend Dial M For Murder (another confined setting movie, but clearly better than Rope imo) and Rebecca (like a 40s The Shining, without the weird bits).
My favourite Hitchcock movie.
WOW a Rope reaction, what a time to be alive 🎉
My favorite aspect of this film was the fact they film it all in one takes , they did it all through for the length of one film canister , so the only edits are splicing of film rolls together essentially . if someone messed up the take they had to start from the beginning again on a new film reel.
I love your channel. Other ideas:
Rebecca, man who knew too much, strangers on a train, Notorious, wrong man, Treasure of Sierra
One of the amazing things about this masterpiece is how it was filmed, using long continuous shots which made the actors almost seem like they are performing in a play. Absolute magic ❤
One thing Hitchcock prided himself with in this movie is that he makes it one continuous scene from one camera. Each reel of film is 20 minutes long, and he would hide the transitions by panning the camera across a dark object in the foreground, such as the back of a man's suit. You don't notice it on first viewing, but are drawn to watch for it on subsequent viewings.
While she says it's like a play (it was based on one) she never really mentions cinematic aspects anyway and concentrates on plot, as seen with Vertigo already.
One thing to point out is that this film has only 10 cuts, so the takes were very long and it creates a different style.
This movie is so innovative. Made to look like in real time, a technique that many will immitate. To achive that Hitchcock did as less cut as possible cleverly concealed so the movie looks like one continuous take.
I like it when reactors pause the movie when they talk. It's better than talking over dialogue.
Hitchcock’s film Rope was based on a 1929 play written by Patrick Hamilton. Hamilton’s play was based on the real case known as Leopald and Loeb, two young men who were fascinated by Friedrich Nietzsche's concept of "supermen" (Übermenschen), interpreting them as transcendent individuals possessing extraordinary and unusual capabilities, whose superior intellect allowed them rise above the laws and rules that bound the unimportant, average people.
In the real life story Leopald and Loeb kidnapped a 14 year old boy, demanded a ransom but killed him anyway and hid the body. In a later film Compulsion (1959) the facts of the real life case are blended with fictional elaborations to outline the bare bone of the Leopald and Loeb case. In both Rope and Compulsion the young men are supposed to be in a gay relationship, as Leopald and Loeb were, but the Hays Code prevented this from being openly acknowledged and so it was merely implied.
That Rope used to keep those books together is evidence. Sicko Brandon gave that away to the father of his victim.
And removed it from the scene of the crime.
Another outstanding reaction! Love the Hitch trail. Maybe SHADOW OF A DOUBT next? Many have the opinion that there was a homosexual undertone between the two killers, but in those days it wasnt shown in film.
I've heard that the original play makes the quasi-erotic relationship between the two dudes AND Rupert much more explicit.
"Rupert just talks garbage for impact and effect." So true. His words are put into practice by their actions, but he never really believed what he was spouting.
An early form of Internet Troll. The smugness of an intellectual who doesn't realize (or pretends not to realize) what harm words can do by those who take them seriously. It's not only a recent internet phenomenon; been around a long, long time.
One of my favs
dont miss 'marnie' out , that my 4th fav hitchcock, really good, Sean Connery
"It's very much like watching a play." And that's intentional. There are no visible cuts in the entire proceeding (except to change film canisters-and then the camera zooms in on the back of a black sports coat each time) and it all takes place in 1 location.
hitchcock intended this film to run like a single shot take. which was impossible in 1948 because film reels come in 10 minute lengths. only 10 minutes can be filmed before its necassary to reload the camera. but he created the illusion quite successfully. it took digital film making before such a thing was realized. in 2002 a film called "the russian arc" was the first major film to succeed in shooting a 90 minute film in a single shot with absolutely no edits. its a very odd and interesting film. i recommend it highly.
my suggestions from the 1948 era of films are 1948's "the snake pit" with a tour-de-force performance by Olivia de Havilland, "white heat" (1949) starring jimmy cagney in his last gangster role, 2 films with bogart "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) and "the african queen" (1950) and "Bicycle Thieves" (1948) a post war Italian neorealist drama directed by Vittorio De Sica considered one of the best films ever made. thanks for the video.
i just realized i already watched and commented on this video. oh well.
This movie is under rated glad you watched it
A great film and reaction!
Yes! I lbe this movie! I am glad to see a younger generation enjoy these movies; Hitchcock was a genius, filming in one room and making the entire movie interesting; Hitchcock cameo in this also; you will never guess how!😁
And that actor had to stay in that box for the whole 12 days of shooting!!!!!
lol
Can't wait for more Hitchcock, this one doesn't quite make the top 10 for me, but still fascinating in its own way.
Hitchcock's experimental single shot filming technique used here recently used in movie 1917.
Leopold and Loeb.
Should check out Cary Grant in Arsenic & Old Lace from 1944.
"Harvey" with Jimmy Stewart: a much more friendly film.
"Arsenic and Old Lace" with Cary Grant: a dark comedy with some similar elements to this film, but with a funny angle.
It seems like a play at first viewing, but it's really very cinematic. They had to construct the set so those heavy cameras could move smoothly, with walls that would fly up into the rafters. The scene through the window isn't just a painting, it's a diorama that was lit to indicate the passage of time. The technical challenges of this movie really indicate where Hitchcock will go in future movies, using what he learned from this.
The background are actually models with an intricate light and moving cloud set-up. John Waters says it's the greatest set in film history!
Check out Compulsion. It was made
In the 50’s based upon the Leopold & Loeb murders.
In his later years, Hitchcock did some very honest interviews (always with his dry humor sprinkled in). He called Rope an experiment which failed. His idea was to shoot a film with long takes, limited cuts...which made it more like a stage production. Still not a bad film, but in his mind a failure. BTW, I found it interesting that when asked which was his favorite of his films he said..."Shadow of a Doubt" 1943...not his most popular, but his favorite.
You may want to watch "In Cold Blood" 1967 movie based on book written by Truman Capote about the murder of the Clutter family. True story.
If you are enjoying older movies like this one where the action takes place in one room, you absolutely must watch 12 Angry Men!
Great movie. Just the fact it's being filmed in one location is ingenious
As for Hitchcock & Stewart, check out The Man Who Knew Too Much.
Another one with Peter Lorre (Ugarte from Casablanca) in great German movie M.
I really like your selections to date.
My favorite Hitchcock film!
I hope you react to Frenzy, (1972). It's one of Hitchcock's last films and one of his best, IMO.
Because it's a '70's film it's a little more graphic and disturbing than his other films.
One scene has a famous directing technique that Martin Scorsese borrowed for Taxi Driver.
Yeah i remember i watched this movie like 15 years ago i loved it
Another 1950's Hitchcock film, that perhaps doesn't get the kudos it deserves, is The Man Who Knew Too Much. It also stars Jimmy Stewart, and has lots of suspense and excitement.
agreed
@@criminalcontent It sounds like you've already seen it.
Which was a remake of his own 1934 original film of the same name but with an altered plot and script.
Also famous for Que Sera Sera.
Checkout some of the cinematic opposites of Hitchcock’s oeuvre, Saboteur (1942) & The Man Who Knew Too Much (1966.)
Check out “Rebecca,” Hitchcock’s first American film. Also, the history of “Rope” is pretty complicated and a very bold choice for both Hitchcock and Stewart. Especially in the days of the Hayes Code. Also adding to the suggestion of “Lifeboat.”
Whoops! Checking out your other videos & you’ve already seen Rebecca! 😂
Stewart is slim because he's about 39 when this was made. When he starred in Vertigo 10 years later he was heading into middle age.
I don't know if anyone has mentioned this yet but in the 1 hour 20 minute run time of Rope there are only 10 or 11 edits. And that was mainly because a reel of film only lasted around 10 minutes or so.
Hitchcock really likes to play with suspense in this movie. He doubles the suspense by having you feel it not only for the protagonist but especially forr the antagonist. Hitchcock delighted in putting the audience on the side of the villain. He also enjoyed having ordinary people having casual conversations about murder and crime.
The tension was so high I was at the end of my rope.
One of my top 10 films..
This movie is great
Very slept on.
The series Psychoville has an amazing episode that plays homage to this movie.
It's episode 4.
The story of "Rope" was inspired by the Leopold/Loeb "thrill kill" murder trial that shocked the U.S. in the 1920's. The playwright Arthur Laurentz, who wrote the original story for "Rope", originally wanted the murder victim to be hidden in the chest during the entire film and not seen being killed by the rope. It would have been more intriguing for the audience and the characters in the movie to have to just guess what was in the chest and have everything be implied. Hitchcock decided it was more of a shock to the audience to actually see the murder in the first act and have the other characters just be unaware of anything suspicious around the room. Great reaction to another Hitchcock classic! I hope to see a future reaction to "The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956 version)" with James Stewart and also "Strangers On A Train" and "To Catch A Thief" as well.
It's been said, Hitchcock said of his 2 versions of The Man Who Knew Too Much 1934 was done by the work of a talented amateur and the 1956 version was done by a professional.
This is my favorite Hitchcock movie. Shot in several ten minute takes to give the impression that it was all one shot.
Thanks. New to your channel. Love these Hitchcock films. Hope you watch The Birds. Tippi Hendren is great. Fyi Tippi Hendren is Melanie Griffiths mother & Dakota Johnson’s grandmother.
She is also fantastic in another Hitchcock film, Marnie. She co stars with Sean Connery the original James Bond. Im sure you will like it.
Enjoy your reactions and comments 👍
Asked about this in the chat today & her reaction to The Birds is coming out on Thursday. Really looking forward to it...
@@PlanetTerror406 Thank you
Sorry! More:
The Philadelphia Story, Stalag 13, On the Waterfront, Adam's Rib, Match Point, Manhattan, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Searchers, The Boys in Company C, The Big Chill, Diner, 1 Hour Photo, Black Orpheus, Kind Hearts and Coronets, A Fish Called Wanda, To Catch A Thief, The Third Man, Charade, Rebel Without a Cause, 5 Easy Pieces, Harold and Maude.
Well that's a few
Brandon might be the inspiration for Patrick Bateman
you should watch "darrow (1991)" which deals with the real-life defence of these two characters from the death penalty by clarence darrow.
Looking forward to THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY
Hitchcock films: Notorious, Rebecca, Shadow Of A Doubt, and The 39 Steps.
This movie reminds me of the crime of the century of way back when involving Leopold and loeb. Two young men, highly intelligent, looking to commit the perfect crime just for kicks. But, they got caught, rather quickly.
You would probably like 12 angry men, starring Henry Fonda.
This is another great reaction, Coby, but you kind of stunned me at one point, after Rupert (Jimmy Stewart's character) refers to spry old Mrs. Wilson as "my love."
Your mind was clearly blown. Your very words: "Is she not a LOT older than him?! Like a LOT???"
(As if Mrs. Wilson isn't completely adorable, but that's beside the point.)
What constitutes "a lot," Coby-wan Kenobi? The answer to your question depends on your cultural assumptions, does it not? It depends on what we in the audience have grown accustomed to.
Since Hollywood's earliest days, it's been fairly standard to pair young women with much older men. Outside of HAROLD & MAUDE (please consider giving this charming cult classic a watch), it's positively verboten in Tinsel Town to pair older women with younger men (unless that's the point, a la sleazy, "My Tutor" kinda stuff).
Let's consider some of Jimmy Stewart's big-screen love interests in some of his most iconic roles (including some I know you're familiar with)... one actress at a time:
- "Mrs. Wilson" in ROPE (not a for-real love interest, more of a running gag): Edith Evanson, 12 years older than JS.
- "Judy Barton" in VERTIGO (for whom "Scotty" is totally hot/obsessed): Kim Novak, 25 years younger than JS.
- "Lisa Fremont" in REAR WINDOW (the lover "Jeff" simply can't walk away from, pun intended): Grace Kelly, 21 years younger than JS.
- "Hallie Stoddard" in THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE (the woman JS's character married): Vera Miles, 21 years younger than JS.
- "Mary Hatch Bailey" in IT'S A WONDERFUL WIFE (j/k), arguably the film JS is best known for: Donna Reed, 13 years younger than JS.
Breaking it down, the actresses playing Jimmy Stewart's love interests in four of his best-known films were TWENTY YEARS younger than Stewart, on average (hell, two of them are still alive, and Stewart's been dead since 1997, RIP).
So, there it is: The actress playing "Mrs. Wilson" in ROPE, Edith Evanson (my great-grandmother on my grandfather's side*) was just 12 years older than Jimmy Stewart... and you found it shocking.
But I submit to you that if the situation were reversed (and it were depicted as a genuine romance), it wouldn't raise a single eyebrow, because that's what we've grown accustomed to.
* Yes, that part was a fib/joke, but it made my diatribe so much more interesting and "legit," right? Plus, at my age, if I type too long without making stuff up I get bored.
From a technical viewpoint, this movie is simply amazing.
The camera dolly is too big to fit through a normal doorway. And the camera itself only held about 10 minutes of film, yet the entire movie is like a couple long takes.
Another good movie
Leave Her to Heaven, (1945)
“Rope” has undergone an amazing upgrade since it first came out, going from everyone - including Hitchcock - seeing it as an interesting failure, to a whole generation of movie lovers under 30 now loving it.
Don’t miss Matt Baume’s UA-cam essay: The Secret Gay Love Affair Behind Alfred Hitchcock’s Rope. One of the best YT movie backgrounders ever.
And for Hitchcock’s most entertaining movie from his British years, don’t miss “The Lady Vanishes,” and his own favorite of his American movies, “Shadow of a Doubt.” “Shadow” explored a lot of the themes that come up later in “Rope.”
For peak Jimmy Stewart --> “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” and “The Philadelphia Story,” and “The Shop Around the Corner.”
Younger and even skinnier; every Hollywood actress fell for him & he reciprocated.
The 39 Steps is often thought his most entertaining early film
There is something about this movie that appears to have gone completely over your head. This story was based upon a REAL murder case. In fact, the same story served as the basis of ANOTHER excellent motion picture, "Compulsion", produced in 1959. That film, which adhered much more closely to the facts of the real murder case upon which "Rope" was loosely based, featured Bradford Dillman and Dean Stockwell as the two young "thrill-killers" and Orson Wells as their defense attorney. In the real murder case the two murderers were defended by the eminent attorney Clarance Darrow, who also represented the defendant in the famous "Scopes Monkey Trial". That court case also became the subject of a well-known play and at least two motion pictures under the title "Inherit the Wind".
A big influence on Colombo
A really old Hitchcock movie you might like is Sabotage
Great film.
Marnie is the next one hithcock you should try
"Rope" is another one of Hitchcock's experiments, but that doesn't detract from its greatness. It's an incredibly well-made psychological thriller. The acting, by a fantastic cast, is absolutely superb. As I said, a great film. That said, it's not one of my favorite Hitchcock films. It's a little too dark for my tastes. Having David's father essentially eat off his son's casket is pretty disturbing.
The film is based on a play about the infamous Loeb-Leopold murder case. Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb, students at the University of Chicago, kidnapped and murdered 14-year-old Bobby Franks, who was Loeb's second cousin. Both Leopold and Loeb were extremely intelligent young men. Like the Brandon and Philip in the film, they subscribed to the rather aristocratic Nietzschean philosophy of the Übermensch or superior man. Nazism, anarchism, eugenics, nihilism etc. have bases in this philosophical construct which was an attack on what Nietzche probably would have termed bourgeois morality. Unfortunately, you still see aspects of Nietzsche's ideas present amongst today's elites. Leopold and Loeb are commonly believed to have been in a homosexual relationship at the time. Nietzsche's philosophy and homosexuality are obviously elements in Hitchcock's film. Brandon and Philip are certainly a gay couple, and the suggestion is that Rupert is also homosexual. After killing David, Brandon even smokes a cigarette, which is suggestive of the sex act.
The film's most experimental aspect is that it simulates one-continuous-take. Of course, there were a few disguised edits because the film in the camera had to be changed. This one-take aspect of the film creates the illusion that the film occurs in real time. The lack of music also contributes to the film's atmosphere of deadly realism. Also, the actors really had to know their lines and blocking, and there was a lot of dialogue. I don't think most film actors today could do roles like these.
Hitchcock certainly wasn't promoting Nietzsche in "Rope," far from it. The film is really an indictment of Nietzsche and a reaction to WW II. Brandon, who styles himself as intellectually superior, categories David, the victim, as an inferior, someone who merely occupies space. Not even human, really. This despite the fact that David was apparently a good student. For Brandon, murder is a privilege of the superior man. Good and evil, right and wrong are inventions for the inferior man because he needs them. The superior man is a substitute for God in this system. Brandon even equates killing (uncreation) with creation. In the film, Harry Kentley, David's father, identifies Brandon's worldview as being in agreement with Nietzsche and his theory of the Übermensch. Brandon agrees, and Kentley observes: "So did Hitler." Of course, this all begs the question of who decides who is superior and who is inferior? Nietzscheanism fundamentally undermines human dignity.
Although Rupert eventually disavows his Nietzscheanism, he can't evade his culpability for the murder. He was still a party to it.
Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil!
I think this movie was off the screen for 40 years. It is a very creepy story.
OK, so the only thing you really didn't talk about was HOW the movie was filmed; a complete and total anomaly from the master, in continuous takes. THIS FROM WIKEPEDIA...
"The film is one of Hitchcock's most experimental and "one of the most interesting experiments ever attempted by a major director working with big box-office names", abandoning many standard film techniques to allow for long unbroken scenes. Each shot ran continuously for up to ten minutes (the camera's film capacity) without interruption. It was shot on a single set, aside from the opening establishing shot street scene under the credits. Camera moves were carefully planned and there was almost no editing, because when each 10 minute segment ended, the camera would dolly forward toward a solid object in extreme closeup, thus ending that sequence, whereas the next would begin the same way, and then dolly backwards away from the object, thus beginning the next sequence, and giving the illusion of seamless action. I believe Hitch only separates one sequence in the entire movie with a cutaway. Two if you count the cutaway from the opening credits and the outside view of the apartment.
Additionally, the walls of the set were on rollers and could silently be moved out of the way to make way for the camera and then replaced when they were to come back into the shot. Prop men constantly had to move the furniture and other props out of the way of the large Technicolor camera, and then ensure they were replaced in the correct location. A team of soundmen and camera operators kept the camera and microphones in constant motion, as the actors kept to a carefully choreographed set of cues.
This filming technique, which conveys the impression of continuous action, also serves to lengthen the duration of the action in the mind of the viewer. In a 2002 article in Scientific American, Antonio Damasio argues that the time frame covered by the movie, which lasts 80 minutes and is supposed to be in "real time", is actually longer-a little more than 100 minutes. This, he states, is accomplished by speeding up the action: the formal dinner lasts only 20 minutes, the sun sets too quickly and so on.
Actor James Stewart found the whole process highly exasperating, saying: "The really important thing being rehearsed here is the camera, not the actors!" Much later, Stewart said of the film: "It was worth trying - nobody but Hitch would have tried it. But it really didn't work.""
Although, I don't agree with Stewart. The technique of the moving camera in long unbroken takes like that, has a lulling effect, and draws in the viewer, and hence, gives this presentation more power and suspense than it otherwise would've had. Nevertheless, a totally underrated gem.
My next Hitchcock suggestion for you: "Strangers On A Train", also starring Farley Granger.
one of my favorite hitchcock films. but i have quite a few. the story is based upon the infamous "Leopold and Loeb" case in the 1920s. its based upon the insane fascist notion that superior peoples have a right, A DUTY, to exterminate inferior ones. thanks for the video