Overview
A chilling exploration of intellectual arrogance and moral decay unfolds in a single apartment setting.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- suspenseful
- witty
- claustrophobic
- classic movie night
- hitchcock marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly admire the film’s ingenious technical experiment, Hitchcock’s suspense direction, and strong performances, while noting that its theatrical confinement can blunt the drama and slow the pace.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Hitchcock stages the dinner party through long takes and concealed transitions, making the confined apartment feel temporally continuous.
The murder and hidden body are established before the party begins, while Rupert and the guests remain unaware and suspicion accumulates.
Brandon and Philip use ideas about superiority and morality, mistakenly attributed to Rupert, to justify killing David.
Brandon and Philip’s intense partnership and possessive dynamic create the film’s widely discussed homoerotic undertones.
Films like Rope, and why
Rear Window
shared psychological suspense, confined domestic setting, and audience awareness of a crime before the investigator understands it
Strangers on a Train
shared murder mystery structure, moral ambiguity, intellectualized criminality, and stylish psychological tension
The Talented Mr. Ripley
shared philosophical crime drama, homoerotic undertones, and a focus on privileged characters rationalizing murder
Movie Details
- Director
- Alfred Hitchcock
- Release Date
- 1948-02-01
- Runtime
- 81 min
- Rating
- 7.9 / 10 (3097)
Cast
- James Stewart
- John Dall
- Farley Granger
- Cedric Hardwicke
- Constance Collier
- Douglas Dick
- Edith Evanson
- Dick Hogan
- Joan Chandler
- Alfred Hitchcock
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- YouTube TV
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Rope about?
- At an elegant Manhattan dinner party, two murderers turn their concealed crime into a performance that an increasingly suspicious mentor threatens to expose.
- What is Rope like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Rope as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Rope violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Rope as mild.
- What did critics think of Rope?
- Critics broadly admire the film’s ingenious technical experiment, Hitchcock’s suspense direction, and strong performances, while noting that its theatrical confinement can blunt the drama and slow the pace.
- Which films are like Rope?
- Films with a similar feel include Rear Window, Strangers on a Train, and The Talented Mr. Ripley.
- How long is Rope?
- Rope runs 81 minutes.
- Where can I watch Rope?
- In United States, Rope streams on YouTube TV.
