ALFRED HITCHCOCK'S DARING EXPERIMENT: ROPE

Few films by master filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock have stirred critics and filmgoers into such opposing opinions as Rope. Filmed experimentally in 1948 in only 10 lengthy takes, the style of this work has been called "formally audacious and narratively brilliant." It is the underrated story of a wanton Leopold & Loeb type of crime, which was adapted by Hume Cronyn and Arthur Laurents from a successful Broadway play by Patrick Hamilton. Unfolding in real time in a swank New York City apartment, the film stars James Stewart, Sir Cedric Hardwick, John Dall, and Farley Granger. For its time, the film was daring for its portrayal of an utterly pointless crime inspired by an urge just to prove that it could be done, and for its suggestion of homosexuality between the two protagonists. Roger Ebert said: "Rope remains one of the most interesting experiments ever attempted by a major director working with big box-office names." A lively discussion with actor-filmmaker Peter Josyph will follow the screening.