Rope (Alfred Hitchcock, 1948)

It has been probably ten years since I last sat down and watched Hitchcock's "Rope" starring Jimmy Steward, Farley Granger and John Dall. This film is an interesting experiment. Other than the establishing shot for the opening titles, the entire film takes place inside of one apartment in what seems to be one continuous shot. The film occurs in near real time--the film characters live out just over 2 hours in this 80 minute film. The film begs numerous questions about human superiority, and the rights of those who own intelligence over those who may not be so inclined. Who decides who is intelligent and who is not; who is superior or inferior; who should live and who should die? Is this a realm for man to even step into? What happens when man decides to play with natural order? Brandon (John Dall) "The good Americans usually die young on the battlefield, don't they? Well, the Davids of this world merely occupy space, which is why he was the perfect victim for the perfect murder. Course he, uh, he was a Harvard undergraduate. That might make it justifiable homicide." Brandon see murder as an art: "I've always wished for more artistic talent. Well, murder can be an art, too. The power to kill can be just as satisfying as the power to create. " The dialogue in this film is sharp. Keep your ears peeled because so many one liners worthy of discussion fly past. This short film about an upper crust dinner party has plenty of twists and turns to keep things interesting in a way only Hitch could do.