Rope...

Whilst watching Rope, by Alfred Hitchcock today, i took down some notes of interesting things that i noticed during the film. I've also borrowed the film off Phil and will hopefully watch it for a second time tonight, as i'm using the film as a comparison to Transformers in my essay. Here were some interesting things i noticed whilst analysing/watching the film:

- No editing, using a staged set, with props that were well positioned. Particularly the chair at the end which was where Rupert sat with the gun. Alfred Hitchcock was truely a master of preparation and filmamking.

- The editor was William H. Ziegler, i'll be interested to see if i can find any information or quotes from this guy about the film.

- The film was deemed a failed experiment. However, to me it works as a masterclass of work, to be added to the list of Hitchcock films.

- His timing is impecable, one part that particularly caught my eye was when Rupert began to suspect something and the song in the piano instantly changed to a more tense composition.

- His camerawork, in terms of positioning and angles is truely inspirational. Having the camera set up so we just see the characters shoulder and right through to the hallway, with dialogue going on over the top, was pure Hitchcock and it reminds me why he has become one of the, if not the, greates directors of all time.

- The metronome was an amazing part of the film, almost ticking down like a clock or a bomb, to Rupert questioning Philip. When the questioning got more intense, Rupert increased the speed of the metronome which added to the intensity of the scene.

- The dialogue and sound were particularly interesting, overlapping as normal conversations would, unlike more modern films where people say one line at a time.

- My expectations after hearin about this film were that it would be a bit of a disaster, and i would struggle to sit there and watch the film. However, i absolutely loved the film, everything about it was magical and if i'm honest i didn't really notice that there wasn't any cuts. At times my eyes did feel a little srained though.

- The light from the sign at the end works really well. This is at the point where Rupert comes back to get what he had 'forgotten' and the flashing lights make the scene so dramatic and intense. This is another example of Hitchcock's impecable timing.

- One scene that did interestme was the scene where Rupert was describing how he would kill David. Usually we would have a montage scene, cutting between the objects and the character's faces. Instead, Hitchcock makes this scene work by panning around the room and zooming into the object, and for me, this didn't feel any different to how an edited version would look.

Overall, i really enjoyed this film and i'm looking forward to watching more of Hitchcock's work because the only other scene i've seen from a Hitchcock film is the beginning of Rear Window, with that amazing camerawork.