Anchor Bay "Spellbound" vs. Criterion

(aka "The House of Dr. Edwardes" - working title)

directed by Alfred Hitchcock
USA 1945

"One of Hitchcock's more scintillating tales with wonderful performances from Ingrid Bergman and Gregory Peck. Filmed in the era where psychology was still looked upon as a crock by not only the medical profession, but the world at large, SPELLBOUND centers on the mind and its power for denial. The film gets a little heavy-handed in the middle with all the psycho-babble, but Bergman and Peck keep it entertaining. Like most of Hitchcock's films you're never quite sure what's truly going on until the last frame. It's pretty clear from the beginning that the most obvious suspect is not the actual killer, but it's fun to watch Bergman figure everything out. SPELLBOUND gives her the chance to break out of her usual simpering, "save-me", kind of roles, by playing a strong, intelligent, unrelenting woman. She still needs to be saved and has many a "love-sick" scene, however, it's a part that allows her to take center stage and run with it."

Excerpt from Crazy4Cinema.com review found HERE

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DVD Comparison:

Anchor Bay - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Criterion - Region 1 - NTSC

All screenshots courtesy by Ashirg

(Anchor Bay R0 - NTSC LEFT vs. Criterion R1- RIGHT)

DVD Box Covers
Distribution	Anchor Bay Region 0 - NTSC	Criterion Collection Spine # 136 Region 1 - NTSC
Runtime	1:50:56	1:58:04
Video	4:3 Full Screen (Standard) - 1.33:1 Average Bitrate: 5.6 mb/s NTSC 720X540 29.97 f/s	4:3 Full Screen (Standard) - 1.33:1 Average Bitrate: 7.31 NTSC 720x540 29.97 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate: Anchor Bay
Bitrate: Criterion
Audio	English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)	English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
Subtitles	None	English, Spanish and none
Features	Release Information: Studio: Anchor Bay Entertainment Theatrical Release Date: December 28, 1945 Aspect Ratio: Full Screen (Standard) - 1.33:1 Discographic Information: DVD Encoding: All Regions Layers: Single Edition Details: • All Regions • Black & White • 4.5" x 7" original theatrical poster replica DVD Release Date: September 7, 1999 Keep Case Chapters 16	Release Information: Studio: Home Vision Entertainment Theatrical Release Date: December 28, 1945 Aspect Ratio: Full Screen (Standard) - 1.33:1 Discographic Information: DVD Encoding: Region 1 Edition Details: • Region 1 encoding (US and Canada only) • Black & White • Theatrical trailer(s) • Spectacular new digital transfer with film and sound restoration, including rare theater entrance and exit music cues by composer Miklos Rozsa • Commentary by Hitchcock scholar Marian Keane • Definitive, illustrated essay on the Salvador Dali dream sequence by James Bigwood • Complete 1948 Lux Radio Theatre adaption starring Joseph Cotten and Alida Valli • Essays by noted Hitchcock scholars • Excerpts from 1973 interview with composer Miklos Rozsa • Hundreds of behind-the-scenes photos and documents chronicling the film's production • The Fisko Files: A WNYC/New York public radio piece on the theremi DVD Release Date: September 24th, 2002 Keep Case Chapters 24
Comments:	Easy yet again, Criterion wins on all fronts. Better image, better extras, better menu's etc. Pay the extra dough and get the Criterion, it is money well spent. Note: Anchor Bay initially omitted the "Money Shot" of red tint (capture #5), but it was present in the second printing. Both Criterion and Anchor Bay second printing include 4-minute reinstated Miklos Rosza overture. I couldn't confirm if the first printing AB has it. Unlike previous Hitchcocks, both Anchor Bay and Criterion have the same Selznick Studio opening and windowboxed titles. I'm not sure why Criterion disc runs a little faster (notice 6 second difference in the beginning and the same time stamp on the "Money Shot"). But Criterion quality is much better (see 0.58 for artifacts between Peck and Bergman on Anchor Bay disc). Gregory Meshman