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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |
The 4K UHD of The Man Who Knew Too Much is reviewed / compared HERE
The sole instance of Hitchcock actually remaking one of his earlier movies, this replaces the British version's tight, economic plotting and quirky social observations with altogether glossier production values and a typically '50s examination of the family under melodramatic stress. Stewart and Day are the complacent couple whose son is kidnapped by spies, and who wend their way through a characteristically Hitchcockian series of suspense set pieces (including a virtuoso crescendo at the Albert Hall) in their attempts to recover him. Starting slowly amid colourful but rather superfluous travelogue-style Moroccan footage, the film improves no end as it progresses, with anxiety about the boy's safety steadily undermining the apparent happiness of a marriage founded on habit and compromise. Excerpt from TimeOut Film Guide located HERE
For Mr. Hitchcock contrived some lively thrillers with his formula of
mystery and suspense, and he made international intrigue popular when it
was getting an evil name. He virtually educated critics in the
techniques and refinements of the "chase." |
Posters
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Theatrical Release: June 1st, 1956
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Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
Comparison:
Universal (The Hitchcock Collection) - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Universal (The Hitchcock Collection) - Region 2,4 - PAL vs. Universal (Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection) - Region FREE - Blu-ray |
Big thanks to Gregory Meshman and Henrik Sylow for the DVD Screen Caps!
1) Universal (The Hitchcock Collection) - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT 2) Universal (The Hitchcock Collection) - Region 2,4 - PAL - MIDDLE 3) Universal (Masterpiece Collection) - Region FREE - Blu-ray - RIGHT |
Box Covers |
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![]() Available Individually - August 2013: |
Distribution |
Universal Region 1 - NTSC |
Universal Region 2,4 - PAL |
Universal - Region FREE - Blu-ray |
Runtime | 1:59:44 | 1:54:55 (4% PAL speedup) | 2:00:18.211 |
Video |
1.83:1 Original Aspect Ratio
16X9 enhanced |
1.83:1 Original Aspect Ratio
16X9 enhanced |
1080P
Dual-layered
Blu-ray Disc Size: 36,370,161,826 bytes Feature: 32,661,006,336 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 31.99 Mbps |
NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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Bitrate:
Universal (The Hitchcock Collection)
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Bitrate:
Universal (The Hitchcock Collection)
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Bitrate:
Universal Blu-ray
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Audio | 2.0 Dolby Digital English, 2.0 Dolby Digital French (Dub) |
2.0 Dolby Digital English, 2.0 Dolby Digital German (dub) |
DTS-HD Master Audio English 1770 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1770
kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) DTS Audio French 448 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 448 kbps / 24-bit |
Subtitles | English, Spanish, None | English, German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, None | English (SDH), Spanish, None |
Features |
Release Information: Studio: Universal Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details: Chapters 18 |
Release Information: Studio: Universal Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details:
DVD
Release Date: June 20, 2001 Chapters 18 |
Release Information: Studio: Universal Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-rayDisc Size: 36,370,161,826 bytes Feature: 32,661,006,336 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 31.99 Mbps
Edition Details: Chapters 18 |
Comments |
The 4K UHD of The Man Who Knew Too Much is reviewed / compared HERE NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc. ADDITION: Universal - Region FREE - Blu-ray - October 12': To be brief - This seems to be a pretty decent upgrade - colors lose the green tinge from the SD - and skin tones lose their orange hues - details generally rises, the 1080P image is brighter, more information in the frame... I was pleased with the appearance. Even some light scratches appear to have disappeared. There is no noise and a smattering of depth - a solid dual-layered, high-bitrate, transfer. Audio - which is prominent part of the film - gets the lossless stereo treatment and Bernard Herrmann's score and Doris' crooning have some real buoyancy and character in uncompressed. There are optional subtitles on the region FREE Blu-ray disc. The 1/2 making off.. is still present - and still in 480 - and there are trailers - including a lengthy re-release one for The Man Who Knew Too Much plus the BD is 'My Scenes' compatible. I see this as another highly positive reflection on Universal's Masterpiece Collection - one of the most important releases of the year. *** ON THE DVDs: The transfers and prints appear to be almost exactly the same with some marginal differences. Colors and infrequent damage marks are identical. The PAL edition has some minor cropping on the top edge (or the NTSC is slightly over-scanned) - regardless it is negligible.Subtitles are positioned slightly differently in
the two releases (see example below). *** The DVDs of "Rope" released in France ("La Corde"), Spain
("La Soga"), and Italy ("Nodo Alla Gola") have the following: -Gary Tooze |
Universal (The Masterpiece Collection) - Region FREE - Blu-ray Package
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Menus
(Universal (The Hitchcock Collection) -
Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Universal (The Hitchcock Collection) -
Region 2,4 - PAL - RIGHT)
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Universal (Masterpiece Collection) - Region FREE - Blu-ray
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CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Screen Captures
1) Universal (The Hitchcock Collection) - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP 2) Universal (The Hitchcock Collection) - Region 2,4 - PAL - MIDDLE 3) Universal (Masterpiece Collection) - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM |
Subtitle sample
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1) Universal (The Hitchcock Collection) - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP 2) Universal (The Hitchcock Collection) - Region 2,4 - PAL - MIDDLE 3) Universal (Masterpiece Collection) - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM |
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1) Universal (The Hitchcock Collection) - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP 2) Universal (The Hitchcock Collection) - Region 2,4 - PAL - MIDDLE 3) Universal (Masterpiece Collection) - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM |
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1) Universal (The Hitchcock Collection) - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP 2) Universal (The Hitchcock Collection) - Region 2,4 - PAL - MIDDLE 3) Universal (Masterpiece Collection) - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM |
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1) Universal (The Hitchcock Collection) - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP 2) Universal (The Hitchcock Collection) - Region 2,4 - PAL - MIDDLE 3) Universal (Masterpiece Collection) - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM |
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1) Universal (The Hitchcock Collection) - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP 2) Universal (The Hitchcock Collection) - Region 2,4 - PAL - MIDDLE 3) Universal (Masterpiece Collection) - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM |
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Report Card:
Image: |
Blu-ray |
Sound: |
Blu-ray |
Extras: | tie |