Alfred Hitchcock's - Rope - DVD Review Alfred Hitchcock Rope DVD Review Alfred Hitchcock Rope DVD Review Alfred Hitchcock Rope DVD Review Alfred Hitchcock Rope DVD Review Alfred Hitchcock Rope DVD Review Alfred Hitchcock Rope DVD Review Alfred Hitchcock Rope DVD Review Alfred Hitchcock Rope DVD Review Alfred Hitchcock Rope DVD Review Alfred Hitchcock Rope DVD Review Alfred Hitchcock Rope DVD Review

USA 1948

Rope has the distinction of being filmed, (with the exception of a couple of close-ups) in one continuous take. So basically, the whole of the film takes place in real time, within the confines of a New York apartment. To demonstrate their intellectual superiority two university students (Farley Granger and John Dall) commit the `perfect' murder. Their philosophy professor (James Stewart) and others are invited over to their apartment for dinner and... let the games begin. Hitchcock was not fond of Rope with its stage-play banalities. Mainly because it removed one his keynote techniques - editing... and the choreography and staging of the filming process was extensive. Rope is certainly worth a visit for its use of language and Jimmy's role, but many feel it lacked the charm of some of Hitch's surrounding work.

Gary W. Tooze

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Theatrical Release: August 23, 1948 (Canada)

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DVD Comparison:

Universal (The Hitchcock Collection) - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Universal (The Hitchcock Collection) - Region 2,4 - PAL

Big thanks to Gregory Meshman and Henrik Sylow for the Screen Caps!

(Universal (The Hitchcock Collection) - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Universal (The Hitchcock Collection) - Region 2,4 - PAL - RIGHT)

DVD Box Covers
Distribution	Universal Region 1 - NTSC	Universal Region 2,4 - PAL
Runtime	1:20:33	1:17:27 (4% PAL speedup)
Video	1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 8.89 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 6.58 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate: Universal (The Hitchcock Collection)
Bitrate: Universal (The Hitchcock Collection)
Audio	2.0 Dolby Digital English, 2.0 Dolby Digital French (Dub), 2.0 Dolby Digital Spanish (Dub)	2.0 Dolby Digital English, 2.0 Dolby Digital German (dub)
Subtitles	English, None	English, German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Universal Aspect Ratio: Fullscreen - 1.33:1 Edition Details: • Rope Unleashed (32:27) • Production Photographs (7:31) • Theatrical Trailer (2:26) • Production Notes (Text Screens) • Cast & Filmmakers (Text Screens) DVD Release Date: March 6, 2001 Keepcase Chapters 18	Release Information: Studio: Universal Aspect Ratio: Fullscreen - 1.33:1 Edition Details: • Rope Unleashed (32:27) • Trailer compilation - Vertigo, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Rope, The Trouble with Harry, Rear Window - narrated by James Stewart (6:14) • Theatrical Trailer (2:26) • Art Gallery DVD Release Date: June 20, 2001 Digipack Box Chapters 18

Comments

As with The Man Who Knew Too Much the transfers appear to be identical. The Region 1 is slightly cropped but too little too make a fuss. Surprisingly, the NTSC offers more foreign language DUBs, but the PAL has more subtitle options. The PAL, of course, has the 4% speedup. Extras are again insignificantly different but if any of those factors are important enough, you may make your decision accordingly but as for the rest of us, you may chose the least expensive.

*****

The DVDs of "Rope" released in France ("La Corde"), Spain ("La Soga"), and Italy ("Nodo Alla Gola") have the following:

audio: English, French, Spanish, and Italian
subtitles: English, French, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese

Similarly, the DVDs of "The Man Who Knew Too Much" released in France ("L'Homme Qui en Savait Trop"), Spain ("El Hombre Que Sabía Demasiado"), and Italy ("L'Uomo che Sapeva Troppo") also have the same:

audio: English, French, Spanish, and Italian
subtitles: English, French, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese

Unfortunately the details were collected from foreign DVD retail web sites, and I've not got any accurate details of the audio transfers (i.e. DD1.0 or DD2.0), but they're all likely to be mono.

(Thanks to Davey P of the Alfred Hitchcock DVD Information Site located HERE)

-Gary W Tooze

DVD Menus
(Universal (The Hitchcock Collection) - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Universal (The Hitchcock Collection) - Region 2,4 - PAL - RIGHT)

Screen Captures

(Universal (The Hitchcock Collection) - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP vs. Universal (The Hitchcock Collection) - Region 2,4 - PAL - BOTTOM)
subtitle sample
PAL captures resized to 720px from 768px native resolution

(Universal (The Hitchcock Collection) - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP vs. Universal (The Hitchcock Collection) - Region 2,4 - PAL - BOTTOM)

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Report Card:

Image:	tie
Sound:	tie
Extras:	R1
Menu:	R1