North by Northwest Ultimate Collector's Edition with Steelbook [4K Ultra HD] [1959]

The film goes without saying a classic, okay I cannot comment on the 4K as I don't have a player, but the Blu-ray transfer is excellent.The physical contents are well worth the asking price of £44.95 and very good quality, an excellent slip case to boot as well.And what I really love and well done Warner Brothers Home Entertainment, the Collector's Edition arrived in a double wall box to protect it, in addition to the Amazon packaging! And that should virtually eliminate any damage in transport, well thought out!First class product that is only going to worth a great in years to come.

Nothing, watching

First, let me confess a little anti-North By Northwest prejudice as I settled down to watch this 1959 classic. My memory was that it had great comic moments, and some real suspense (the latter presented as much for laughs as for gasps)... but that it was a bit too much of a big-studio production to be a “real” Hitchcock on the lines of Strangers on a Train (1951) or the ultra-low budget Psycho (1960), which immediately followed it.Indeed there is strong evidence that the very experience of working on NNW’s then-stellar budget of $3.5 million (about $100 million in today's terms), prompted Hitchcock to make Psycho, with minimal crew, on his own dime. This, he thought, would be a way of getting back to the old days, in the tiny English film studios where his career began in the 1920s. He would work directly with a dedicated crew, and have control over production values, art direction, and so on. Furthermore, the quirky shots and gritty noir feel of the best 1940s and 50s work would once again come into their own.My memory — false, as it turned out — was that NNW was too glamorous, colourful and expensive to allow for any of these noir moments, or any of those hints of the perverse and twisted that is visible in so many Hitch works, even from the very beginning (The Lodger, 1927; Blackmail, 1929); becoming a trademark of mid to late career: Shadow of a Doubt (1943) and The Wrong Man (1957).Well, there are certain no shabby rooming houses, dodgy motels or dirty back streets. But that, in part, is the point: in the classic crop-dusting sequence, Hitchcock invented an entirely new cinematic idea: sundrenched noir.That notion — that menace and evil did not need the concealment of dark alleyways — is both literally and metaphorically true in NNW. Every act of wickedness, every hint of evil, takes place amongst people, and in settings, that could decorously feature in the society pages of a respectable newspaper.Villains like Phillip Vandamm (James Mason) and his sidekick Leonard (Martin “Marty” Landau) are soft-spoken, well-dressed and impeccably polite as they gracefully go about the business of murder and mayhem; they do so in settings ranging from elegant country piles to Frank Lloyd Wright masterpieces. This is homicide in the best possible taste.The film looks good, and what I mis-remembered as lavishness turns out to be Robert Boyle’s elegance, always with a hint of the decadent; and Robert Burks’ stunning cinematography. (VistaVision, a relatively new format, was perfect for the many outdoor locations).Bernard Herrmann provides the score: his percussive opening is much celebrated, but undeservedly neglected are his contrasting love themes, best heard in the forest scene near the end.Saul Bass, as witty as ever in his opening titles, adds icing to this wonderful film: in Hitchcock’s own words, not a slice of life but a slice of cake.Buy it, watch it. You’re in for a treat.

The restoration of this film on Blue Ray is really quite good and brought the whole thing to life. The colours are vivid which brings out details one might otherwise miss. I particularly liked the way the old gas-guzzling American cars of the 50's and 60's were revived. It was good to watch it just for those litte snippets! But it is an old film so don't expect miracles although it does come close to that!!! But some things in the film do stretch the imagination. For example why would anyone on the run from the authorities continually dress in clothes which make him stand out from everybody else? There's a point in the film where Cary Grant is walking through an airport lounge trying not to be seen while dressed in a well-cut, dark suit when everyone else is in casuals!! To make it even more impossible he then puts on a pair of dark glasses! The whole scene seems to be saying: "Guess who? Look, I'm over here!" Ahh! such an innocent age lost forever! So watch it with tongue in cheek. At least there's no swearing or other unmentionables in it. Pure escapism. And a good buy.

There's not much point in commenting on this 50 year old classic except to say that it may be Cary Grant's finest hour (what! no Oscar again?), is certainly one of Alfred Hitchcock's finest efforts, and obviously cinematic perfection from the moment Saul Bass's superb title sequence hits the screen right through to the thrilling Mount Rushmore finale.What's more important is how good a job Warner Brothers have done in bringing Hitchcock to Blu-Ray for the first time, and I can happily report that this first of hopefully many Hitchcock releases is very satisfying indeed.There's a stack of new docs and features for a start off. The full length Cary Grant Biography is the best I've ever seen, and this alone makes the disk essential for any fan. There's also two other new (and again quite lengthy) docs discussing the film's influence and Hitchcock's career, with a fair bit of input from some current directors (although apart from William Friedkin and Guillermo del Toro they're a little "B" list). For completion, the disk also includes the Eva Marie Saint hosted "making of" from the original DVD release (actually the second best of the docs after the Cary Grant Bio). That was enough to keep me occupied for a whole afternoon (I've not heard the commentaries yet).There appears to be a lot of enthusiasm for the image quality in the other reviews here, and rightly so, but I believe it to be merely excellent rather than perfect. Although it is generally beautifully rendered, with plenty of detail, gorgeous colour and a pleasing level of grain, I think it may be a little too dark, and often appears inconsistent; check out the shooting at the Mount Rushmore restaurant, where the film cuts to Martin Landau peering over the shoulders of some bystanders to confirm Thornhill is dead - there is a very obvious drop in quality, as if another, less pristine film element had been used. It also suffers a little from Hitchcock's use of soft-focus (normally for Grant's close-ups). This is nit-picking, but I just want to make it clear that in my opinion, North by Northwest doesn't quite attain the highest standards of image quality enjoyed by other classic BRD releases such as Dr No, Zulu or The Italian Job.Sound quality is also very high, although I could not discern that much of an improvement over the excellent DVD version. It's a little quiet though, and I found myself pumping the volume up rather higher than I would normally expect. There's not that much going on in the rears for most of the film (apart from the crop-sprayer scene), but that's fine - it was originally shot in mono of course.In conclusion, this disk is well worth full marks, and if you love the film (or Gary Grant), you are going to want to upgrade from the DVD. Roll on Vertigo...

Excellent film

Movie classic

Comprato per via inghilterra perchè in Italia intrigo internazionale si vende a prezzi alti, il disco contiene la lingua italiana quindi fatto l'affare, comprato a poco più di 10 euro

Esta edición británica del 50 aniversario de Con la muerte en los talones corresponde a la que se puede comprar en España, sólo que a un precio mucho más bajo. Dejando de lado comentarios sobre la maestría de Hitchcock o el significado de la película en su filmografía o en la de Cary Grant, se puede afirmar que la calidad de imagen y sonido de la versión en Blu Ray es magnífica. Desde los títulos de crédito ya destacan los colores bien definidos y una música potente, aunque haya que subirla un poco de volúmen en la VO. Sin duda estamos otra vez delante de una restauración muy agradable de un clásico. Para los puristas amantes del "grano" original, el BluRay tiene escenas donde pueden observarse, sin suponer ello una escasez o un exceso de celo en la restauración.Respecto a los extras, el disco incluye 2 reportajes con opiniones de Guillermo del Toro, Martin Scorsese y William Friedkin relacionados con el análisis de la técnica cinematográfica de Hitchcock en Con la muerte en los talones, y con la influencia del director británico en sus cinematografías respectivas. Además, Eva Marie Saint recuerda la realización de la película y su relación con Cary Grant y Hitchcock. Por último tenemos una hora y media de la vida de Cary Grant, con entrevistas a sus esposas, compañeros de reparto e imágenes de sus películas. Trailers, fotos y el audiocomentario del guionista completan la lista de extras.Para resumir, esta edición en Blu-Ray bien merece un lugar en nuestra estantería por sus cualidades técnicas, la cantidad de extras y la posibilidad de volver a ver un clásico como nunca antes pudimos disfrutar.

Je ne reviendrai pas sur le film lui-même, l' une des réussites majeures du grand Hitch avec l' inénarrable Cary Grant doublé par le truculent Michel Roux en français. Le blu-ray est une vraie merveille: le transfert est immaculé et on a le sentiment d' une présence physique des acteurs . Fantastique pour un film qui a plus de 50 ans... C 'est sans aucun doute l' un des plus beau bl-ray disc du marché, très supérieur au dvd ! À posséder absolument. Si seulement amazon pouvait aussi mettre dans son moteur de recherche le titre français du film, il serait plus aisé à trouver pour les internautes. Merci.