Frenzy 4K UHD - Jon Finch

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

USA 1972

Perfectly blending suspense and humor, Alfred Hitchcock's Frenzy is a shocking tale of murder set in modern-day London. A serial criminal known as the "Necktie Murderer" has the police on red alert and the trail is leading to an innocent man who must now elude the law and prove his innocence by finding the real murderer. Starring Jon Finch, Alex McCowen and Barry Foster, the film marked Hitchcock's return to his native England after nearly twenty years and demonstrates why he known as the Master of Suspense.

***

Alfred Hitchcock entered the 1970s with his commercial reputation virtually in tatters, a far cry from his stature at the start of the 1960s. Then, he'd been in the middle of the massively successful trio of movies, North by Northwest, Psycho, and The Birds, and was a ubiquitous presence on television thanks to his anthology series Alfred Hitchcock Presents -- but the series ended, and he'd suffered three expensive box-office failures in a row, Marnie, Torn Curtain, and Topaz, in the second half of the 1960s. He redeemed himself with Frenzy, however, which marked his return not only to England for the first time in 20 years but also to the subject matter with which he'd started his career in thrillers back in 1926 -- murder, and a hunt for a serial killer in London. As the latest female victim of the "Necktie Murderer" is found in the Thames, raped and strangled, we meet Richard Blaney (Jon Finch), a bitter, belligerent ex-Royal Air Force officer who can't seem to find his way in life. He drinks too much and holds grudges too easily, and has an explosive temper, which is very near the surface as he's just lost his job. We also meet his girlfriend, a barmaid (Anna Massey); his ex-wife, a professional matchmaker (Barbara Leigh-Hunt); and his best friend, Covent Garden fruit seller Bob Rusk (Barry Foster). Their connection to the necktie murders will be clear to us in the first 30 minutes of the movie and, not coincidentally, completely misinterpreted by the police, as Chief Inspector Oxford (Alec McCowan) and his men tighten a circle around the wrong man, who rapidly runs out of options and allies.

Posters

Theatrical Release: May 19th, 1972 (Cannes Film Festival)

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Review: Universal - Region FREE - 4K UHD

Box Cover		CLICK to order from: Individually: or as part of Universal's The Alfred Hitchcock Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection #3 with *Rope* / *The Man Who Knew Too Much* / *Torn Curtain* / *Topaz* and Frenzy Bonus Captures:
Distribution	Universal - Region FREE - 4K UHD
Runtime	1:55:51.944
Video	1.85:1 2160P 4K Ultra HD Disc Size: 65,214,638,368 bytes Feature: 59,946,835,968 bytes Video Bitrate: 60.80 Mbps Codec: HEVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate 4K Ultra HD:
Audio	DTS-HD Master Audio English 1796 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1796 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) DUBS: DTS Audio French 448 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 448 kbps / 24-bit DTS Audio Spanish 448 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 448 kbps / 24-bit DTS Audio Japanese 448 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 448 kbps / 24-bit DTS Audio German 448 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 448 kbps / 24-bit DTS Audio Italian 448 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 448 kbps / 24-bit
Subtitles	English (SDH), English, French, Spanish, Japanese, German, Italian, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Universal 1.85:1 2160P 4K Ultra HD Disc Size: 65,214,638,368 bytes Feature: 59,946,835,968 bytes Video Bitrate: 60.80 Mbps Codec: HEVC Video Edition Details: 4K Ultra HD disc • The Story of Frenzy (44:46) • Production Photographs (17:01) • Theatrical Trailer (2:55) Universal - Region FREE - Blu-ray • The Story of Frenzy (44:46) • Production Photographs (17:01) • Theatrical Trailer (2:55) My Scenes 4K Ultra HD Release Date: October 31st, 2023 Black 4K Ultra HD Case Chapters 18

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray and 4K UHD captures were taken directly from the respective discs.

ADDITION: Universal 4K UHD (November 2023): Universal have released Alfred Hitchcock's Frenzy to 4K UHD. It is sold both individually as well s part of Universal's The Alfred Hitchcock Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection #3 with Rope / The Man Who Knew Too Much / Torn Curtain / Topaz and Frenzy. Included is the 2012 Blu-ray (reviewed HERE) as evidenced by the date of the M2TS files:

The Blu-ray from 2012 had low frequency edge enhancement:

(CLICK to ENLARGE)

that is NOT present on the new 4K UHD. Hoorah!

This is a marvelous upgrade, that loses the dullish green hue and mild digitization of the older 1080P release. The 2160P exported rich, full colors and a significantly sharper image on my system. Every facet of the visuals have improved and overall I was extremely pleased with the HD appearance. Easily the best this great thriller has looked on digital.

It is likely that the monitor you are seeing this review is not an HDR-compatible display (High Dynamic Range) or Dolby Vision, where each pixel can be assigned with a wider and notably granular range of color and light. Our capture software if simulating the HDR (in a uniform manner) for standard monitors. This should make it easier for us to review more 4K UHD titles in the future and give you a decent idea of its attributes on your system. So our captures may not support the exact same colors (coolness of skin tones, brighter or darker hues etc.) as the 4K system at your home. But the framing, detail, grain texture support etc. are, generally, not effected by this simulation representation.

NOTE: 40 more more full resolution (3840 X 2160) 4K UHD captures, in lossless PNG format, for Patrons are available HERE

We have reviewed the following 4K UHD packages recently: American Graffiti (software uniformly simulated HDR), East End Hustle, Three Days of the Condor (software uniformly simulated HDR), Witness (software uniformly simulated HDR), Fascination (software uniformly simulated HDR), Lips of Blood (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Others (no HDR), It Came From Outer Space (software uniformly simulated HDR), Don't Look Now, Rosemary's Baby (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Last Wave (no HDR), The Train (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Trial (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Walkabout (software uniformly simulated HDR), Black Magic Rites, The Night of the Hunted (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Rape of the Vampire (software uniformly simulated HDR), Gorgo (software uniformly simulated HDR), Akira Kurosawa's Dreams (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Man From Hong Kong (software uniformly simulated HDR), One False Move, The Tall T (software uniformly simulated HDR), Cold Eyes of Fear (software uniformly simulated HDR), Rules of the Game (no HDR), The Manchurian Candidate (software uniformly simulated HDR), After Hours, Rain Man (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Changeling (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Night of the Hunter (software uniformly simulated HDR), 12 Angry Men (software uniformly simulated HDR), Branded to Kill (no HDR), Picnic at Hanging Rock (software uniformly simulated HDR), Two Orphan Vampires, The Shiver of the Vampires, Drowning By Number (software uniformly simulated HDR), Serpico (software uniformly simulated HDR), Cool Hand Luke (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Seventh Seal (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Maltese Falcon (software uniformly simulated HDR).

Like the old Blu-ray on their 4K UHD, Universal use a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel track (24-bit) in the original English language. "Frenzy" is filled with various types of assault violence. They are quite disturbing. The score is by Ron Goodwin (Spanish Fly, Village of the Damned, The Day of the Triffids, Operation Crossbow, 633 Squadron) and is plenty British with solid bass also offering a chilling edge via the lossless. There are a host of European and a Japanese language DUBs as well as plenty of foreign subtitle options plus English and English (SDH.) Both the 4K UHD disc and included Blu-ray are region FREE.

There are the repeated extras on the 4K UHD disc - from the ancient DVD which included the 45-minute Laurent Bouzereau 2001 documentary The Story of Frenzy, described as "The official behind-the-scenes documentary on "Frenzy" for the 2001 DVD release." It has archival interview footage of 'The Master', plus input from Anthony Shaffer, Jon Finch, Anna Massey, Barry Foster, Patricia Hitchcock and Peter Bogdanovich. There are also some 'Production Photographs' and a theatrical trailer. The Alfred Hitchcock Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection #3 package is again one of those annoying book-style packages that look great but are very impractical for removing the discs.

Alfred Hitchcock's Frenzy is often cited as the penultimate feature film of his 6-decade career. It was his only film given an R rating during its initial release with multiple scenes of brief nudity and a murder/rape. Many, including this reviewer, consider it the "last great Hitchcock film". After the two unsuccessful box-office efforts prior to Frenzy, Torn Curtain and Topaz, about political intrigue and espionage, fans welcomed The Master's return to the crime/murder genre. Frenzy includes Hitchcock repeated theme of an innocent man wrongly convicted. Shot in London it was the third and final that he film made returning to Britain after Under Capricorn and Stage Fright once he moved to Hollywood in 1939, immediately following Jamaica Inn, shot in Cornwall. Wikipedia says that Michael Caine was Hitchcock's first choice for the role of Robert 'Bob's your Uncle' Rusk, the deceptive, cold-blooded antagonist, but as Caine later stated, "He offered me the part of a sadist who murdered women and I won't play that. I have a sort of moral thing and I refused to play it and he never spoke to me again." Definitely our loss. Universal's 4K UHD release of Frenzy is a must-own with a huge video improvement over the strangely digitized Blu-ray of over a decade ago. The wait has been worth it.

Gary Tooze

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