Scholarly Introduction: Rope

My project will be focusing on the film Rope. I will attempt to reveal how the film responds as well as reflects the cultural ideologies of the time period. This will be achieved by first providing some background information as to what was going on at the time of the films release followed by relating specific supporting examples from the film to those cultural happenings.

During the release of the film, many people in American society retained anxieties regarding others and felt that no one could really be trusted be it a friend, colleague, or even a student. The film responds to this by demonstrating that two seemingly normal, successful men are capable of murder. During that time, any deviation from the cultural norm was considered to be reason for suspicion and the masses felt these individuals were more likely to commit treasonous or unlawful activities. This is reflected in the film Rope by Brandon and Phillip's homosexual relationship, which makes them social-deviants.

During the same time, a Senator named John McCarthy was promoting the idea of confessions during the post-war era. People during the time were forced to undergo through background checks and interviews which discussed their personal and past habits for any type of government position. This lead to the rise of people confessing their crimes and it seems many people were willing to incriminate themselves, betray their neighbors and willing to divulge their pasts. This can be witnessed in Phillip when he seems to constantly want to confess.

I also want to discuss the ideas of superiority and inferiority which are very prevalent in the film. Brandon and Rupert seemed to believe in these ideas and they also had a more pronounced effect on people in society during that time.

Class struggle is also displayed in this film and it can be related to the post-war era as well.  

week 5 North by Northwest post

In North by Northwest, the character Roger Thornhill is mistaken for a Mr. Kaplan when he is having lunch with his friends (4:00-5:00) and because of this incident the entire movie is based on this incident. Thornhill was merely trying to send a wire when another waiter was calling out a table for a Mr. Kaplan, in which Thornhill raised his hand to ask where to send a wire, but because the two actions were simultaneous the men assumed since Thornhill raised his hand they assumed he was Kaplan and then so they took him because of this one action (4:00-8:00). This scene was important to me because it laid the foundation for the plot, because of the mistaken identity and Thornhill going along with being called Mr. Kaplan, it led to him being accused and being hunted by authorities for the murder of Townsend, but again the role of misinterpretation is once seen because Thornhill is looking for Townsend after he met the man who (he Thornhill thought was Townsend) because prior to that he was brought to Townsend's home, but the man who had him kidnapped was not the real Townsend (9:25-12:00), he also was impersonating someone else but because Thornhill went looking for the fake Townsend he managed to get the real Townsend dead (35:00-39:00). After the real Townsend was murdered, Thornhill took the knife out of him and when everyone turned around they assumed he killed Thornhill when it was one of the men who kidnapped him in the beginning did sparking the manhunt of Roger Thornhill. I really enjoyed the scenes because they made up the plot and added to the conclusion where Thornhill triumphs and gets the leading lady while evading the people after him, he also proves his innocence.There were suspenseful scenes in the film when we don't know if they will catch Thornhill or if he was going to fall down Mt. Rushmore in the final scenes of the movie as well as the music added to the suspense because whenever someone is about to do something or die there is this suspenseful music which gets the audience up on their feet and guessing what will happen next. I thought it was also typical Hollywood thriller because Roger triumphs and gets the girl at the end and most Hollywood films the leading man ends up with the lady, almost like the James Bond 007 character in those action thriller type movies. Hitchcock definitely influenced movies in today's era or atleast 20th century movies. It was also interesting how Hitchcock uses and repeats previously scene motifs in his movies because there is relation between the height to where the characters were standing at Mt. Rushmore and to Vertigo in the church tower, also there was repeated motifs of knives as weapons to kill, especially people who are passing on information like Annabella in The 39 Steps and to the real Townsend in North by Northwest.    

Week 5: North by Northwest

North by Northwest by Alfred Hitchcock was one of the first Hitchcock films that really had my glued to the screen. The fact that Thornhill is on the run throughout the film added lots of suspense to the film and kept the audience waiting to see what happened to him. I also loved the fact that the movie left the audience “hanging”. 

In the earlier part of the movie as Thornhill met Vandamm at Townsends house where they are seen in a dark room. (Timestamp: 9:25) Vandamm and Thornhill are seen in a dimly lit, dark room and as the curtain raises, Contrast is used by Hitchcock to show that there is something wrong with Vandamm and he had something to hide. Thornhill’s face is lit brightly in this scene as Vandamm’s face is left in the dark, almost suggesting that Thornhill was innocent and Vandamm was evil.

At (timestamp: 64:03) Thornhill is seen leaving the bus when the camera uses an Extreme Long Shot to depict Thornhill as a small object and used deep space to show the vast landscape he had been thrown into. These techniques add suspense to the film because you see the hero and innocent man of the movie, running for his life and he seems to be thrown into a very precarious situation. 

At (timestamp: 69:02) the crop-duster plane begins to shoot bullets at Thornhill and he is forced to hide in the fields. An extremely close-up is used as Thornhill ducks among the plants and hides from the plane shooting at him. The camera focuses on his face adding suspense to the scene because his facial expressions displayed anxiety and extreme fear as the plane is trying to kill him. The audience can really relate to the characters survival instincts as he tries to hide in the thick of the fields and I found myself really rooting for him to survive and persevere.

Overall I found this movie to be extremely entertaining. This movie probably had my favorite acting and cinematography, and I think this was due to the modern aspects of the movies. I was able to relate to the content in this movie a bit more, somewhat seemed to me like a 007 spy flick type of movie.

Week 5: North by Northwest

After re-watching North by Northwest, I noticed the large crowds in the first 2 to 3 minutes of the film. I think the large crowds provide the "mob mentality" in the film, which adds to the motif of crowds in Hitchcock films. Hitchcock uses the "mob mentality" to add to his common theme of framing innocent men for crimes they did not commit. Although we do not know anything about this in the first moments of the movie, it makes more sense watching it again to see the recurring themes and motifs in Hitchcock's films.

Another scene that I found to be interesting was when the men were pouring Thornhill a drink (time stamp: 13:42) and the scene when they are putting him in the car to frame him for driving intoxicated (13:50). I noticed that when the men were holding Thornhill down and he said "Cheers," the music changed to an almost ominous tone. Also, in the scene where they are putting Thornhill in the car drunk, the music also changes. In past films, Hitchcock did not really utilize music, but in North by Northwest, he uses music as a technique to set the mood of certain scenes and the overall tone of the entire film.

In the scene where Thornhill sees the doctor at the police station after getting arrested for driving under the influence (time stamp: 20:03), while he is talking to the doctor and telling him how much he drank, he holds up his hands in a way that states that "It wasn't me!" This is a common theme in Hitchcock's films since the plot continuously accuses innocent men of certain crimes. I just thought that this was an interesting point, not just in the movie, but generally speaking for Hitchcock films as well.

North by Northwest

The Movie North by Northwest directed by Alfred Hitchcock is an exciting thriller, as we were brought in an intense adventure in finding the truth with Thornhill and falling in love with the CIA agent Eve along the way. The movie is a detective story but the protagonist is the guy who accidentally involved in the mess, and he had to play the detective to uncover the truth himself because no one, even his own mother would not believe what happened to him. Throughout the movie, there were many key moments which made the film so much fun to watch, however the most curial scene is the crop duster scene. (time stamp:72:13) Hitchcock arranged the scene to be in the middle of nowhere, contrary to beginning of the film where Thornhill was always in a crowd surrounded by a lot of people, there were occasional cars drove by, thinking Kaplan would finally show his face, but once again Thornhill was disappointed, and so were we, the worst part is that he got attacked by the crop duster spraying a huge amount of pesticide. This particular scene used extensive camera angles to demonstrate how dangerous the situation was, at time stamp 67:19 the camera takes a panning long shot when Thornhill looks around him trying to get a full scenery of where he is and also searching for the man who he was mistakenly known for. At time stamp: 69:37 a guy came out of a car, at that point, he must be Kaplan, but turns out he was just an insignificant person waiting for a bus and took off, after that, there goes the dusting scene, the plane flew over and it was only a few feet on top of him, forcing him on the ground several times repeatedly, when Thornhill dives in a cornfield, the plane started shooting but all missed him. The plane came more and more close towards the camera at high speed, makes the scene a super intense one, this scene is significant because it revealed how determined the spies were to kill him and the cleverness of Thornhill,  given how he survived the devastating attack, if he had not reacted fast enough, he would have been dead on the spot, as a result,  this scene laid the foundation of how Thornhill came through all the other challenges as the story progresses.

WEEK 5: North by Northwest

            The ending of the movie, North by Northwest was rather peculiar to me. Unlike many other Hitchcock movies, which leave’s you with an inconclusive conclusion where you are left guessing like Rope, or an unexpected ending like 39 Steps or Shadow of a doubt, this one according to me falls into the realm of cliché. At the end we see Thorhill struggling to hold on to Eve as she is about to fall from Mt. Rushmore to the extent where he is ready to ask the man trying to kill him for help but then suddenly after the man is shot and he falls to his death, a cut takes us to Roger calling Eve, Mrs Thornhill and getting her to bed. This end immediately relieved the suspense that was building up about whether the girl would fall to her death. The ending doesn’t provide us with a resolution to the story as a whole as we do not know what was to happen to Mr. Van Dam and his men or the professor and his plans, all we are left with is a conclusion that provides a resolution of their relationship. The ending comes with an element of humor, which immediately takes away the suspense that has built up. The actor who play’s Roger Thornhill, Carrie Grant is known for his roles in Romantic comedies. The end with him calling Eve, Mrs. Thornhill and pulling her up to bed was funny in that aspect as its something you would find in Romantic comedies. Even when the man who has his feet on Mr. Thornhills hand is shot one of Van Dammes men makes the remark “that it was not fair that the police had used bullets this time.” I found these two elements of the ending humorous but according to me it took away from all the suspense that had just reached its peak. 

Week 4: Vertigo

Within the first minute of the movie Vertigo we see Hitchcock focus in on the eyes of a face on screen. According to me, Hitchcock with this scene singles out the importance of the eyes in this movie.  This movie follows former police officer Scotty who after a tragic accident is suffering from a fear of heights. He is approached by his friend, Gavin, who wants him watch over his wife, Madeline’s whereabouts as he believes her to be possessed. Surveillance becomes an important motif in this story as Scotty who begins to follow a girl who he believes to be Madeline.  Scotty as we later find out had been tailing the wrong girl all along. The girl he had been following was a look alike of Madeline named Judy who was being paid by Gavin to impersonate Madeline to be possessed. In this way Hitchcock shows how eyesight can be deceiving and a weakness. This goes back to the first scene as the eyes on the screen go red. Red as we know is a color that symbolizes danger, murder and deception. Scotty never actually see’s Madeline after she falls. Gavin who used Scotty’s fear of heights to stage the murder of his wife deceives Scotty due to his weakness, Scotty’s fear of heights can again be attributed to his eyesight as when he looks at falls from great heights we can see his fear setting in. In this way the eye, a detective’s greatest tool as an observer becomes Scotty’s greatest weakness as he is deceived by his friend into believing that he has been following Madeline when he was following Judy also because looking at falls from heights facilitates Scotty's fear.

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WEEK 3: Rope

In the movie, Rope, the character of Brandon and Philip plot and execute what they believe to be the “perfect” murder of their friend, David. This murder turns out to be far from perfect as Rupert a guest to the dinner party thrown by Brandon begins to suspect and uncovers the truth about David’s murder. Rupert is the former headmaster of Brandon, Philip and David and whose idea’s inspired the murder carried out by Brandon. Rupert’s name is first met with concern by Philip who is upset at Brandon for inviting him to the dinner(15:45).  He believes that of all people Rupert would most likely be the one to suspect the two of them. Brandon tries to calm Philip down by making him believe that Rupert would be the person most likely to appreciate the art of what they had done. Brandon even tells Philip that he once thought of inviting Rupert to carry out this crime with them but decided against it as Rupert in his own words “could have invented and could have admired but never could have acted.” (16:20) The first time we meet Rupert, Philip has just begun playing the piano after Mrs. Atwater has just predicted that Philips hands would make him famous. Rupert’s arrival in itself brings about a rise in the suspense of the plot as he begins to suspect Brandon’s motive’s for the party right away. In his conversation with Mrs. Atwater to Rupert talks about Murder as an art which should be a right to people who are considered superior individuals. This scene according to me is really important in this movie as it shows us where Brandon and Philip have gotten the idea to murder David. They too have murdered David as they believe him to be an inferior being to them. This I feel adds to the suspense of the movie when we begin to see Rupert put the dots together about David’s murder but until the very end when he fires the gunshots in the air to signal the crowd to call the policeman we are unsure about whether Rupert would actually applaud the artistic touch to the murder or blame himself and not turn Brandon and Philip in. 

Week 5: North by Northwest

Sorry, I wanted to get this in before class today but I had to upload it just before class and I forgot my computer! Anyway, without further adieu:

               The scene in which Roger evades the crop duster is one of the defining scenes of North by Northwest. Hitchcock begins at 01:03:40 by showing Roger getting off of the bus, waiting to meet with Mr. Kaplan. Until 01:06:50, the silence of the barren bus stop is only broken by the far-off hum of the airplane, and the occasional car whizzing past our protagonist, only to pass him up and continue on their journey down the long, hot, sun-drenched road. Hitchcock builds up suspense for more than three minutes, and elicits a feeling of isolation and desertion while Roger waits for a man who is but a figment.  

               The aerial shot of the field in which Roger waits reveals a dead, barren landscape. The rows of crops show no color, but rather reminisce of a disgusting stain, like spilled food on a carpet or rot destroying wood. The flatness and open-endedness of the landscape make the road seem to go on forever, reaffirming the idea that this man is alone in the middle of nowhere. The sun beats down relentlessly, evoking an image of 19^th century cowboys at high noon. When the action finally starts to commence (01:06:50), the silence is interrupted only by a man arriving to catch a bus, who knows nothing about Mr. Kaplan. He casually remarks that the crop duster is flying over an area with no crops, clueing the audience into the fact that Roger has been set up. It’s not until about 01:08:55, as the plane is coming toward him, that Roger realizes he’s been duped. The tension created by the intense silence, desolateness, and isolation finally gets relieved when the battle between Roger and his assassins breaks out, and Hitchcock engages the audience in the action.

North by Northwest (w5) /mm

North by Northwest is one of Hitchcock's more iconic films like Vertigo and Psycho.  One of the most defining moments, not to mention memorable, occur a few minutes into the second hour.  A little past the one hour mark we find Thornhill waiting on the side of the street waiting patiently for his meeting with  the mysterious Kaplan.  At this point we are unaware of Eve Kendall's true intentions but do know that Kaplan does not exist.  At this location Thornhill is suddenly attacked by a mysterious assassin in a crop dusting plane.  One thing you may notice about is that the plane itself does not seem to equipped with a machine gun, rather the pilot took shots when he passed over Thornhill.  But more importantly, cinematically, one can see that there is absolutely no music throughout the whole of the scene.  Not only is there no music but there seems to be no dialogue as well.  Throughout the whole scene the only sounds come from the duster, the vehicles that drive past and Thornhill scurrying about.  On the first pass, I noticed the lack of an orchestra but upon closer instruction you will notice a lack of dialogue as well.  When Thornhill attempts to stop cars he says nothing but waves his arm which is odd in itself.   Hitchcock known for his undying love for the olden days of silent and black and white, most likely used this method in order to build suspense and leave the focus purely on the scene and Thornhill.  Whether or not it is effective can be seen when the plane finally collides with the Magnum Oil Tanker.  As soon as they explode, the orchestra steps in and Thornhill runs off.  This timed silence and use of music is particularly effective.  Without the music present as well you may end up paying closer attention to Thornhill himself.  At 1:13 you'll see Thornhill smirk when he thinks he had evaded the fighter pilot in the bushes, only to be smoked out by pesticide.  

Week Three- Rope

In Rope, we are exposed to the joys of killing. Through the eyes of Brandon, Hitchcock shows us the ecstasy one can get from murder. Immersed in this idea from the very beginning, Hitchcock gives us numerous bits of evidence in the very first seven minutes of the film. Brandon’s euphoric and joyous demeanor only seconds after committing the murder is almost contagious and only grows throughout the film. The first time we get a glimpse of this idea, comes just after Philip and Brandon have killed David and put his body in the chest (3:10). Here Hitchcock uses lighting to illuminate this idea into our heads, Brandon turns on the light after murdering David while Philip quickly says, “Don’t”. Brandon wants to see what they just have done; he has this yearning to see David dead while Philip is clearly remorseful, traumatized by what they have just done. This juxtaposition between Philip and Brandon will help to clearly show the unusual joy Brandon gets from committing this murder. The use of almost low-key lighting in this opening part of the scene helps with creating this distinguishing feature between the two murderers. Philip seems to always be in the dark, while Brandon likes to be in the light; we associate light with joy, which adds to the fact that Brandon has just enjoyed killing David. We get a sense of an eerie calm about Brandon when he lights his cigarette and smokes it (3:40). This cigarette smoking is kind of like a post-coital release to Brandon. This contrast between Brandon and Philip is clear by fitting both of them in the screen. With both of them in focus we can see this juxtaposition between how differently these two murderers have reacted to the murder of David Kentley. Hitchock also uses comedy throughout this scene and the movie to express this idea of killing for fun to the audience.

North by NorthWest

First off, I don't really know what to make of the title. Did anybody come up with anything? 

But as far as interesting parts of the film, there were plenty.
There were various shots that made me lose sight of Thornhill.
I can't help but to think there was some deeper reason why.

In 33:51 there is a long shot of the inside of the general assembly building, when Thornhill walks in- we can see the huge infrastructure of the building and all the people but not our protagonist. This doesn't happen often at all earlier in the film, before all the action and drama begins. For example at 4:27 when Thornhill walks into his lunch meeting he is the only person walking in the building; the attention is all on him, portraying his clear and organized life at the moment. We know he is a busy and successful man; he seems to always have money in hand (being seen tipping the bus boy at the bar, paying for cabs and meals).

On the contrary at 36:45, the audience gets an overhead view and extreme long shot of Thornhill running out of the general assembly building. This shot makes us look at our protagonist as a mouse in a maze. We can empathize with how lost he must feel in this scene, after getting into even deeper trouble because he was searching for the truth.

If we follow my theory, it is noticeable that after Thornhill meets Eve, the camera seems to signify that he is a lot closer to finding way out of this mess; he is no longer filmed in huge crowds. The following scenes that do have many people in them, show Thornhill on the side or very visible in the room.

After he gets off of the train, from 39:47-40:00 we are kept in the dark about Thornhill's whereabouts. This was particularly troubling for me, when I first watched the film because in the previous scene the agents had just predicted Thornhill's inevitable death. By this time the viewers know that Eve isn't just a nice standby-er but a pretentious player in this plot.

Next ,at 81:55, we see Thornhill's cab clearly and visibly as the main thing in focus. He is no longer lost in the crowd of cars or people. At this point in the film he has a much clearer idea of the confusing plot that he is accidentally involved in. At the same time, and ironically, now he is in even more danger of being caught because of Eve's tie to the main villain "Mr. Van Dan".

The way the camera presents us our protagonist is so crucial. The fact that Thornhill is shown in many different angles in this film is unavoidable. In my experience these choices made me empathize with Thornhill a lot more and allowed me to become more involved in the suspense, romance, and betrayal that made this movie entertaining.

North by Northwest

          In "North by Northwest", the mise-en-scene, lightning and framing play the important roles in producing interesting and suspicious scenes. One example of mise-se-scene appears at the beginning of the film. Thornhill is walking and talking with his assistant, everything on the street reflects the face of New York, crowded, hurry and busy. Also, when Eve told him taking the bus to the countryside to meet Kaplan, he is standing at the bus station by himself. An extreme long shot is used to indicate how small he is versus the nature or the situation he is. The wide field and the empty street indicates how alone he is because nobody believes him including his mother. Train is again used in Hitchcock's movie to help someone to escape from danger. The last scene is made on the Mount Rushmore where there are many status of US president because the movie is about the power of US government and the political and economic issues.

          When Thornhill meets Vandamm in the Townsend, the first thing Vandamm does is closing the curtain. Both of the men's faces are in dark because one doesn't know what is happening and the other one is carrying a secret. Then Vandamm turns on the light, but his face is still in dark whereas Thornhill's face is in light. At this point, Hitchcock wants to use lighting to show the contrast between good and evil.    

          Angle of framing is used to indicate the dominant character of the scene. In the same scene, when Leonard is walking to the room, the three characters are talking and the camera is placed above them especially the two men to signify their power over Thornhill (11:03). Also, only half of Thornhill's face is shown in this scene indicates that he is weaker and will be defeated.