Amazon.com: Customer reviews: To Catch a Thief

Top positive review

THE version to own. Major upgrade.

Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2019

The team that worked on this restoration did a fantastic job. I have seen this movie well over a dozen times on DVD and seeing it for the first time in HD was nearly like seeing it for the first time. The level of detail, the lushness of the colors and the overall image clarity make this a worthy purchase for your movie collection. Major sound upgrade as well. Not a groundbreaking movie, not one of Hitchcock's heavy hitters, but a great movie with a magnificent cast. Highly entertaining and the definitive release of this movie.

50 people found this helpful

Top critical review

All critical reviews›

DEFINITELY NOT NEW AND IMPROVED + Hitchcock Checklist on Blu-Ray

Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2020

In 2012, Paramount issued ‘To Catch a Thief’ on Blu-ray: To Catch A Thief (1955) (BD) [Blu-ray] (see photo)
It was a model of what a “special edition” should be. I gave it five stars:
---- Beautifully remastered 2K picture.
---- Audio commentary by film historian Drew Casper.
---- Nine well-done bonus featurettes (89 minutes).

In 2020, Paramount issued a “new and improved” 4k scan of ‘To Catch a Thief’.
But something went wrong in the transfer to Blu-ray.
Detail is lost - It looks closer to DVD.
Old film stock had something called “grain”.
Cinematographers knew how to use grain to add depth and detail to the photographic image.
Grain is good, but younger viewers, accustomed to the flat, smooth image of digital video, often think it is a flaw.
The new “4K” scan has been manipulated to remove nearly all of the grain that was present in 2012.
I could achieve the same effect by adjusting the “sharpness” setting on my TV screen to minimum, but why would I want to?
Skin tones are waxy.
And it is not an authentic 4-K Blu-ray anyway (those things are expensive).
The technical specs have been dumbed down to standard Blu-ray.

One other obvious difference: the night scenes had a greenish tint in 2012, and a bluish tint in 2020.
I’m not sure which is authentic, but you can make out more detail in the greenish picture.
Also, the film had a mono soundtrack when it was sent to theaters in 1955.
The 2012 Blu-ray gave you a choice of original mono or two channel stereo.
The two channel stereo sounds surprisingly natural - apparently separate music, audio and sound effects tracks survive in the Paramount vault.
For 2020, Paramount has created a 5.1 soundtrack - barely noticeable difference from stereo.
No mono or stereo option with the new Blu-ray.
Both Blu-rays have a wide-screen picture, filmed using Paramount's VistaVision process.
If the 2012 Blu-ray did not exist, I would give the new Blu-ray five stars, but the competition is too much.

The final nail in the coffin of the new Blu-ray is the lack of supplementary material.
The 2012 Blu-ray had 89 minutes of informative and entertaining featurettes, many of them featuring Hitchcock’s daughter and granddaughter.
For the new Blu-ray, eight featurettes, totaling 83 minutes were scrapped.
Only one featurette was saved, devoted to Cary Grant and Grace Kelly (6 minutes).
There is one new featurette with film critic Leonard Maltin (7 minutes) - nice, but certainly not an adequate replacement for all the goodies that were lost.
2012 = Nine Featurettes (89 minutes)
2020 = Two Featurettes (13 minutes)

BONUS FEATURES COMMON TO BOTH BOXES:
---- Audio commentary by Drew Casper.
---- "Behind the Gates: Cary Grant and Grace Kelly" (6 minutes)
---- Original Theatrical Trailer (2 minutes)
---- English SDH subtitles for the feature film

BONUS FEATURES UNIQUE TO 2020:
---- “Filmmaker Focus”: an appreciation by critic Leonard Maltin (7 minutes)
---- English SDH subtitles for the audio commentary. This is actually a good idea. Now I can follow the audio commentary with the sound turned down and not disturb my dog who is sleeping next to me.

BONUS FEATURES UNIQUE TO 2012:
83 minutes of background material were scrapped:
---- "A Night with the Hitchcocks" (23 minutes) - USC symposium hosted by Drew Casper, with Hitchcock's daughter Pat and granddaughter Mary.
---- "Unacceptable Under the Code: Censorship in Hollywood" (12 minutes)
---- "Writing and Casting 'To Catch a Thief'" (9 minutes)
---- "The Making of 'To Catch a Thief'" (17 minutes)
---- "Alfred Hitchcock and 'To Catch a Thief': An Appreciation" (8 minutes)
---- "Edith Head: The Paramount Years" (14 minutes) portrait of the legendary costume designer.
---- Interactive Travelogue of the French Riviera highlighting locations seen in the film, from Nice to Cannes.
---- Galleries: scene shots, publicity stills and production photos

ALFRED HITCHCOCK FILMOGRAPHY:
Alfred Hitchcock directed 56 feature films (not counting short subjects).
---- 'The Mountain Eagle' (1927) is a lost film.
---- 'Blackmail' (1929) is counted twice - it was Hitchcock's final silent film, and was also filmed as his first talkie.
---- 'Aventure Malgache' and 'Bon Voyage' (1944) are not feature films. These were French-language propaganda shorts (combined running time: 57 minutes) produced during World War II. Available on DVD Alfred Hitchcock's Bon Voyage & Aventure Malgache or Amazon Prime Video.

In the following list I give preference to Blu-ray over DVD, and to Region 1 (US) over Region 2 (Europe), but sometimes this was not possible:
The best copies of ‘The Pleasure Garden’ (1925), ‘Elstree Calling’ (1930) and ‘Number 17 (1932) are on Region 2 import DVDs.
The best copies of ‘Sabotage’ (1936) and ‘Young and Innocent’ (1937) are on Region B import Blu-rays.
There are no really good copies of ‘Easy Virtue’, ‘Juno and the Paycock’ or ‘Secret Agent’ - my stopgap recommendation is the Mill Creek four-DVD box which is inexpensive if nothing else.
A region-free Blu-ray player is a good investment.
They cost about $150 on Amazon or Ebay.
Under Electronics, look up “region free Blu-ray player”.
- or you can watch Region 2 DVDs (but not Region B Blu-rays) on your computer’s DVD drive.

PART ONE: BRITISH FILMS, 1925-1939

SILENT FILMS:
All nine surviving silent films received new 4K restorations by the British Film Institute (BFI) in 2012.
---- seven of these 2012 restorations are now on Blu-ray.
---- two are not yet on Blu-ray: ‘The Pleasure Garden’ and ‘Easy Virtue’ - for updates, sign up for the Brenton Films Hitchcock e-mail list. See Comment One (sort by "Oldest").
1925 The Pleasure Garden [Region 2] (Region 2 Europe DVD)
1927 The Mountain Eagle - LOST FILM
1927 The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray] - BFI restoration (coupled with ‘Downhill’)
1927 Downhill [Blu-ray] - BFI restoration (coupled with ‘The Lodger’ (1927) on Criterion Collection)
1927 The Ring [Blu-ray] - BFI restoration in Hitchcock: British International Pictures Collection [Blu-ray]
1928 Easy Virtue - in MILL CREEK BOX (American DVD) **
1928 The Farmer's Wife [Blu-ray] - BFI restoration in Hitchcock: British International Pictures Collection [Blu-ray]
1928 Champagne [Blu-ray] - BFI restoration in Hitchcock: British International Pictures Collection [Blu-ray]
1929 The Manxman [Blu-ray] - BFI restoration in Hitchcock: British International Pictures Collection [Blu-ray]
1929 Blackmail - silent version [Blu-ray] - BFI restoration (coupled with sound version)

BRITISH SOUND FILMS
1929 Blackmail (Special Edition) [Blu-ray] (sound version - coupled with silent version)
1930 Elstree Calling [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - United Kingdom ] (Region 2 Europe DVD)
1930 Juno and the Paycock - in MILL CREEK BOX (American DVD) **
1930 Murder! (Special Edition) [Blu-ray] (coupled with ‘Mary’)
1931 Mary [Blu-ray] - German language version of 'Murder!' (coupled with ‘Murder!’ (1930)
1931 The Skin Game [Blu-ray] - in Hitchcock: British International Pictures Collection [Blu-ray]
1931 Rich and Strange - in STUDIOCANAL BOX (Region 2 Europe DVD) or LIONS GATE BOX (American DVD) *
1932 Number 17 - in STUDIOCANAL BOX (Region 2 Europe DVD) *
1934 Waltzes from Vienna Alfred Hitchcock's Waltzes From Vienna DVD
1934 The Man Who Knew Too Much (Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray] (first version)
1935 The 39 Steps (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]
1936 Secret Agent - in MILL CREEK BOX (American DVD) **
1936 Sabotage [Blu-ray] (Region B Europe Blu-ray)
1937 Young and Innocent (American DVD) - or - Young and Innocent [Blu-ray] (Region B Europe Blu-ray)
1938 The Lady Vanishes (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]
1939 Jamaica Inn [Blu-ray

* STUDIOCANAL BOXED SET: Hitchcock, The Early Years [DVD] - Region 2 Europe DVDs:
‘Rich and Strange’ and ‘Number 17’ are in this UK box, issued by StudioCanal.
LIONS GATE BOXED SET: The Alfred Hitchcock Box Set (The Ring / The Manxman / Murder! / The Skin Game / Rich and Strange) - American DVDs
- this is the American edition of the StudioCanal box, unfortunately not complete:
‘Rich and Strange’ is in this box, but not ‘Number 17’.

** MILL CREEK DVD BOX: Alfred Hitchcock: The Legend Begins - 20 Movie Classics - American DVDs
This is a collection of 18 British films, squeezed onto four DVDs in terrible transfers. But at least the price is super-cheap. It contains several rarities:
---- 1928 Easy Virtue - no really good alternative to Mill Creek
---- 1930 Juno and the Paycock - no really good alternative to Mill Creek
---- 1936 Secret Agent - no really good alternative to Mill Creek
---- also Number 17 and Sabotage, which are available in superior competing versions from the UK.

PART TWO: HOLLYWOOD, 1940-1976
30 films: 28 are on blu-ray.
(some of them were filmed in the UK, but produced and released by American studios)

1940 Rebecca (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]
1940 Foreign Correspondent [Blu-ray]
1941 Mr. & Mrs. Smith DVD - Mr & Mrs Smith also on Amazon Prime Video
1941 Suspicion [Blu-ray]
1942 Saboteur [Blu-ray] *
1943 Shadow of a Doubt [Blu-ray] *
1944 Lifeboat [Blu-ray]
1945 Spellbound (hitchcock) [Blu-ray]
1946 Notorious (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]
1947 The Paradine Case [Blu-Ray]
1948 Rope [Blu-ray] *
1949 Under Capricorn [Blu-ray]
1950 Stage Fright DVD - Stage Fright also on Amazon Prime Video
1951 Strangers On A Train (BD) [Blu-ray]
1953 I Confess (1953) [Blu-ray]
1954 Dial M for Murder (Blu-ray 3D + Blu-ray) [1954] [Region Free] (2-D and 3-D versions)
1954 Rear Window [Blu-ray] *
1955 To Catch A Thief (1955) (BD) [Blu-ray]
1955 The Trouble with Harry [Blu-ray] *
1956 The Man Who Knew Too Much [Blu-ray] (second version) *
1956 The Wrong Man [Blu-ray]
1958 Vertigo [Blu-ray] *
1959 North By Northwest (1959) (BD) [Blu-ray] *
1960 Psycho (1960) [Blu-ray] *
1963 The Birds [Blu-ray] *
1964 Marnie [Blu-ray] *
1966 Torn Curtain [Blu-ray] *
1969 Topaz [Blu-ray] *
1972 Frenzy [Blu-ray] *
1976 Family Plot [Blu-ray] *

* these fifteen films are also in bargain Blu-ray boxes (no new remasterings):
---- 2012: Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection (Limited Edition) [Blu-ray] (2012)
---- 2016 reissue: Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection (Limited Edition) [Blu-ray] (same fifteen films)
---- 2017 reissue: Alfred Hitchcock: The Ultimate Collection [Blu-ray] (same fifteen films + two blu-rays of Hitchcock television shows).
or
---- 2012: Fourteen film Blu-ray box: Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection [Blu Ray] (minus 'North by Northwest')
This is a British import (considerably less expensive)
Unlike most British Blu-rays, these are region-free and should play on any US player.
The bonus features of the British and American Blu-rays are identical.

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DEFINITELY NOT NEW AND IMPROVED + Hitchcock Checklist on Blu-Ray

Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2020

Verified Purchase

In 2012, Paramount issued ‘To Catch a Thief’ on Blu-ray: To Catch A Thief (1955) (BD) [Blu-ray ] (see photo)
It was a model of what a “special edition” should be. I gave it five stars:
---- Beautifully remastered 2K picture.
---- Audio commentary by film historian Drew Casper.
---- Nine well-done bonus featurettes (89 minutes).

In 2020, Paramount issued a “new and improved” 4k scan of ‘To Catch a Thief’.
But something went wrong in the transfer to Blu-ray.
Detail is lost - It looks closer to DVD.
Old film stock had something called “grain”.
Cinematographers knew how to use grain to add depth and detail to the photographic image.
Grain is good, but younger viewers, accustomed to the flat, smooth image of digital video, often think it is a flaw.
The new “4K” scan has been manipulated to remove nearly all of the grain that was present in 2012.
I could achieve the same effect by adjusting the “sharpness” setting on my TV screen to minimum, but why would I want to?
Skin tones are waxy.
And it is not an authentic 4-K Blu-ray anyway (those things are expensive).
The technical specs have been dumbed down to standard Blu-ray.

One other obvious difference: the night scenes had a greenish tint in 2012, and a bluish tint in 2020.
I’m not sure which is authentic, but you can make out more detail in the greenish picture.
Also, the film had a mono soundtrack when it was sent to theaters in 1955.
The 2012 Blu-ray gave you a choice of original mono or two channel stereo.
The two channel stereo sounds surprisingly natural - apparently separate music, audio and sound effects tracks survive in the Paramount vault.
For 2020, Paramount has created a 5.1 soundtrack - barely noticeable difference from stereo.
No mono or stereo option with the new Blu-ray.
Both Blu-rays have a wide-screen picture, filmed using Paramount's VistaVision process.
If the 2012 Blu-ray did not exist, I would give the new Blu-ray five stars, but the competition is too much.

The final nail in the coffin of the new Blu-ray is the lack of supplementary material.
The 2012 Blu-ray had 89 minutes of informative and entertaining featurettes, many of them featuring Hitchcock’s daughter and granddaughter.
For the new Blu-ray, eight featurettes, totaling 83 minutes were scrapped.
Only one featurette was saved, devoted to Cary Grant and Grace Kelly (6 minutes).
There is one new featurette with film critic Leonard Maltin (7 minutes) - nice, but certainly not an adequate replacement for all the goodies that were lost.
2012 = Nine Featurettes (89 minutes)
2020 = Two Featurettes (13 minutes)

BONUS FEATURES COMMON TO BOTH BOXES:
---- Audio commentary by Drew Casper.
---- "Behind the Gates: Cary Grant and Grace Kelly" (6 minutes)
---- Original Theatrical Trailer (2 minutes)
---- English SDH subtitles for the feature film

BONUS FEATURES UNIQUE TO 2020:
---- “Filmmaker Focus”: an appreciation by critic Leonard Maltin (7 minutes)
---- English SDH subtitles for the audio commentary. This is actually a good idea. Now I can follow the audio commentary with the sound turned down and not disturb my dog who is sleeping next to me.

BONUS FEATURES UNIQUE TO 2012:
83 minutes of background material were scrapped:
---- "A Night with the Hitchcocks" (23 minutes) - USC symposium hosted by Drew Casper, with Hitchcock's daughter Pat and granddaughter Mary.
---- "Unacceptable Under the Code: Censorship in Hollywood" (12 minutes)
---- "Writing and Casting 'To Catch a Thief'" (9 minutes)
---- "The Making of 'To Catch a Thief'" (17 minutes)
---- "Alfred Hitchcock and 'To Catch a Thief': An Appreciation" (8 minutes)
---- "Edith Head: The Paramount Years" (14 minutes) portrait of the legendary costume designer.
---- Interactive Travelogue of the French Riviera highlighting locations seen in the film, from Nice to Cannes.
---- Galleries: scene shots, publicity stills and production photos

ALFRED HITCHCOCK FILMOGRAPHY:
Alfred Hitchcock directed 56 feature films (not counting short subjects).
---- 'The Mountain Eagle' (1927) is a lost film.
---- 'Blackmail' (1929) is counted twice - it was Hitchcock's final silent film, and was also filmed as his first talkie.
---- 'Aventure Malgache' and 'Bon Voyage' (1944) are not feature films. These were French-language propaganda shorts (combined running time: 57 minutes) produced during World War II. Available on DVD Alfred Hitchcock's Bon Voyage & Aventure Malgache or Amazon Prime Video.

In the following list I give preference to Blu-ray over DVD, and to Region 1 (US) over Region 2 (Europe), but sometimes this was not possible:
The best copies of ‘The Pleasure Garden’ (1925), ‘Elstree Calling’ (1930) and ‘Number 17 (1932) are on Region 2 import DVDs.
The best copies of ‘Sabotage’ (1936) and ‘Young and Innocent’ (1937) are on Region B import Blu-rays.
There are no really good copies of ‘Easy Virtue’, ‘Juno and the Paycock’ or ‘Secret Agent’ - my stopgap recommendation is the Mill Creek four-DVD box which is inexpensive if nothing else.
A region-free Blu-ray player is a good investment.
They cost about $150 on Amazon or Ebay.
Under Electronics, look up “region free Blu-ray player”.
- or you can watch Region 2 DVDs (but not Region B Blu-rays) on your computer’s DVD drive.

PART ONE: BRITISH FILMS, 1925-1939

SILENT FILMS:
All nine surviving silent films received new 4K restorations by the British Film Institute (BFI) in 2012.
---- seven of these 2012 restorations are now on Blu-ray.
---- two are not yet on Blu-ray: ‘The Pleasure Garden’ and ‘Easy Virtue’ - for updates, sign up for the Brenton Films Hitchcock e-mail list. See Comment One (sort by "Oldest").
1925 The Pleasure Garden [Region 2 ] (Region 2 Europe DVD)
1927 The Mountain Eagle - LOST FILM
1927 The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray ] - BFI restoration (coupled with ‘Downhill’)
1927 Downhill [Blu-ray] - BFI restoration (coupled with ‘The Lodger’ (1927) on Criterion Collection)
1927 The Ring [Blu-ray] - BFI restoration in Hitchcock: British International Pictures Collection [Blu-ray ]
1928 Easy Virtue - in MILL CREEK BOX (American DVD) **
1928 The Farmer's Wife [Blu-ray] - BFI restoration in Hitchcock: British International Pictures Collection [Blu-ray ]
1928 Champagne [Blu-ray] - BFI restoration in Hitchcock: British International Pictures Collection [Blu-ray ]
1929 The Manxman [Blu-ray] - BFI restoration in Hitchcock: British International Pictures Collection [Blu-ray ]
1929 Blackmail - silent version [Blu-ray] - BFI restoration (coupled with sound version)

BRITISH SOUND FILMS
1929 Blackmail (Special Edition) [Blu-ray ] (sound version - coupled with silent version)
1930 Elstree Calling [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - United Kingdom ] (Region 2 Europe DVD)
1930 Juno and the Paycock - in MILL CREEK BOX (American DVD) **
1930 Murder! (Special Edition) [Blu-ray ] (coupled with ‘Mary’)
1931 Mary [Blu-ray] - German language version of 'Murder!' (coupled with ‘Murder!’ (1930)
1931 The Skin Game [Blu-ray] - in Hitchcock: British International Pictures Collection [Blu-ray ]
1931 Rich and Strange - in STUDIOCANAL BOX (Region 2 Europe DVD) or LIONS GATE BOX (American DVD) *
1932 Number 17 - in STUDIOCANAL BOX (Region 2 Europe DVD) *
1934 Waltzes from Vienna Alfred Hitchcock's Waltzes From Vienna DVD
1934 The Man Who Knew Too Much (Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray ] (first version)
1935 The 39 Steps (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray ]
1936 Secret Agent - in MILL CREEK BOX (American DVD) **
1936 Sabotage [Blu-ray ] (Region B Europe Blu-ray)
1937 Young and Innocent (American DVD) - or - Young and Innocent [Blu-ray ] (Region B Europe Blu-ray)
1938 The Lady Vanishes (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray ]
1939 Jamaica Inn [Blu-ray

* STUDIOCANAL BOXED SET: Hitchcock, The Early Years [DVD ] - Region 2 Europe DVDs:
‘Rich and Strange’ and ‘Number 17’ are in this UK box, issued by StudioCanal.
LIONS GATE BOXED SET: The Alfred Hitchcock Box Set (The Ring / The Manxman / Murder! / The Skin Game / Rich and Strange) - American DVDs
- this is the American edition of the StudioCanal box, unfortunately not complete:
‘Rich and Strange’ is in this box, but not ‘Number 17’.

** MILL CREEK DVD BOX: Alfred Hitchcock: The Legend Begins - 20 Movie Classics - American DVDs
This is a collection of 18 British films, squeezed onto four DVDs in terrible transfers. But at least the price is super-cheap. It contains several rarities:
---- 1928 Easy Virtue - no really good alternative to Mill Creek
---- 1930 Juno and the Paycock - no really good alternative to Mill Creek
---- 1936 Secret Agent - no really good alternative to Mill Creek
---- also Number 17 and Sabotage, which are available in superior competing versions from the UK.

PART TWO: HOLLYWOOD, 1940-1976
30 films: 28 are on blu-ray.
(some of them were filmed in the UK, but produced and released by American studios)

1940 Rebecca (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray ]
1940 Foreign Correspondent [Blu-ray ]
1941 Mr. & Mrs. Smith DVD - Mr & Mrs Smith also on Amazon Prime Video
1941 Suspicion [Blu-ray ]
1942 Saboteur [Blu-ray ] *
1943 Shadow of a Doubt [Blu-ray ] *
1944 Lifeboat [Blu-ray ]
1945 Spellbound (hitchcock) [Blu-ray ]
1946 Notorious (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray ]
1947 The Paradine Case [Blu-Ray]
1948 Rope [Blu-ray ] *
1949 Under Capricorn [Blu-ray ]
1950 Stage Fright DVD - Stage Fright also on Amazon Prime Video
1951 Strangers On A Train (BD) [Blu-ray ]
1953 I Confess (1953) [Blu-ray ]
1954 Dial M for Murder (Blu-ray 3D + Blu-ray) [1954] [Region Free ] (2-D and 3-D versions)
1954 Rear Window [Blu-ray ] *
1955 To Catch A Thief (1955) (BD) [Blu-ray ]
1955 The Trouble with Harry [Blu-ray ] *
1956 The Man Who Knew Too Much [Blu-ray ] (second version) *
1956 The Wrong Man [Blu-ray ]
1958 Vertigo [Blu-ray ] *
1959 North By Northwest (1959) (BD) [Blu-ray ] *
1960 Psycho (1960) [Blu-ray ] *
1963 The Birds [Blu-ray ] *
1964 Marnie [Blu-ray ] *
1966 Torn Curtain [Blu-ray ] *
1969 Topaz [Blu-ray ] *
1972 Frenzy [Blu-ray ] *
1976 Family Plot [Blu-ray ] *

* these fifteen films are also in bargain Blu-ray boxes (no new remasterings):
---- 2012: Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection (Limited Edition) [Blu-ray] (2012)
---- 2016 reissue: Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection (Limited Edition) [Blu-ray ] (same fifteen films)
---- 2017 reissue: Alfred Hitchcock: The Ultimate Collection [Blu-ray ] (same fifteen films + two blu-rays of Hitchcock television shows).
or
---- 2012: Fourteen film Blu-ray box: Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection [Blu Ray ] (minus 'North by Northwest')
This is a British import (considerably less expensive)
Unlike most British Blu-rays, these are region-free and should play on any US player.
The bonus features of the British and American Blu-rays are identical.

76 people found this helpful

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All you need to know

Reviewed in the United States on May 8, 2020

Verified Purchase

Here's the deal - lots of pontificating by those who really know very little about film, color, and grain. So, let me say this: The 2012 Blu-ray is okay - it's reasonably sharp (perhaps sharpened) and a decent presentation save for one thing - THAT is the one with loused up color. The insane green tint for the night scenes was ludicrous then and ludicrous now. Those scenes were never tinted green like that - ever. They were blue with hints of green. So, in that regard the new Blu-ray gets it completely right.

However, the image has been brightened a bit too much, a day for night scene has not been printed correctly here (it is day for night in the 2012 Blu-ray but again with that stupid green wash over it), and the main titles are finally the right color here.

So, now, is this a "blurry mess?" Of course not. Is it a little soft? Absolutely. Should it be? Not really. VistaVision was a large format, although only two releases were actually projected that way originally - the rest were printed down to 35mm but those Technicolor prints were breathtaking even in 35mm. In the large format, the grain would be VERY fine. There's not much here, however, and yes faces can look soft and, if you must, a little waxy - NOT the skin tones, Mr. Fowler - those are perfect. Waxy is an image problem not a color problem.

In the end, neither Blu-ray is good enough for this delightful film, and it's a shame this release is a bit of a botch, especially not including the mono soundtrack.

18 people found this helpful

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Nature Gal

Dated film with a cliched romance

Reviewed in the United States on September 2, 2019

Verified Purchase

The mystery in this is easier to figure out than those in a modern police procedural. It's obvious who the real thieves are. It has a bizarre romance in which Grace Kelly for some reason feels the need to throw herself at a 50-year-old Cary Grant. Kelly's character changes on a dime from being entranced by the idea that John (Grant) is a thief to repulsed by it. John seems to be a terrible thief and a terrible detective. His sole strategy for catching the thief seems to be sitting on a roof and waiting for the thief to climb through a window, which eventually happens after nearly 2 hrs goes by. Even the thief's motives makes no sense. The thief copies former thief John's robbing technique -- which amounts to climbing through windows -- yet the thief also cares deeply for John, meaning that John is the main suspect for the crime even though the thief would never want John to get into trouble. Really, just a boring cliched mess.

16 people found this helpful

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ZTT Fan

STAY AWAY - DNRed into a blurry mess

Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2020

A new remaster of this classic film sounded incredible, but Paramount has heavily DNRed the film into a blurry mess - the older Blu-ray is MUCH sharper with more detail than the newer disc!

They've also substantially changed the color timing, arguably for the better but it's not worth the blurry presentation.

If you were planning on purchasing this, I would definitely WAIT and see if Paramount fixes this or just leaves customers with an inferior disc as compared to the older version, which is still readily available at about half the price.

30 people found this helpful

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Jeffrey Hope

I don't know how anyone can rate this film with five stars. It's not logical to me.

Reviewed in the United States on June 4, 2020

Verified Purchase

Sadly to say, we have plenty of movie-goers out there who really don't care if a film is meaningful or humanly compelling in some way as long as it has stars and nice scenery and a popular Director -- who apparently had a chance to film on location and grabbed at it even though he probably knew the story and script were not too riveting. For an Alfred Hitchcock film, this movie was really disappointing. It just dragged and dragged. If you want to see a really good Hitchcock film, try The Lady Vanishes. It's in black and white and doesn't offer breathtaking views, but it is one hell of a film for lots of reason. This film just isn't.

4 people found this helpful

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BookFan34

Another decent movie ruined by Grace Kelly

Reviewed in the United States on May 16, 2020

Verified Purchase

The plot is okay, but it has a lot of elements of North By Northwest and I think North By Northwest was much more suspenseful. Cary Grant was excellent and his chemistry with Danielle (Brigette Auber) was terrific. The dialogue was great and had a decent amount of dry wit sprinkled throughout, which I appreciate. The one major downside to this movie was Grace Kelly. Sure, she's beautiful, but she's one of the WORST actresses of all time! She ruins everything she's in. Her obnoxious breathy accent is grating and contrived and always distracts. Her face has zero expression and is perpetually frozen in some sort of empty, distant gaze. Even her arm and hand gestures are obnoxious - she seems to think acting involves sweeping, highly affected, arm movements that make her look like some model showing off a prize on a game show. She's an absolute nightmare on screen and it's a shame that Hitchcock was such a weird, old lech that he sacrificed his films for his bizarre, personal obsession with Kelly.

One person found this helpful

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Jackie

Boring

Reviewed in the United States on May 8, 2020

Verified Purchase

I usually enjoy Hitchcock movies but this one was really a no go. It had so many great reviews my family chose to watch it but had to turn it off. Seems hard to find anything that we can watch on Amazon prime. I wonder how many other people feel that way. We loved watching MONK and the series 24 if that is still on here. I would recommend you go watch those, they have many episodes and you will enjoy them if you enjoy detective shows.

3 people found this helpful

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Michael Souza

Not really deluxe!

Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2020

Verified Purchase

The three stars are NOT for the film, but the packaging, a pseudo-deluxe attempt. The discs are plain blue with the title of the film.
The slipcover has a book-like cover you can’t open widely. The case is transparent, the inside shows the back of the cover with photos from the film in Sepia tone (not even in color).

3 people found this helpful

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kathleen mckeon

Tedious. No one's best work.

Reviewed in the United States on November 16, 2019

Verified Purchase

This isn't a question about generations, it's a question about ability to suspend disbelief. The disbelief aspects were lame. The story/plot and devices were similarly lame.

We KNOW this generation can do better. Look at similar time period pieces - Murder on the Orient Express, the Room, etc. This one is not clever, not thrilling, not even interesting.

Being pretty is not enough to carry a film. This was awfully boring.

3 people found this helpful

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Julia Mae

Even Hitchcock can be Boring

Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2019

Verified Purchase

Jut as disappointing now as decades ago. Grant is too old, Kelley is shallow as rink ice, the script is too talky, the story took up possibly 30 minutes and the red herrings were all 3 days dead. I'm going to go read the book.

4 people found this helpful

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