Sorry, this item is not available in
Image not available for
Color:
Image not available

To view this video download Flash Player

 

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
Sell Us Your Item
For up to a $3.05 Gift Card
Trade in
More Buying Choices
PTC SNITZ Add to Cart
$11.99  & FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details
Hermosa Creek Films Add to Cart
$17.00  & FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details
Have one to sell? Sell yours here

Rope (1948)

James Stewart , Alfred Hitchcock  |  PG |  DVD
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (196 customer reviews)

List Price: $19.98
Price: $11.99 & FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details
You Save: $7.99 (40%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
Want it tomorrow, June 20? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details
Watch Instantly with Rent Buy
Rope   $2.99 $9.99

Other Formats & Versions

Amazon Price New from Used from
Blu-ray [Blu-ray] $16.99  
DVD 1-Disc Version $11.99  

Frequently Bought Together

Rope + Rear Window + Vertigo
Price for all three: $34.97

Buy the selected items together
  • Rear Window $9.99
  • Vertigo $12.99

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?


Product Details

  • Actors: James Stewart
  • Directors: Alfred Hitchcock
  • Format: Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Full Screen, Original recording remastered, Subtitled, NTSC
  • Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
  • Subtitles: English
  • Dubbed: French, Spanish
  • Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
  • Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
  • DVD Release Date: June 20, 2006
  • Run Time: 80 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (196 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B000ECX0O2
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #20,679 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
  • Learn more about "Rope" on IMDb

Special Features

  • "Rope Unleashed" featurette
  • Production notes
  • Production photographs
  • Trailer

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

An experimental film masquerading as a standard Hollywood thriller. The plot of Rope is simple and based on a successful stage play: two young men (John Dall and Farley Granger) commit murder, more or less as an intellectual exercise. They hide the body in their large apartment, then throw a dinner party. Will the body be discovered? Director Alfred Hitchcock, fascinated by the possibilities of the long-take style, decided to shoot this story as though it were happening in one long, uninterrupted shot. Since the camera can only hold one 10-minute reel at a time, Hitchcock had to be creative when it came time to change reels, disguising the switches as the camera passed behind someone's back or moved behind a lamp. In later years Hitchcock wrote off the approach as misguided, and Rope may not be one of Hitchcock's top movies, but it's still a nail-biter. They don't call him the Master of Suspense for nothing. James Stewart, as a suspicious professor, marks his first starring role for Hitchcock, a collaboration that would lead to the masterpieces Rear Window and Vertigo. --Robert Horton

Product Description

James Stewart, John Dall, Farley Granger. Two college students murder a classmate, hide the body in their apartment, then invite friends over-just to see if they can get away with it. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. 1948/color/81 min/NR/fullscreen.

Customer Reviews

The acting is very good. Crabigail Cassidy  |  44 reviewers made a similar statement
This obscure movie has always been one of my favorite Hitchcock films. calvinnme  |  30 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
135 of 140 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars An Overlooked Classic Finally Given Its Due May 23, 2001
Format:DVD
Alfred Hitchcock's Rope, the first film that the Master of Suspense filmed in Technicolor, has languished in largely undeserved mediocrty since its release in 1948. The film didn't do well theatrically in the US, and subsequent versions (VHS) were made from terrible-quality originals. Finally, Universal has seen fit to release on DVD a marvelously restored version of a truly fine film.

Rope, based on a play of the same name, which was in turn based on a real murder case in 1924, opens with two friends - played by John Dall and Farley Granger - strangling a classmate with a length of rope. The body is then stuffed in a trunk that the two use as a buffet table during an upcoming dinner party - a party partially in their murdered friend's honor.

As the movie progresses, the friends' professor - played exceedingly well by James Stewart in one of his best-acted roles - eventually begins to suspect the crime. As the two students engage him in a discussion about Nietzschian philosophy, and specifically philosophy of the ubermensch (overman or superman), Stewart's character puts two and two together. The tension is so tight you hold your breath for the last half-hour, wondering if Stewart knows, and if he does, what he's going to do about it - and, more importantly, if he's in danger, too.

Much has been made of the technical side of the film - Hitch wanted it as close to a stage play as possible, and the entire movie has only nine (well-hidden) breaks - as well as the homosexual overtones, but the real genius in Rope comes from the acting and direction. As opposed to today's "roller-coaster ride" action movies, Rope builds slowly, layering tension upon tension until the viewer just can't wait anymore to find out what happens....

In addition, Stewart's ultimate conclusions on Nietzschian philosophy offer a refreshing step away from those who would indict it solely on the basis of notions (and books) like the Will to Power - people who can see no further than the two murderers. Like Hitler and Dall and Granger's characters, some people cannot see past these passages, often taken out of context from the rest of Nietzsche's thought. Thankfully, Arthur Laurentis' screenplay ultimately deals with these ideas in a mature manner - and shows the horrifying effects of the hubris so many undergraduate-level students get when they don't bother to read and conside Nietzsche in context.

Universal's DVD is excellent - the picture and sound quality are top-notch, especially considering it's been more than 50 years since Rope was filmed. The full-frame presentation isn't a problem, since widescreen movies didn't exist at the time. The half-hour long featurette offers some interesting insights and interviews with a couple members of the cast and crew, and isn't your usual "so-and-so was great" pieces. Hume Cronyn offers some genuine - and well-founded - criticisms of both Hitch and the finished product. Also included is Rope's unique theatrical trailer, a kind of "mini-short" featuring the soon-to-be-murdered lad discussing a marriage proposal with his girlfriend in Central Park, in surprisingly decent quality considering the film's age.

If you are a fan of Alfred Hitchcock, or just like great acting and pianowire-tight tension, then you can't go wrong with Rope. Read more ›

Was this review helpful to you?
37 of 40 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars ROPED IN October 13, 2001
Format:DVD
Based on an actual murder case and directed by legendary director Alfred Hitchcock, Rope tells the story of two very close, well to do roommates Phillip and Brandon who strangle David, an old school chum, just for kicks. To further increase the exhilaration of their dastardly deed, the duo deem it delicious to desecrate the dead by placing his body into a chest and serving their dinner party guests a banquet on its decorated top. The guests of honor at this most perverse soirée include their former prep school professor Rupert Cadell (James Stewart), the murder victim's parents, his fiancé, and her former boyfriend. This tapestry provides tension for Phillip as he is nervous about being caught and questions abound as to David's whereabouts. Interestingly, Brandon feels smug even justified as he views the act of murder to be relegated to a select superior few.

Rope explores Nietzsche's concept of the "übermensch" or "superman" in which society's people are divided into two groups. Those who believe in the concepts of right and wrong and behave accordingly are deemed inferior beings and therefore unnecessary. While those who are enlightened enough to realize that one is free to act according to their own volition because there are no such primitive or external constraints on behavior are deemed superior. In this worldview, homicide is justifiable because the intellectually superior are actually bettering society by eliminating the inferior and their drain on its resources. The story comes to a head when Professor Cadell who taught Phillip and Brandon these nihilistic concepts begins to suspect that they practiced what he preached by killing David.

Rope was shot with eight; 10-minute reels to give the illusion of one seamless, continuous take....

Rope is Hitchcock's most underrated and unappreciated film. Which is a shame because I believe Rope poses some very provocative questions. Is there sanctity to human life? Are all human beings equal? Is murder ever justifiable? Is there right and wrong? Is moral absolutism an outmoded idea in which only the weak and dumb subscribe? Is a teacher responsible for his/her students' actions? Ultimately, the viewer must decide. Read more ›

Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
23 of 25 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
ROPE is a very experimental-and highly underrated-Hitchcock film. The film (based on the play ROPE'S END and, although loosely, the Leopold-Loeb murder) begins when two young men (John Dall and Farley Granger) murder a college student for fun and because he is a "lesser" man. As a celebration they throw a party inviting the victim's parents, his girlfriend, her ex-boyfriend who Dall would like to put her with, and their old college teacher (James Stewart). ROPE is a highly entertaining and suspenseful film. The experimental angle comes as the film was shot entirely in eight ten-minute takes, (or was that ten eight-minute takes?) giving the impression that it was all one shot. The casting is great, with Dall perfect as the psychotic murderer, Sir Cedric Hardwicke memorable as the victim's father, and Stewart...well, you can't say too many good things about him, though it takes him a while to appear. While not as good as some of Hitchcock's earlier (THE 39 STEPS, REBECCA) or later (VERTIGO, NORTH BY NORTHWEST) masterpieces, ROPE is very well made film, perfect for fans of Hitchcock, Stewart, or suspense films in general.

ROPE's final rating: 9 out of 10

Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars 3 1/2 stars for film inspired by Leopold and Loeb case January 3, 2004
Format:DVD
The first film that Hitchcock released through his Transatlantic Pictures company, Rope is an underappreciate minor classic. It's flawed to be sure but this unusual experiment was shot in long takes an unusual approach for Hitchcock. The story was inspired by the Leopold and Loeb murder case and their obsession with the superman theories of Nietzsche.

Philip (Farley Granger)and Brandon (John Dall)have committed the murder of an old classmate for the thrill of it. They invite over mutual friends, the father and mother of the victim and their old prep school master Rupert (Jimmy Stewart)who first introduced them to Nietzche's theories. They drape a table cloth over the trunk where the dead body rests.

Written by Arthur Laurents and Hume Cronyn from the play Rope's End by Patrick Hamilton, Rope allows Hitchcock to indulge in a number of unusual cinematic experiments. It was Hitchcock's first movie to be shot in color and the entire 80 minute film is shot on one set with the skyline gradually changing. If Hitchcock had gotten his ideal cast the film might have been quite different; originally Hitchcock wanted Carey Grant for the role Stewart player and Montgomery Clift as Brandon.

The transfer is good although there is some edge enhancement and some analog and compression artifacts (although they aren't a huge problem). The vivid 3 strip Technicolor process comes to life on this DVD. The colors are pretty close to the version I saw screened. I should note, though, that I originally saw Rope at the UCLA Theater Arts Archive in black and white (a color copy wasn't available) on a Movieola and it was a nitrate print so I'm comparing it to versions that were released much later than the original....

While Rope isn't a perfect Hitchcock excursion, it's an enjoyable and admirable one that features a number of interesting visuals, strong performances and an interesting thought provoking story. The extras on this edition are quite nice as well including a feaurette entitled Rope Unleased, production photos and notes. Sadly, no extensive outtakes exist for Rope and everything that was written was, for the most part, shot. Read more ›

Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful and Creepy
Not a movie for someone who doesn't like to be creeped out. The murder is not shown, but the actors make the psychopathic killers seem very real.
Published 5 days ago by Winona K. Whitaker
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Movie
We really enjoyed watching it. A weird movie to watch on an early saturday morning before you child wakes up, lol.
Published 14 days ago by G. L. Blanche
5.0 out of 5 stars Here is another good Jimmy Stewart movie
I have never seen this one so will look forward to another good mystery. The Jimmy Steward - Alfred Hitchcock movies are great suspense flicks with little violence or bad... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Marie Hodges
5.0 out of 5 stars Succinct brilliance meets experimental genius in this astonishing...
Filmed on a single set, we see how this one-of-a-kind mystery unfolds via Hitchcock's hallmark methods replete with unique and creative scene changes, astounding dialogue and a... Read more
Published 1 month ago by redbloodedxy
5.0 out of 5 stars Rope
Bought as gift, and the recipient says loved and had never seen before. Disc (movie and sound and color, etc.,) all okay and good performances by actors. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Cecy
5.0 out of 5 stars Hitchcock's neglected classic
This is near the top of my list of favorite Hitchcock movies. It is a taut and riveting psychological thriller, shot nearly in real time and just a few very long takes within an... Read more
Published 1 month ago by isomeme
5.0 out of 5 stars Hitchcock at his Best
I had never even heard of Rope until a few years ago when I met my now-wife. It's her favorite film. I was stunned at its brilliance when I finally saw it. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Scott C. Holstad
2.0 out of 5 stars I wanted to like it, but....
It's a curiosity, but not an entertaining one. I wanted to see it because I'd heard of the illusion of its being shot in one continuous take. Read more
Published 1 month ago by eclectic collectrix
4.0 out of 5 stars Not what I remembered
I thought it was better the first time I saw it. But the dialogue and one camera gimmick are pretty tiresome, to say nothing of the homoerotic tension between the stars, Farley... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Charles Maddock
5.0 out of 5 stars Rope, Hitchcocks first color movie.
This is the first movie done by Alfred Hitchcock that was done in color, following the infamous murderers Leonard and Leopold, great actors, great movie, completely done on a sound... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Ruth Verrett
Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought


Forums

There are no discussions about this product yet.
Be the first to discuss this product with the community.
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 



Look for Similar Items by Category