Charade 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Charade 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 18, 2026

Stanley Donen's "Charade" (1963) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the release include an archival audio commentary by Stanley Donen and screenwriter Peter Stone, and original theatrical trailer. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

While relaxing at a fancy ski resort, Reggie Lampert (Audrey Hepburn), a not-so-happily married American beauty, meets Peter Joshua (Cary Grant), a charming gentleman. The two chat, and then Lampert heads back to Paris. There, she is shocked to discover that her husband, Charles, was murdered immediately after he apparently auctioned all of their possessions without telling her.

It is when a lot of strange things begin to happen.

Lampert learns that her husband had a secret life in which he did strange things with strange people – some of whom are now very angry that he is dead because they want the money, approximately $250 million dollars, he had collected from the auction. Lampert does not know where the money is, but her husband’s friends (James Coburn, George Kennedy, Ned Glass) believe she does.

Soon after, Lampert and Joshua meet again, and she asks for help — at this point, she does not know what to do or think because if what everyone says is true, she must have shared her life with a stranger. Lampert also meets Hamilton Bartholomew (Walter Matthau), a CIA operative, who informs her about her husband’s illegal dealings and friends. Bartholomew also warns Lampert not to trust Joshua because, like the rest of her husband’s friends, he is after the money from the auction. But Lampert already likes Joshua a lot, and after he chases away a man who attempts to hurt her, she begins to fantasize about having a serious relationship with him. Meanwhile, all of her husband’s friends are killed, and the only men left standing are Joshua and Bartholomew, both of whom Reggie has learned to trust.

Stanley Donen’s Charade is a light, absorbing thriller that has the glamour of old-fashioned Hollywood films and the raw energy of the classic 1960s spy films. With Grant and Hepburn in the leading roles, Charade also has the appearance and atmosphere of a big-budget, serious production meant to appeal to a wide variety of viewers.

The plot is rather complicated — or at least for a 1960s film. It has several excellent twists that effectively transform Charade into a guessing game of sorts where perceptions and expectations routinely have to be revised. Nothing is what it seems, and no one is to be fully trusted — not even Hepburn’s character.

Hepburn and Grant’s flirtations, however, are what make Charade a great film. The two clearly enjoy each other's company and, despite the age difference, share the same playful state of mind. Naturally, when halfway through Charade Grant confesses to Hepburn that he is having a tough time keeping his hands off her, it is obvious that he speaks the truth.

Charade also benefits from a strong supporting cast. Matthau is terrific as the knowledgeable CIA operative, though, regrettably, his time in front of the camera is quite limited. Coburn, Kennedy, and Glass are equally convincing as the 'friends'.

For Charade, Donen collaborated with cinematographer Charles Lang, who in 1934 won an Oscar for his contribution to Frank Borzage’s A Farewell to Arms (1932). Lang is also known for his contribution to Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947), Billy Wilder’s Some Like It Hot (1959), and John Ford, Henry Hathaway, and George Marshall’s How the West Was Won (1962).

Charade 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Criterion's release of Charade is a 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. The 4K Blu-ray is Region-Free. However, the Blu-ray is Region-A "locked".
< br> Please note that all screencaptures included with this article are taken from the Blu-ray. We have not provided downscaled screencaptures from the 4K Blu-ray.

Charade made its high-definition debut with this Blu-ray release, produced by Criterion in 2010. The combo pack brings a new 4K restoration of Charade, completed at Universal Pictures. The new 4K restoration is made available only on 4K Blu-ray. The native 4K presentation of it is not graded with Dolby Vision or HDR.

The 4K restoration and its native 4K presentation are outstanding. While the previous 1080p presentation of Charade was quite nice, now the entire film has a far better balanced and more attractive appearance, with significantly stronger organic qualities. For example, delineation, clarity, and depth are consistently better, even in areas where the original cinematography introduces small yet unmissable grain fluctuations. As a result, on a larger screen, all visuals look better. The most significant improvements are in the area of color reproduction. On the previous 1080p presentation, select areas revealed color pulsations. The new 4K restoration eliminates them. Also, it improves saturation and expands the range of supporting nuances. Unsurprisingly, the entire film has a lusher, more accurate and attractive period appearance. I did not encounter any traces of problematic digital corrections. The entire film looks very healthy, too.

Charade 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this release: English LPCM 1.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I could not tell if there is something new and different on the lossless track. In a few places, it feels like the audio should be more potent, but this is an inherited limitation. The dialogue is clear, healthy, and very easy to follow. While revisiting the film on 4K Blu-ray, I did not encounter any encoding anomalies to report in our review.

Charade 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary - an audio commentary, recorded exclusively for Criterion in 1999, with director Stanley Donen and screenwriter Peter Stone. This is the same audio commentary that was included on Criterion's DVD release of Charade. It is very informative, and at times quite hilarious, containing a wealth of information about the production history of Charade, where and how specific scenes from the film were shot, how the film was initially received, etc.

BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary - an audio commentary, recorded exclusively for Criterion in 1999, with director Stanley Donen and screenwriter Peter Stone. This is the same audio commentary that was included on Criterion's DVD release of Charade. It is very informative, and at times quite hilarious, containing a wealth of information about the production history of Charade, where and how specific scenes from the film were shot, how the film was initially received, etc.

• Trailer - a vintage theatrical trailer for Charade. In English, not subtitled. (4 min).

• Booklet - a 16-page illustrated booklet containing Bruce Eder's essay "The Spy in Givenchy" (Eder is a longtime journalist, film writer, and audio/video producer whose work has appeared in the Village Voice, Newsday, Current Biography, Interview, and Oxford American. He is a frequent contributor to the Criterion Collection and has recorded audio commentaries for more than two dozen movies).

Charade 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Criterion's combo pack release brings an excellent, very faithful new 4K restoration of Charade, completed at Universal Pictures. Unfortunately, the new 4K restoration is presented only on the 4K Blu-ray. I do not understand why these combo packs do not include Blu-ray copies of new 4K restorations as well. They are needed, and film collectors would appreciate them. Like the original Blu-ray release of Charade, the combo pack has only one meaningful bonus feature, which is the archival audio commentary with Stanley Donen and screenwriter Peter Stone. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.