The Huntsville Item, Huntsville, TX

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March 17, 2010

Film classes begin with ‘Rope’

By Matthew Jackson Staff Reporter

HUNTSVILLE — Just a reminder that next March 24 will mark the beginning of my five-week run teaching at the Wynne Home Arts Center this spring.

My class, “The Best Films You’ve Never Seen,” will kick off that night at 7 p.m. with a screening of the Alfred Hitchcock film “Rope,” an overlooked and underrated classic from the Master of Thrillers himself.

So, given that we’re closing in on the kickoff date, I thought I’d give you a little background into the flick.

“Rope,” made in 1948, marks Hitchcock’s first color film, and is notable for its constant use of long takes with a moving camera on a single soundstage. There are almost no edits in the film, giving it a feel almost like a stage-play, and demonstrating Hitchcock’s mastery of environmental control and cinematographic precision.

Based on the now-legendary exploits of Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb, two Chicago intellectuals who murdered a teenage boy in 1924 simply to prove they could, the film opens with two friends (John Dall and Farley Granger) murdering a schoolmate and then hosting a dinner party in their apartment while his body sits in a trunk in the living room. Among the guests are the victim’s parents, his girlfriend, their housekeeper, and a former teacher (Jimmy Stewart) who begins to suspect that something is up.

Apart from its uniqueness of filming, the flick is also taut, complex, darkly comic and shows Stewart in a role unlike no other he played in his extensive career.

That’s just a preview. I’ll be giving a lot more background and insight, including behind the scenes tidbits, some technical insights and lots of fun facts about Hitchcock himself, the night of the show. Remember, space is limited, so if you want to come out and watch a great movie (and hear me babble a bit, of course), call the Wynne Home at (936) 291-5424 and reserve yourself a spot. We’ll have popcorn and drinks too, and it’s all free!





 

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