Jojo's mini tribute to Hitchcock in Bison's murder fantasy was exquisite. The references to Psycho would be obvious to a lot people. From the music, to the scene being in black and white, to the fact we don't actually see Kant being stabbed but we do see the blood.
But I want to talk about a lesser known Hitchcock movie for a second. This here:
Was a direct reference the movie Rope (1948):
I'll provide the IMDb storyline:
"Brandon and Philip are two young men who share a New York City apartment. They consider themselves intellectually superior to their friend David Kentley, and as a consequence, decide to murder him. Together they strangle David with a rope and, after placing the body in an old chest, they proceed to hold a small party. The guests include David's father, his fiancée Janet, and their old schoolteacher Rupert, from whom they mistakenly took their ideas. As Brandon becomes increasingly more daring, Rupert begins to suspect."
There's no doubt Bison's fantasy of stabbing Kant was visually homoerotic. And Hitchcock films are filled to the brim with homoeroticism. But the reference to Rope made my brain go brrrrrrrr because this movie has probably my favorite opening scene of anything that I've ever watched.
We start off with a shot of New York City. We see buildings and people walking, going about their day. And then the camera pans to a large apartment window, where the curtains are drawn:
We hear a scream (presumably from a man). And then there's a cut to the above scene of a man being strangled. Two other men, Brandon and Philip, come into view:
What proceeds in the next hour is some of the gayest subtext I've ever seen. When I first saw this movie I thought, "How did the straights not know this was about gay sex?!" Because, in fact, the crime Brandon and Philip are trying to hide is not a murder. They're trying to hide their homosexuality, and the fact they've engaged in gay sex - not just with each other but David (the dead guy lol) as well.
I'll say again, the scream we hear happens before anything is revealed. We don't know who is screaming, or why. It could be just someone having sex. *Cuts to David being strangled* Oh no, it's just a murder. Or is it? 👀
Can we tell, from just these photos alone, if someone is being murdered?
I mean, this still could just be bondage. Which we know Bison is into.
If this post hasn't convinced you to watch Rope, at least watch the opening scene. Also maybe this will convince you further:
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