Rope (1948)

I agree with Jimmy Stewart when he says he didn’t like this Hitchcock movie. It’s some sort of philosophical statement about social rights and mortality, but I found it pretty darn boring.

The novelty with this one is the long takes, consistently edited together with close-ups of bodies walking by the camera. The length of the takes is impressive but reveals some dialogue imperfections that would normally be cut out in a traditionally edited scene. The entire film is made of ten shots, the longest being about ten minutes, which it turns out was the maximum length of a single reel of film in those days. Presumably, had the technology been available, Hitchcock may have tried to shoot the whole thing in a single take.

Joan Chandler, the girlfriend, was cute. Why didn’t she have a career? These days, any actress who is attractive and not a horrible actress has a career.

Hitchcock may have been the Tarantino of his time, with his controversial subject matter, edgy dialogue, experimental camera techniques, and frequent cameos in a time when most films were formal and safe.