Perception: How Hitchcock’s ‘Rope’ Stretches Time
15/08/2019
The elasticity of time is best appreciated when we are the spectators of a performance, be it a film, a play, a concert or a lecture. The actual duration of the performance and its mental duration are different things. To illustrate the factors that contribute to this varied experience of time, I cannot think of a better example than Alfred Hitchcock’s 1948 film Rope, a technically remarkable work that was shot in continuous, unedited 10-minute takes.