7.1 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
A British family gets mixed up with spies and an assassination plot while vacationing in Switzerland.
Starring: Leslie Banks, Edna Best, Peter Lorre, Frank Vosper, Hugh WakefieldPsychological thriller | 100% |
Mystery | 80% |
Crime | Insignificant |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
English: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Alfred Hitchcock's "The Man Who Knew Too Much" (1934) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include a new video interview with acclaimed director Guillermo del Toro; archival video interviews with Alfred Hitchcock conducted by Pia Lindstrom and William K. Everson; excerpts from Francois Truffaut's legendary 1962 interview with the British director; restoration demonstration; and a new audio commentary by film historian Philip Kemp. The release also arrives with a an illustrated booklet featuring an essay bu critic Farran Smith Nehme. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
It came through here...
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Alfred Hitchcock's The Man Who Knew Too Much arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.
The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this Blu-ray disc:
"This new digital transfer was created at the BFI National Archive in London in 2K resolution on an ARRISCAN film scanner equipped with a sprocketless transport from a 35mm nitrate fine-grain master positive held in the archive's vaults. The restoration was performed by the Prasad Group, India, and the Criterion Collection.
Transfer supervisors: Lee Kline; Ben Thompson/British Film Institute, London.
Scanning: Ben Thompson/British Film Institute, London.
Colorist: Lee Kline."
The new high-definition transfer, which was sourced from a 35mm nitrate fine-grain positive owned by the British Film Institute, looks marvelous. In fact, Criterion's presentation of The Man Who Knew Too Much looks far more impressive than some recent restorations of classic films whose negatives are reportedly in pretty good condition. (The original negative for The Man Who Knew Too Much was lost years ago, and the fine-grain positive mentioned above was the best element Criterion could secure for the restoration). Detail and clarity are consistently pleasing, with many close-ups also boasting very good depth. Contrast levels are also stable. What impresses the most, however, is the fine balance between the blacks, whites, and grays, giving the film a solid, very healthy look. There are no traces of excessive degraining. Post-production sharpening corrections have not been performed either. Edge flicker is also never an issue of concern. Unsurprisingly, when projected The Man Who Knew Too Much looks stable and surprisingly fresh. Finally, there are no damage marks, large cuts, debris, or large warps to report in this review. All in all, for a film whose negative no longer exists, The Man Who Knew Too Much looks astonishingly good on Blu-ray. Indeed, what we have here is yet another fantastic restoration which will more than likely remain the film's definition presentation for years to come. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray disc: English LPCM 1.0. For the record, Criterion have provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature.
The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this Blu-ray disc:
"The original monaural soundtrack was remastered at 24-bit from an original 35mm optical track owned by film preservationist Bob Harris, which was given to him by producer David O. Selznick. Clicks, thumps, hiss, and hum were manually removed using Pro Tools HD. Crackle was attenuated using AudioCube's integrated workstation. "
The range of nuanced dynamics is rather limited, but depth and clarity are very good. The gunshots, in particular, sound great. The dialog is crisp, clean, and most importantly stable. Also, there is no overwhelming background hiss. I also did not spot any distortions or audio dropouts to report in this review.
Criterion's presentation of Alfred Hitchcock's The Man Who Knew Too Much is guaranteed to please fans of the film. I think that the film actually looks far better than other recently restored films whose original negatives were available to work with. I also feel very comfortable speculating that this will likely be the definitive presentation of The Man Who Knew Too Much for years to come. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
1935
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1927
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2010
2015
1962
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Spoorloos
1988
1966
Limited Edition to 3000
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1932