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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |
(aka 'Der Mann, der zuviel wußte' or 'L'Homme qui en savait trop')
An ordinary British couple vacationing in Switzerland suddenly find themselves embroiled in a case of international intrigue when their daughter is kidnapped by spies plotting a political assassination. This fleet and gripping film is the first of the early thrillers the Master of Suspense, Alfred Hitchcock, made during the fertile phase of his career spent at the Gaumont-British Picture Corporation. Besides affirming Hitchcock’s genius, it gave the brilliant Peter Lorre his first English- speaking role, as a slithery villain. With its tension and gallows humor, it’s pure Hitchcock, and it set the tone for such films as The 39 Steps and The Lady Vanishes. |
Posters
Theatrical Release: December 1934 - UK
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
Comparison:
Whirlwind /RYKO Region 0 - NTSC vs. Laserlight - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Carlton - Region 2 - PAL vs. Concorde - Region 2- PAL vs. Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray |
Big thanks to Rich Deming for the Whirlwind captures and Markus of ChiaroScuro for the Carlton Screen Captures and Pavel Borodin for Concorde screen captures!
1) Whirlwind/RYKO - Region 0 - NTSC LEFT2) Laserlight- Region 0 - NTSC - SECOND 3) Carlton - Region 2- PAL THIRD 4) Concorde - Region 2 - PAL - FOURTH 5) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray RIGHT
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Box Covers |
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Distribution |
Whirlwind /RYKO Video Region 0 - NTSC |
Laserlight Home Video Region 0 - NTSC |
Carlton Visual Entertainment Region 2 - PAL |
Concorde Home Entertainment (Germany) Region 2 - PAL |
Criterion Spine #643 - Region 'A' - Blu-ray |
Runtime | 1:15:30 | 1:15:42 | 1:12:09 (4% PAL speedup) | 1:12:09 (4% PAL speedup) | 1:16:04.865 |
Video |
1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio
average Bitrate: 5.7 mb/s |
1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio
average Bitrate: 6.71 mb/s |
1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio
Average Bitrate: 6.97 mb/s |
1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average
Bitrate: 7.20 |
1.33:1 - 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 46,326,654,104 bytes Feature: 25,599,449,088 bytes Video Bitrate: 34.98 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video |
NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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Bitrate:
Whirlwind /RYKO + Laserlight |
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Bitrate:
Carlton and Concorde
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Audio | English (Dolby Digital 1.0) | English (Dolby Digital 1.0) | English Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono |
English Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono |
LPCM Audio English 1152 kbps
1.0 / 48 kHz / 1152 kbps / 24-bit Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps |
Subtitles | None | Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, none | English (captions) and none | German and none | English and none |
Features |
Release Information: Studio: Ryko Distribution - Video
Aspect Ratio: Edition Details: • Newsreel Footage (1937) • Prest-O Change-O Cartoon
DVD
Release Date: July 25th, 2000 Chapters 11
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Release Information: Studio: Laserlight Video
Aspect Ratio: Edition Details:
DVD
Release Date: June 19, 1998 Chapters 20 |
Release Information: Studio: Carlton Visual Entertainment Aspect Ratio: Edition Details:
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Release Information: Studio: Concorde Home Entertainment (Germany)
Aspect Ratio: Edition Details: None DVD
Release Date: October 20th, 2003 Chapters 11
This disc is only available as part of the 6 disc pack Alfred Hitchcock - The Early Years, released in Germany by Concorde. The Early Years box set contains the following discs: The Lodger / Downhill, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Sabotage, Secret Agent, Young and Innocent and The Lady Vanishes. |
Release Information: Studio: Criterion
1.33:1 - 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 46,326,654,104 bytes Feature: 25,599,449,088 bytes Video Bitrate: 34.98 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Edition Details:
• New
audio commentary featuring film historian Philip Kemp
Blu-ray Release Date: January 15th, 2013 Transparent Blu-ray CaseChapters 15 |
Comments: |
NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc. ADDITION: Criterion - Region 'A' Blu-ray - December 2012: After watching the restoration supplement on Criterion's 1080P transfer it's easy to ascertain that this is 'as good as it gets' for The Master's first kick at the can for the title feature - which, incidentally, I prefer to the 56' version. Being a Public Domain title we have seen the gamut of SD transfers with the PAL Carlton and the Concorde DVD versions topping the list. The Blu-ray does look quite good - excessive grain has been controlled but pleasing textures are still present. It's clean and represents detail as well as one could expect from the 1934 original. It's history makes it imperfect but it was a true pleasure to see the film looking so much better than all the other versions I own.Audio is lossless and while also less than perfect dialogue is more discernable without egregious flaw. There are optional English subtitles on the region 'A'-locked Blu-ray disc. Extras are great with a new audio commentary featuring film historian Philip Kemp informing us of extraneous aspects of production, The Master and some of the performers. There is a new 17-minute interview with filmmaker Guillermo del Toro - a Hitchcock expert in his own right - author of the book Hitchcock. The Illustrated Hitchcock, is an extensive 50-minute interview with director Alfred Hitchcock from 1972, conducted by journalist Pia Lindstrom and film historian William K. Everson. There are also 22-minutes of the last section of audio excerpts from filmmaker François Truffaut’s legendary 1962 interviews with Hitchcock as well as a 5-minute Restoration demonstration and a liner notes booklet featuring an essay by critic Farran Smith Nehme.
I've watched this
Blu-ray
twice now and can't wait for the third time - what a gem...with the
lackluster DVDs floating around - the Criterion hi-def is such a welcome
pleasure to all digital libraries. Strongly recommended!
***
ON THE DVDs: Firstly the Tony
Curtis intro'ed Laserlight version can be thrown right out of the
picture and although it is better we can do the same with the Whirlwind
/ RYKO edition, but it does win the Extras with Young and Innocent
and a cartoon. Looks like Region 1 gets screwed with this film as the
only real contenders are both in Region 2.
Looks like the Carlton
and the Concorde have used the exact same print (same damage on capture
#2 below), but the Concorde have done some obvious boosting in the
brightness dept. Quite bad actually (look at the title captures below!).
I don't know who in their organization is responsible, but it is quite a
contrast to their "The Lady Vanishes"
DVD. I was expecting the Concorde to be superior to the Carlton after
seeing other examples in their Boxset and it being newer. Believe it or
not the Laserlight wins the Extras as the other two have absolutely none
- bear in mind the only way to get the Concorde is in their wonderful
Boxset - but I don't consider that an "Extra". I think all three
editions are single layered (not that it mans too much). Stick with the
Carlton, but you may still wish to spring or the German Boxset. More
comparisons and reviews from that will follow. |
DVD Menus
(Whirlwind/RYKO
- Region 0 - NTSC LEFT vs. Laserlight- Region
0 - NTSC - 2nd vs. Carlton - Region 2- PAL - 3rd vs. Concorde - Region
2 - PAL - RIGHT)
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NOT AVAILABLE at time of posting |
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Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
1) Whirlwind/RYKO - Region 0 - NTSC TOP 2) Laserlight- Region 0 - NTSC - SECOND 3) Carlton - Region 2- PAL THIRD 4) Concorde - Region 2 - PAL - FOURTH 5) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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Report Card:
Image: |
Blu-ray |
Sound: |
Blu-ray |
Extras: | Blu-ray |
Box Covers |
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Distribution |
Whirlwind /RYKO Video Region 0 - NTSC |
Laserlight Home Video Region 0 - NTSC |
Carlton Visual Entertainment Region 2 - PAL |
Concorde Home Entertainment (Germany) Region 2 - PAL |
Criterion Spine #643 - Region 'A' - Blu-ray |