Niles and Frasier Kill Their Friend for Kicks

A psycho at work recommended this movie to me--he's a Competition Juggler with several State Championships under his belt, and his a really nice guy, but my only other conversation with him about movies was when he talked about "Full Metal Jacket," and how he "totally sympathized with that guy who kills himself in Boot Camp...totally under too much pressure from that Drill Sergeant....do you ever feel like you COULD JUST SNAP?!?!?!?" And this guy juggles machetes. And I'm his boss. And sometimes I think he feels pressured....AIYIYIYI.

Anyway, he said that the next movie I should see was "Rope," and since I've been a fan of Alfred Hitchcock's better-known stuff for years (North By Northwest, Psycho, Vertigo, Rear Window, The Birds...) I thought I'd give this one a look-see.

"Rope" is only 81 minutes long, but does a great job of spinning a spell-binding, macabre tale that seemed to have elements of my own life in it.

The key to this movie is a premise-- "Murder is a crime for most people, but is a privilege for the intellectually superior." This is the idea of James Stewart's character, Rupert, who is a teacher at a prep school. Two of his ex-students, Brandon and Phillip, decide to put that premise into practice, and kill a friend, David, just for kicks.

Brandon says, "we're the only ones smart enough to do this," and Phillip, even though he instantly regrets their murder of David, agrees. They remind me more than anything of Frasier and Niles Crane from "Frasier," considering themselves the intellectual elite of their community, shunning all others, but really missing the point in all "real" aspects of life. They consider themselves above traditional morals, and decide to take their adventure with David a step further.

They plan a dinner party, and invite David's girlfriend, a fourth buddy, and David's parents over for the occasion. They also invite Rupert, because Brandon figures their ex-teacher (the one who put this idea into them in the first place) would be The One Who Would Appreciate This.

Brandon goes so far as to put David's body in a large chest, and then serves the dinner and drinks ON THE CHEST. The risk of their being caught provides a unique kind of tension, and Hitchcock was a master at that. You want them to be caught, but you don't want them to be found out; you want justice, but you perversely want them to get away with it; you're feeling their guilt, but don't want David's father or girlfriend to be the ones to find their beloved one's body.

It's wonderful, and it's awful, and the first half is filled with Hitchcock's warped humor, including the throw-away line, "I could just STRANGLE you!" and a really odd story about chicken strangling.

This movie is often cited for its camerawork--I've heard that it was done in eight-minute segments, but I could only see three cuts in the whole movie, as the camera zoomed in on someone's back, or on a door. An amazing technical feat, and it adds to the building claustrophobia and tension...

This was also Hitchcock's first color movie, and its set entirely in one apartment in New York City. Outside the window is a remarkable miniature set of the city as a backdrop, which included 2000 incandescent bulbs and 200 tiny neon signs. Over the course of the movie, clouds go by, the sun sets, and lights come on.

The best part of this movie is James Stewart--I've liked him in everything I've seen with him, and even though his role is smaller in this, he's easily the center of the film. Great scenes include his Devil's Advocate debate with the others about the Morality of Murder and an awesome interrogation scene using a metronome--one of the only scenes with music in it. The only music in it is (I used to know the word for this) music the characters can also hear, so there's really no score--no "Psycho" "REE-REE-REE!!!" Again, instead of detracting from the mood, it contributes to the mounting tension.

I'd recommend this movie not only to Hitchcock fans, but also to fans of the newer, more violent genre of movie that is ripped off from Hitchcock's works. At under an hour-and-a-half, it's good for people with short attention spans (I made it through it), and it's just a very well made thriller.