To Catch A Thief – Centennial Collection (Paramount DVD)
Picture:
B- Sound: C+ Extras: B Film: B
Paramount
has reissued Alfred Hitchcock’s influential 1955 hit To Catch A Thief in a new DVD set for their Centennial Collection
series. Here is the link to our coverage
of that release plus a Hitchcock box set from Lionsgate:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/5515/Alfred+Hitchcock+3-Disc+Collector
The film
had its transfer upgraded for that DVD and this newer anamorphically enhanced
1.85 X 1 image looks like the same transfer, but a little better since there is
more room on the first disc instead of how it was squeezed with al the extras
into a single DVD like last time. I still
question the color fidelity and accuracy in some shots that looked a bit better
in the older DVD. Recapping from the
last review, the film was not only shot in VistaVision, whose larger frame has
a larger color vocabulary, but 35mm prints were in three-strip dye-transfer
Technicolor. It won the Oscar for Best
Cinematography by Robert Burks, A.S.C., a master cameraman and Director of
Photography who was one of Hitchcock’s best collaborators. The look influenced many later films,
including the 1981 James Bond film (reviewed elsewhere on this site) For Your Eyes Only. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono is also carried
over from the previous disc and is virtually the same soundtrack.
Extras
not only include most of the previous goodies from the last DVD like the
original theatrical trailer, a stills section and four featurettes on Thief including Edith Head – The Paramount Years, Writing & Casting To Catch A
Thief, The Making Of To Catch A Thief and Alfred Hitchcock and To Catch A Thief: An Appreciation. They have added an audio commentary by Dr.
Drew Casper in place of one the older disc had by Peter Bogdanovich and Laurent Bouzereau.
That is an odd switch, so don’t get rid of the last edition. You also get an interactive travelogue that
tells you more about the locations used and two more featurettes: A Night
With The Hitchcocks and Unacceptable
Under The Code: Film Censorship In America.
When Paramount does a Blu-ray, all extras from both versions should be
included.
- Nicholas Sheffo
