This blog entry is part of my “movie year countdown”. To read more about that check out my first Spout filmblog entry.
Rope
I was actually a bit surprised when I started watching this movie that it was in color. For some reason the images I'd always seen from it were in black and white, and the idea and theme of the movie sounded very dark and noirish. I also read later that this was actually Hitchcock's first color film.
Maybe I was disappointed because I already had this notion in my head of what this movie would feel like. Maybe it was acting conventions of the time that I'm not being forgiving of. But I just didn't have the thrill or interest that I thought would come along with the plot and convention (two people have killed a man and are trying to keep his body hidden during a party while the whole movie is to look as if it was done in real time in one take of the camera).
There was also a comment somewhere (maybe by the screenwriter) that James Stewart was just not right for his role. I think I agree with that. He's a great actor and is believable, but he does not portray the character in the way that would be most effective. He's just not hard and menacing enough. That's just not Jimmy.
It's not a bad movie, I just felt like there was more potential. Maybe it should have been done in black and white.
Rating: 7/10