Figure 1 Rope (1948)
Rope (1948) Hannah Milliner
Rope was released in 1948 directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The film is set in a modern American apartment where Phillip and Brandon have murdered one of their classmates. The storyline then follows to them having guests over including theirs victims father and girlfriend. Phillip however becomes very agitated by the guilt in which as Haeffner mentions he tries to calm himself down by playing piano Phillip plays to calm himself but the dissonances keep creeping into the music, as Rupert gets closer to the truth. (Haeffner, 2005: 53) Throughout the film Hitchcock relies mostly upon the music within the set area whether it be a record playing or Phillip playing piano. When the music is playing it often echoes with the atmosphere of the current scene as Haeffner mentions the music becomes disorganised and less harmonious as Rupert continues to press him on his nervous behaviour. Rope was the first film that Hitchcock filmed in colour and used colour towards the end to help towards the atmosphere. The moment when their perfect murder is starting to unravel the neon sign by the side window starts showing in the room flashing between red, green and white light this could be a representative of the state of mind the three characters are in at that moment. White light for Rupert being the innocent of the three or This could be seen as Brandon deeming himself righteous to decide the fate of the inferior, Green for Phillip who is ridden with guilt and the red for the danger Rupert as Brandon had a small gun in his pocket or it could be a gesture of violence or a sign of death (fig.2). Being Hitchcocks first film in colour it also presented problems as Adair mentions getting natural feeling light to come through was tough. Rope was Hitchcocks first film in color, and that too presented special problems. As shooting progressed, Hitchcock viewed the footage and saw that during moments when the sun was supposed to be setting, the color was all wrong (Adair, 2002:88) Because the lighting was wrong in the footage and because of the little editing involved in making of the film many scenes had to be reshot. But because the filming was done in such a way where it was continuously running it meant that there would be little room for error.
Figure 2 Red light (1948)
Within the film Rope there are many pieces of art that can link to the theme of the film. As Lunde and Noverr point out it reinforces the themes of life and death In Such films as the much underrate Rope (1948). The paintings on the walls of the main set, a large urban apartment, reinforce the themes of life and death so central to the story. (Lunde and Noverr, s.d:97) Not only is there the paintings, there are also statues that can suggest primitive morale. The scene in which Janet points out a piece of art work (Fig.3) which Brandon mentions is by New young American Primitive she scoffs at the idea of the primitive artwork which creates a diversity between modern conventions which she and most of society uphold and the simpler, more primitive behaviour observed from Brandon, his primitive nature condones his unnecessary killing.
Figure 3. Primitive Art. (1948)
Bibliography Adair, G (2002) Alfred Hitchcock: filming our fears [Online] At: http://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=9xeWbQA6GDUC&oi=fnd&pg=PA5&dq=%22rope%2 2+%22Alfred+Hitchcock%22+1948&ots=WZx3-X4Cy5&sig=4a__yhwhSrDqakgBuHmSczEZjA#v=onepage&q=%22rope%22&f=false (Accessed on 14/1/14) Lunde, E and Noverr, D (s.d) Beyond the Stars: The material world in American popular film [Online] At: http://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=sSPILzc9rkcC&oi=fnd&pg=PA97&dq=%22rope%22+ %22Alfred+Hitchcock%22+1948&ots=Z6p9w0u0tK&sig=5yLiyDddF0sNdACrh7O15MDgQFU#v=onepa ge&q=%22rope%22%20%22Alfred%20Hitchcock%22%201948&f=false (Accessed on 14/1/14) Haeffner, N. (2005) Alfred Hitchcock [online] At: http://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=aSWH4GCbkDEC&oi=fnd&pg=PR6&dq=%22rope%2 2+%22Alfred+Hitchcock%22+1948&ots=KWBdg81f7B&sig=DwSKbl2sB9dgofe9fenXIEHvuOg#v=onep age&q=%22rope%22&f=false (accessed on 14/1/14)
Illustrations Figure.1 Rope (1948) From: Rope. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock [Film poster] USA: Warner Bros. At: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rope2.jpg (Accessed on 14/1/14) Figure.2 Red light (1948) From: Rope. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock [Film poster] USA: Warner Bros. At: http://www.jasonbovberg.com/hitchcock/hitchcock-conversations-rope-1948 (Accessed on 14/1/14) Figure.3 Primitive Art (1948) From: Rope. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock [Film poster] USA: Warner Bros. At: http://theartofilm.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/hitchcocks-rope-1948-apartment-evil-and.html (Accessed on 14/1/14)
