8 | / 10 |
Users | 3.5 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.1 |
Ex-tennis pro wants to have his wealthy wife murdered so he can get his hands on her inheritance.
Starring: Ray Milland, Grace Kelly, Robert Cummings, John Williams (II), Anthony DawsonFilm-Noir | 100% |
Psychological thriller | 92% |
Mystery | 67% |
Crime | Insignificant |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 MVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: Dolby Digital Mono
German: Dolby Digital Mono
Italian: Dolby Digital Mono
Spanish: Dolby Digital Mono
Portuguese: Dolby Digital Mono
Japanese: Dolby Digital Mono
English SDH, French, German SDH, Italian SDH, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Blu-ray 3D
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 2.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Dial M for Murder would have been an odd inclusion in the Alfred Hitchcock oeuvre in any case, but the fact that it was released in 3D in the waning days of the short-lived early fifties’ 3D craze makes it easily one of the oddest films Hitch ever directed. Hitch was a master of what has come to be known as “pre-viz”, whether that blueprinting took the form of storyboards or simply a head full of details. Some of the master’s preplanning has entered the halls of film legend, as in the case of the famous Psycho shower scene, which Hitch evidently had planned down to each and every shot and exactly how long they would last. But the fact is Hitchcock rarely relied on nonstop flashiness in any of his films. While many—maybe even most—of them have standout sequences, several of which were cinematically innovative and technically brilliant, those were always the “highlights” in what were otherwise fairly traditionally shot features. And so Hitch’s decision to exploit 3D seems patently strange, at the very least (even if it was foisted on him by the studio). But even dismissing the 3D as the gimmick it obviously was, Dial M for Murder is a rather strange little film in the Hitchcock canon. It was based on a successful British television play by Frederick Knott which soon matriculated to both the West End and Broadway, It was an awfully talky play, short on action and long on what must be charitably called a pretty convoluted plot, and perhaps most importantly, in its television and stage versions, it was all located in one set. Now Hitchcock was certainly comfortable working in confined places, as he proved so admirably in Lifeboat, as well as Rope, another one set piece adapted from a play which is famous for having been shot in long unedited takes. Also somewhat like Rope, we're in on the murder from pretty much the get go, and it's the unraveling afterward that provides the bulk of the suspense.
Dial M for Murder is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Warner Brothers with AVC (2D) and MVC (3D) encoded
transfers in 1.78:1. Where to begin on this weirdly schizophrenic release? The good news: colors are gorgeously lush,
very accurate looking and extremely well saturated. Kelly's red gown in the opening segment is a vision, and flesh tones
are warm throughout the film. Close-ups are quite sharp and offer abundant fine detail. Contrast is also very strong and
helps to support the great sequence that takes place in the dark when Margot meets her attacker. There's also a natural
layer of grain abundantly evident throughout the film. The bad news: this exhibits some
of the most outrageous ringing I've ever experienced. I originally watched this
in 3D and thought perhaps this was some kind of strange 3D artifact, but it's just as present in the 2D presentation. I've
frankly never seen anything like this, and it has nothing to do with rear projection or matte work (as some are no doubt
going to want to believe). It happens in both the apartment sequences as well as some of the pretty shoddy looking rear
projection sequences. Midrange and wide shots are often little more than blobs of color, with next to no detail.
The film has attained a rather prestigious reputation for its 3D presentation, perhaps because it was never really exhibited
as a 3D picture to begin with. We're considerably more sophisticated about such things now of course, and Dial M for
Murder's dimensionality is often, well, surface deep. Hitchcock does what he can to achieve some depth, placing props
in the foreground and having his actors stand in different planes. But aside from a few standout effects—including in the
legendary "murder" sequence—this is a pretty flat presentation that also suffers from the anomalies noted above.
Dial M for Murder features a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio Mono mix that has weathered the ravages of time far better than the video has. Fidelity is very good throughout the film, with Dimitri Tiomkin's rather anachronistic score sounding excellent (Tiomkin seems at times to think he's scoring a sex comedy rather than a murder mystery). Dialogue is cleanly presented and the soundtrack, while pretty thin sounding at times, has not egregious damage to report.
I've always been a little conflicted about Dial M for Murder, and I was hoping finally being able to see it in 3D would make me more enthusiastic about the film. Unfortunately, that simply wasn't the case. This Hitchcock piece has always struck me as too slow to develop its central conceit, and then too overly elaborate in its payoff to maintain momentum. That said, Kelly is gorgeous and Milland is extremely menacing in a smarmily smooth kind of way. Cummings I'm sorry to say just leaves me cold. The film only fitfully exploits the potential of 3D, perhaps a sign that even Hitchcock either wasn't sure what the format had to offer or perhaps was aware it was a gimmick that was breathing its last (at least for a little while). Some Hitchcock lovers absolutely adore this film, so my comments should be put in their proper perspective, namely that they're the opinion of one person, albeit someone who is a big Hitchcock fan. Even rabid aficionados of this film are apt to cringe at the bizarre haloing on display here, although the colors are luscious and some of the close-ups really pop very well. This is a caveat emptor situation where my best advice is to rent this first (if possible) if you're a fan to see if you want to include it in your permanent collection.
1951
1958
1993
Warner Archive Collection
1946
1945
Warner Archive Collection
1953
1943
Fox Studio Classics
1944
40th Anniversary
1984
1996
1944
1946
StudioCanal Collection
1949
Limited Edition of 2000
1963
Arrow Academy
1946
1947
Indicator Series | Limited Edition
1949
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1944
Unrated Director's Cut
1992
1994