ADDITION: Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray July 16': I don't have too much to add about the film that wasn't stated in the DVD review below. I just watched the pictureboxed SD transfer and did a comparison on my 60" system and there is a very notable difference. The Blu-ray is a max'ed out bitrate with more than 6X the resolution. I can now see depth, plenty of consistent grain textures and the presentation is extremely more film-like.

Audio goes linear PCM mono (24-bit) and the score by Louis Levy and Charles Williams (both uncredited work for The 39 Steps and The Lady Vanishes) is also improved. Dialogue is also superior - still a function of the production period but easily discernable. There are optional English subtitles on the region 'A'-locked Blu-ray disc.

Extras duplicate the DVD with the 1/2 hour conversation between film scholars Peter Evans and Bruce Babington about director Carol Reed, screenwriters Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat, and the social and political climate in which Night Train to Munich was made. There is also a liner notes booklet featuring an essay by film critic Philip Kemp.

Cracker of an espionage/thriller if you are in the right mood. Radford and Wayne certainly help establish the atmosphere. It's a film I have re-watched a few times. 

***

ON THE DVD: The direct relationship Night Train to Munich has with Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes - the same general spy-related plot, script writers + studio, Margaret Lockwood, Basil Radford and Naunton Wayne - really only embellishes its impressiveness. Reed's direction is assured with lots of subtleties. It's different from The Master but this, by no means, makes it poor. Suspense builds well and it becomes a taught thriller. Very worthy of a viewing.

Criterion have pictureboxed the transfer (see our full description of 'pictureboxing' in our Kind Hearts and Coronets review). NOTE: The Criterion captures below have been put in their own table to indicate the amount of the pictureboxing (indicated by the black border circumventing the edge). Where this may benefit systems that produce overscan (ex. production made cathode ray tubes) - it detracts from systems that do not requite it (ex. HTPC and many HDMI connected systems). It's dual-layered and looks quite good - Criterion's strong contrast supported by a decent bitrate make for a pleasing, and often surprising, image. There are vintage newsclips used in the beginning setting up the WWII reference. There is grain, noise and visually it is very clean - free of damage marks.

Audio is about what you might expect from the an early 40's film. Dialogue is reasonably consistent in the mono rendering. There are optional subtitles available (see sample below).

Extras aren't very advanced consisting of a 1/2 hour conversation between film scholars Peter Evans and Bruce Babington about director Carol Reed, screenwriters Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat, and the social and political climate in which Night Train to Munich was made. There is also a 16-page liner notes booklet featuring an essay by film critic Philip Kemp.

Great film with strong value certainly existing. The price may be on the high end but fans of vintage cinema and the director will appreciate the package. I had never seen Night Train to Munich before and this appears to be the only DVD available at present. 

Gary W. Tooze