UHD Review A Few Words About A few words about...™ - Rope -- in 4k UHD (1 Viewer)

[Matt Hough]

Isn't it funny: I can remember the first laserdisc I ever watched on widescreen letterbox: Seven Brides for Seven Brothers; I can remember the first Blu-ray I ever watched on my HD equipment: The Searchers. I cannot for the life of me remember what the first UHD disc was.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

First DVD I ever watched: Deep Blue Sea
First DVD owned: South Park The Movie

First BD actually ordered: How The West Was Won (late-arriving pre-order)
First BD actually watched: Star Wars: The Clone Wars movie / Casino Royale (2006) / Close Encounters of the Third Kind - I know I got them at the store the same day and I think I watched them both the same night but can’t remember which was first

 

[Lord Dalek]

Rope • UK Classics Collection Ultra HD Blu-ray vs. UK The Masterpiece Collection Blu-ray

caps-a-holic.com

Rope • UK Classics Collection Ultra HD Blu-ray vs. UK The Masterpiece Collection Blu-ray

caps-a-holic.com

Rope • UK Classics Collection Ultra HD Blu-ray vs. UK The Masterpiece Collection Blu-ray

caps-a-holic.com

Rope • UK Classics Collection Ultra HD Blu-ray vs. UK The Masterpiece Collection Blu-ray

caps-a-holic.com

Rope • UK Classics Collection Ultra HD Blu-ray vs. UK The Masterpiece Collection Blu-ray

caps-a-holic.com

Rope • UK Classics Collection Ultra HD Blu-ray vs. UK The Masterpiece Collection Blu-ray

caps-a-holic.com

Rope • UK Classics Collection Ultra HD Blu-ray vs. UK The Masterpiece Collection Blu-ray

caps-a-holic.com

Less layer misalignment, more resolved, just better all around.

 

[Brian Dauth]

Hitchcock had wanted Cary Grant to play Rupert Cadell and as much as I like James Stewart I can't help thinking that Grant's screen persona might have been more suited for the part of, essentially, an inquisitor.

I have always thought that Grant should have played Cadell for the character's first appearance at the party, with Stewart taking over the role when Cadell returns. Hitchcock is brazen enough to reference Grant in the dialogue that Cadell/Stewart has to be part of, so Grant was on his mind as he crafted the film.

Cadell's return is pure "Mr. Smith Goes to Greenwich Village" in its intensity. In some ways, Rupert is an almost impossible character: both homosocial/homosexual maven/icon, and righteous crusader against all things homosocial/homosexual. He nails Brandon and Phillip at the end (the Breen Office would have it no other way), but Rupert's exhausted posture sitting next to the chest--guarding the remains--is in direct contrast to Brandon mixing drinks and Phillp playing the piano--tres gay activities. The narrative gives one conclusion, but Hitchcock's final image tells another story.

In my view, Brandon and Phillip killing David symbolizes the killing/defying of heteronormative culture in post-WWII New York City. The war had allowed hundreds of thousands of gay men and women to meet and get to know each other, and a great number of them were not going back to their pre-war lives when they mustered out of the service. Brandon and Phillip throw a party where they are openly a couple, in defiance of the social norms of the time--"How cozy." Arthur Laurents reported that Hitchcock kept saying that the film was about "it," without naming what "it" was--though with two gay actors in the leads, what "it" is becomes apparent fast. Hitchcock's experiment with long takes defies (Hollywood) conventions, just as Brandon and Phillip's relationship defies (social) conventions. The technique also requires Brandon and Phillip to be in the frame together a great deal of the time--visually emphasizing the reality of their being a couple. Hitchcock's images insist upon their union. UNDER CAPRICORN is the straight remake of ROPE--another murder is committed to allow a socially forbidden union to flourish. The difference here is that Charles Adare, who could play spoiler the way Rupert does, chooses not to, and allows Henrietta and Sam their happiness.

 

[Trancas]

Rope • UK Classics Collection Ultra HD Blu-ray vs. UK The Masterpiece Collection Blu-ray

caps-a-holic.com

Rope • UK Classics Collection Ultra HD Blu-ray vs. UK The Masterpiece Collection Blu-ray

caps-a-holic.com

Rope • UK Classics Collection Ultra HD Blu-ray vs. UK The Masterpiece Collection Blu-ray

caps-a-holic.com

Rope • UK Classics Collection Ultra HD Blu-ray vs. UK The Masterpiece Collection Blu-ray

caps-a-holic.com

Rope • UK Classics Collection Ultra HD Blu-ray vs. UK The Masterpiece Collection Blu-ray

caps-a-holic.com

Rope • UK Classics Collection Ultra HD Blu-ray vs. UK The Masterpiece Collection Blu-ray

caps-a-holic.com

Rope • UK Classics Collection Ultra HD Blu-ray vs. UK The Masterpiece Collection Blu-ray

caps-a-holic.com

Less layer misalignment, more resolved, just better all around.

Brown on brown. Slightly more monochrome than the old version. I don't see more resolution. Look at the last screen cap you reference - Farley Granger's hand and the ice bucket are more resolved in the old version. John Dall sitting on the couch is more out of focus (you can't really see where his eyes are looking) in the new version. I like the lack of fringing in the new version, but nothing else.