A video study of Hitchcock's mastery in 'Rope'

Posted Tuesday, October 15, 2013 at 5:24 PM Central

by John Couture

I'm a huge Alfred Hitchcock fan and I never miss an opportunity to watch any of his films. Sure, there are some that I like more than others, but it would be nearly impossible for me to rank his films.

That being said, Rope has always been a film that I held in high regard mostly for Hitchcock's style than for the film itself. Shot in the mid-1940s, the 80 minute film appears to be one long continuous shot, which would be impossible given that at the time it was filmed, film reels could only hold about 10 minutes worth of film.

So, how did the Master of Suspense accomplish the illusion of continuity? Through a few camera tricks and using the human brain's need to continuity to work with him. There are actually 10 cuts in the film, five of which are traditional hard cuts while the rest are disguised by zooming into foreground objects.

Again, it's a nifty parlor trick, but one that was quite revolutionary at the time. He used each of the cuts to shift the camera and maintain a seemingly seamless take for the entire movie. Film editor Vashi Nedomansky created this nifty video showcasing all 10 cuts from Rope.

I guess I should offer a small spoiler alert, but if you haven't seen Rope yet, I think that the statute of limitations has passed after 65 years.

How Alfred Hitchcock hid 10 Edits in ROPE from Vashi Nedomansky on Vimeo.