In 1948, horror master Alfred Hitchcock set out to do an experiment that would go down in history and inspire modern filmmakers to this day: to shoot an entire film in single shot, that is, in real time.
The achievement was significant as it was filmed without making a single cut. The film was “Rope” with a Greek translation of “the noose” or “the noose”.
Anyway the text is based on a play by Patrick Hamilton written from the 20’s.
The ten minute negatives
Hitchcock wanted to do this experiment, but he was stumbling in the quarter. At that time, the reels of the negative (negatif), the blank film, were ten minutes long. There were no bigger ones.
Therefore, in order to achieve the shooting, he had to, artificially, stop every ten minutes, because the film ran out in the camera and they had to put in a new one.
And he managed to make the “cuts” with mathematical precision, usually behind backs and black jackets, or on the black lid of a trunk, or when he focused on objects in the scenery.
The moment of the murder of the unfortunate student by his two fellow students. Rope, 1948
There was such monstrous organization beforehand that even the sets themselves were moved on wheels, so that the camera could move flexibly between them and continuously follow the action of the heroes.
The entire crew followed the “arcs” of the camera so that it did not go anywhere, the microphones were always in the right place according to the action and lines, and the actors performed pre-geometric movements on the set.
And the experiment succeeded. The first single-shot film in the history of world cinema was born.
Veteran James Stewart, as a professor at the moment he realizes the incident
Critics of the time described the film as “one of the most interesting experiments in history”, while modern film scholars described it as daring, both for its technique and for its subject matter, as it also indirectly touches on the issue of homosexuality .
The inspiration for Hamilton’s original play it came from the real and tragic event of the murder of a 14-year-old student by two students.
“The Loop” is Alfred Hitchcock’s first color film starring John Dahl and Farley Granger as two students who murder a fellow student just to prove that they can do it.
They then hide the corpse in a trunk in the middle of the living room and invite people with the corpse in their midst.
The cast is completed by the old Hollywood caravan James Stewart in the role of the professor, who is amazed to realize what has happened to his “disappeared” student.
Screenshot of the movie.
Recall that James Stewart has already appeared in Frank Capra’s separate film “It’s a Wonderful Life» while his collaboration with Hitchcock begins with this film.
Then they will give us in the 50’s unforgettable movies like “Silent witness” (Rear Window) of 1954, the “The man who knew a lot” (The Man Who Knew Too Much) in 1956 and of course the iconic “Vertigo binder(Vertigo) from 1958.
Let us add, finally, that around and outside the setting of the film, the largest circular panorama to date was constructed – so that it gives the impression, through the windows, that the apartment is located high up. Buildings such as the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building can be seen in the panorama.
Right Hitchcock himself in the largest stage panorama ever made. On the right is the movie poster
The monoplane technique has since inspired many modern filmmakers who have in turn repeated the project, such as Michele Mailey with “Hermitage” in 2019 and Sam Mendes with “1917”.
Modern digital technology with its achievements leaves great scope for repeating Hitchcock’s achievement. A Hitchcock who managed the impossible with the films of the time, the ten-minute reels of negatives and his demonic ingenuity.
Below you can see a scene from the 1948 movie Rope by Alfred Hitchcock:
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