2) Criterion Region 1 - NTSC - MIDDLE

ADDITION: MGM - Region - Premiere Collection - October 08': This ends up being a real toss up. The Criterion and new MGM are very close in all categories. Image-wise the MGM is brighter and I think it comes down to what you might prefer - personally I like the darker look of the Criterion. The Premiere Collection issue, being brighter, can give the impression, in some sequences, of being sharper (when I don't believe that it really is) - but it also has tendency to show both more grain and digital noise. In fact the Criterion may be slightly more detailed. I could make comments about the marginal differences in contrast and black levels but without putting the magnifying glass too close I'd have to say that both editions give a fine SD-DVD presentation of the image of Hitchcock's Notorious. This is akin to our feelings about Rebecca.

Audio - I noted no discernable differences. The MGM also offers Spanish and French subtitles (as well as the English that are included on the Criterion).

Extras - what it seems to me is that MGM have used the Criterion as a standard to achieve towards or attempt to minutely advance upon. They have included two new commentaries (Rick Jewell and Drew Casper) and both are excellent (I especially enjoyed the Casper one). I also greatly enjoyed the Keane/Behlmer ones on the Criterion. Both have the complete broadcast of the 1948 Lux Radio Theater adaptation, starring Ingrid Bergman and Joseph Cotten. MGM add two decent featurettes - The Ultimate Romance: the Making of Notorious (28:20) and Alfred Hitchcock The Ultimate Spymaster (13:09).  Like on Rebecca there are more Hitchcock Interviews - excerpts from the director's conversations with filmmaker Francois Truffaut (16:22) and Peter Bogdanovich (2:19). There is also some minor supplements - The American Film Institute Award: The Key to Hitchcock (3:19), a restoration comparison (2:54), trailer and some stills galleries (Posters, Portraits, Behind the Scenes). It's pretty complete and impressive.

Gary W. Tooze 

***

ON THE CRITERION vs. the ANCHOR BAY: These are two discs that make for a sterling comparison. The Anchor Bay released almost 2 years earlier looks quite poor in certain capture comparisons. I am interested in how much the Criterion appears cropped on the left hand vertical side. Another intriguing difference is in the title credits - this is similar to the Rebecca DVDs where Criterion used a totally different font title than the Anchor Bay one. The sound, although very close to the  Criterion... has a bit of a hiss in the Anchor Bay version. The soundtrack for Notorious was restored and preserved from a 1954 35mm acetate release print, a 35mm nitrate fine-grain master, and a 35mm nitrate optical music & effects track positive. New 35mm magnetic analog masters and DA-88 digital masters were created utilizing Sonic Solutions noise reduction software. The Extras are obviously Criterions as well. In the Anchor Bay version, a whole minute disappears. the Criterion title sequence only takes 13 seconds so I don't know what is missing, only that something is.