ADDITION: 2-disc Centennial Edition - Region 1- March 09': Third time's a charm right? This is a significant improvement over the 2007 edition with a higher bitrate and the rendering of colors is far superior with no hint of boosting as we saw in the SE. Wow - aside from seeing this in Blu-ray - this is fabulous news. By placing the film on one disc without any extras (aside from the new commentary) the compression has improved and even detail has advanced a notch. The softer palette suits the film very well and it has a warmth that was devoid in the previous editions.

Audio offers the same mono and 2.0 channel options with DUBs in French and now Spanish and both foreign languages are added to the subtitle choices. The disc is region coded for 1 and 4 so is set to sell in South America as well now.

Extras also improve. We have a new commentary by Dr. Drew Casper. He goes into some solid detail about points of the film that I was previously unaware withy his occasional flashes of exuberance. He has a great manner for commentary and I enjoyed him as I have done in the past. He has a wealth of knowledge to impart - especially on Hitch. On a 2nd disc the 4 previous featurettes are still there - "Writing and Casting" (9 minutes), "The Making of To Catch a Thief" (17 minutes), "Alfred Hitchcock and To Catch a Thief: An Appreciation" (7 minutes) and "Edith Head: The Paramount Years" featurette (14 minutes). Added are A Night With the Hitchcocks (23:20) from USC, Nov 2008 - we some scholar and other getting together to discuss the Master. Unacceptable Under Code: Film Censorship in America seems familiar to me but has some amusement running about 10 minutes. There is a brief 6 minutes on Behind the Gates: Cary Grant and Grace Kelly and a superfluous If You Love To Catch a Thief You'll Love this Interactive Travelogue and Galleries section. So, nothing new/worthy there outside the Casper commentary although some may enjoy the Night With the Hitchcocks.

I can understand being upset about the triple-dipping but Paramount are improving each edition - in every regard! the good news - at the time of this writing the disc is on Pre-order for a 48% discount. At the price offered it's an excellent bargain for what this package entails. For the 3rd time, yes - we recommend!  

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ADDITION: Collector's Edition - Region 1- April 07': An improvement... in every area. The restored image is far smoother, less artifacts, less damage marks and colors are dramatically different - a strong improvement especially noted in skin tones... but still looks a bit boosted to me and too green. There is also some movement in the frame with many scenes showing less on top but more on the bottom of the frame. Unlike the original release the news Collector's edition is tight to the frame edges. In regards to image I think the screen captures give a good representation of the differences. It is an improvement.

Menus are the same but the supplements have added a Peter Bognanovich and Laurent Bouzereau commentary. I always like listening to Bognanovich and he casually relates some good information. The old featurettes are still there and this is definitely the definitive edition to date and the price is a steal.

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On the original release: This release has been much anticipated by the Home Theater crowd and initial reviews showed disappointment. It may possibly have been because many of us have been spoiled by technically superior transfers such as 'Vertigo' and 'North by Northwest'.  The elements of 'To Catch a Thief' were not in very good condition to start with and it is obvious that a full restoration at this point was not totally cost effective for Paramount. The image quality is quite poor indeed... not tight to the frame edges (losing horizontal resolution), many scratches and rife with artifacts, colors at times look awful - Ughhhh. The Trailer in the extras is in Full Screen format, which I was not particularly happy with, but the featurettes are a nice touch.  out of

Gary Tooze