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I avoided this film like the plague. I like Hitchcock and have enjoyed the mix of suspense, humour and guaranteed star performances over the years but reading about this one I always felt it would be too far from what I associated with being good about his films.
Finally saw it last week and loved it. It is quirky, beautifully shot and extremely funny in an understated way. John Forsythe was good in the starring role and Shirley McClaine stunning in her youth with a perfectly measured performance. Overall though I thought Edmund Gwenn stole the show. He was hilarious as the bumbling captain who just wanted to put an end to the debacle.
More depth than I ever credited him with. Good old Hitch.
Follow Ups:
to avoid!
Just saw it again for the second time in 20 years and what I didn't like about it then (staid, dull, flat and plenty of bad acting) stayed strong and
powerful.
“ The man that hath no music in himself, Nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds, Is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils; The motions of his spirit are dull as the night... Let no such man be trusted. Mark the music ” - William Shakespeare
I know it was probably the intent but it was sleazy and unconvincing. Where Rear Window's single room setting contributed greatly to the atmosphere it did nothing in rope except highlight the dodgy performances of the annoying perpetrators.
A lot has been written regarding Rope's long and uncut scenes. The scene breaks occur as the camera quickly fades out and then back in on a flat background such as an actor's coat. In the DVD version I saw, the pauses between scenes were exaggerated, with a black blurry background appearing for a second or two.
But in its original theater presentation the scene breaks would coincide with the change of reels, so a sharp projectionist might be able to do make the switch quickly and make the entire movie flow almost seamlessly as one long scene. I wonder if that was Hitch's vision for this film, and whether watching it flow as one marathon scene would change anyone's opinion of the cinematic experience.
When I saw it about 20 years ago at a lovely repertory theatre it had just recently been restored, and where the
cinematography was great and it was a fine print, I don't remember it "flowing" any better than the recent version I saw on TCM.
I think the emphasis put on that technique and Hithcock's determination to utilize it must have detracted from the overall quality
of the film (even Stewart was dull and stiff!), but maybe the impact of that shooting style did have a riveting effect on the original audience.
That effect seems to have worn off over the years.
“ The man that hath no music in himself, Nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds, Is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils; The motions of his spirit are dull as the night... Let no such man be trusted. Mark the music ” - William Shakespeare
I remember seeing it years ago, loving it and respecting the technical intent.
More depth than I ever credited him with---
Are you joking? You should read Truffaut´s book!
French cinema is the only way to go ... ;^)
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