The Lady Vanishes

U.K. 1938

In this best-loved of Hitchcock’s British-made thrillers, a young woman on a train meets a charming old lady (Dame May Whitty), who promptly disappears. The other passengers deny ever having seen her, leading the young woman to suspect a conspiracy. When she begins investigating, she is drawn into a complex web of mystery and high adventure.

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Theatrical Release: November 1st, 1938 - United Kingdom

DVD Comparison:

Criterion Collection - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Criterion - Region 0 - NTSC (From the Essential Art House - 50 Years of Janus Films)

(Criterion (original) - Region 0 - NTSC LEFT vs. Criterion (Janus Essential Art) - Region 0 - NTSC RIGHT)

DVD Box Cover

(click titles for DVDBeaver reviews) The Essential Art House - 50 Years of Janus Films is a 50-disc celebration of international films collected under the auspices of the groundbreaking theatrical distributor. It contains Alexander Nevsky (1938), Ashes And Diamonds (1958), L'avventura (1960), Ballad Of A Soldier (1959), Beauty And The Beast (1946), Black Orpheus (1959), Brief Encounter (1945), The Fallen Idol (1948), Fires On The Plain (1959), Fists In The Pocket (1965), Floating Weeds (1959), Forbidden Games (1952), The 400 Blows (1959), Grand Illusion (1937), Häxan (1922), Ikiru (1952), The Importance Of Being Earnest (1952), Ivan The Terrible, Part II (1958), Le Jour Se Lève (1939), Jules And Jim (1962), Kind Hearts And Coronets (1949), Knife In The Water (1962), The Lady Vanishes (1938), The Life And Death Of Colonel Blimp (1943), Loves Of A Blonde (1965), M (1931), M. Hulot's Holiday (1953), Miss Julie (1951), Pandora's Box (1929), Pépé Le Moko (1937), Il Posto (1961), Pygmalion (1938), Rashomon (1950), Richard III (1955), The Rules Of The Game (1939), Seven Samurai (1954), The Seventh Seal (1957), The Spirit Of The Beehive (1973), La Strada (1954), Summertime (1955), The Third Man (1949), The 39 Steps (1935), Ugetsu (1953), Umberto D. (1952), The Virgin Spring (1960), Viridiana (1961), The Wages Of Fear (1953), The White Sheik (1952), Wild Strawberries (1957), Three Documentaries By Saul J. Turell plus the hardcover, full color 240-page book.
Distribution	Criterion Collection - Spine # 3 Region 0 - NTSC	Criterion (Janus Essential Art) Region 0 - NTSC
Runtime	1:35:06	1:35:51
Video	1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate:5.86 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 7.85 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate : Criterion original
Bitrate: Criterion (Janus Essential Art)
Audio	English Mono (Dolby Digital 1.0)	English Mono (Dolby Digital 1.0)
Subtitles	None	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Criterion Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Layers: Single Edition Details: • Commentary by film historian Bruce Eder • Restoration Demonstration DVD Release Date: June 2, 1998 Keep Case Chapters: 37	Release Information: Studio: Criterion / Janus Aspect Ratio: Original Aspect Ratio 1.33:1 Edition Details: • none DVD Release Date: October 24th, 2006 loose-leaf slip holder inside binder Chapters: 37

Comments:

Here at DVDBeaver we feel that we don't do enough geeky things so we decided to compare the Essential Art House - 50 Years of Janus Films edition of The Lady Vanishes to the original to actually see if it is improved - since even on a tube it does look to be superior... and lo-and-behold - it is!

It could simply be a matter of a single layered transfer (original) vs. a dual-layered one, but contrast and sharpness are both improved on the version available in the Essential Art House - 50 Years of Janus Films edition, however the Janus DVD is pictureboxed (see our description of 'pictureboxing' in our Kind Hearts and Coronets review). So it immediately gives up some resolution to the original DVD. Still though, the Janus transfer is superior - a shade darker but still showing the same damage marks.

Of course the original has the commentary and other extras where the Janus is stripped. Audio seemed about the same to me. Only the Janus offers optional English subtitles.

I still think the Concorde Region 2 - PAL (compared HERE) is the best DVD transfer of The Lady Vanishes - 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.

- Gary Tooze

DVD Menus

(Criterion (original) - Region 0 - NTSC LEFT vs. Criterion (Janus Essential Art) - Region 0 - NTSC RIGHT)

Screen Captures

(Criterion (original) - Region 0 - NTSC TOP vs. Criterion (Janus Essential Art) - Region 0 - NTSC MIDDLE vs. Concorde Region 2- PAL - BOTTOM)