Rope (1948)

"You've thrown my own words right back in my face, and you were right to, if nothing else a man should stand by his words. But you've given my words a meaning that I never dreamed of, and you've tried to twist them into a cold, logical excuse for your ugly murder. Well, they never were that, Brandon, and you can't make them that!" Rupert Cadell

The thing that really edged Rope above The 39 Steps is the reality of it. The film is displayed in ten shots. The entire film is in real time. Characters that aren't in the spotlight are behaving like normal people and talking to those around them. It doesn't feel like actors are reading lines off of a script, it feels like you've been dropped into a room with people who know each other and you get to hear bits of each conversation as you go. People move around as they would at a party, groups form and dissipate, new groups form, and the conversation of each is changed depending on the characters involved. It's socially accurate, which I greatly appreciate. It's a lovely combination of talented actors and brilliant direction. Other than the basis of the film itself, which involves two men killing a friend of theirs just to prove that they can (that's not a spoiler, it happens within the first minute), this is one of the most realistic films that I have ever seen.

Rank: 86