ADDITION: Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray May 17': The new Kino 1080P of Hitchcock's The Paradine Case looks, predictably, solid. Well-layered contrast augments the visuals, detail rises and the image is consistent and clean in-motion. Grain textures are prevalent and appealing. The transfer has a middling bitrate but seems to do the job - probably as a function of the decent source.

NOTE: Our screener pressing may be different than the consumer discs - from Shawn in email "The opening credits are fine, but after that, throughout the film, the dark areas have a 'light matte' of horizontal/vertical crosshatch to them. " We have heard similar and Kino have been notified.

For the audio transfer, Kino use a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel at 1556 kbps (16-bit). The versatile Franz Waxman (Dark Passage, Rebecca, Bride of Frankenstein, Rear Window, Sunset Boulevard) score supports the tension and mystery. It sounds quite appealing in the lossless and is available as an isolated score option - in lossy Dolby only. There are optional English subtitle (see sample below) and the Blu-ray disc is coded Region 'A'-locked.

Kino add some, existing, extras (found on the 2008 MGM DVD). We get the older audio commentary by film historians Stephen Rebello and Bill Krohn. They discuss Selznick and many details of the film - including the performers, cast, cinematographer etc. It's loaded with impressive information. There is also 13-minutes of the Hitchcock/Truffaut (audio) where they discuss The Paradine Case, as does, in another audio-only segment - Hitchcock interview with Peter Bogdanovich asking about Selznick's involvement etc. I am starting to appreciate the radio dramas - and one is included here of The Paradine Case from 1949 starring Joseph Cotten. It runs shy of an hour. We get to spend 9-minutes with Cecilia and Carey Peck discussing their father. We can see a revealing restoration comparison and an original theatrical trailer. As mentioned we have an isolated score option and the package has a reversible sleeve (see other cover below)

Not The Master's best, but still a cracking good courtroom thriller - looking very pleasing in 1080P and the disc package includes numerous valuable extras. Seems like a very desirable Blu-ray - a must-own for Hitchcock fans - strongly recommended!

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ON THE DVDs: Both editions are pretty similar in the image category. If you look at the bit-rates I would guess they were from the same print and not a lot done to them in conversion to digital. A bit of contrast boosting, but that is about all. In some captures the UK edition looks better (sharper) and in others the Anchor Bay looks superior. Overall I like the contrast levels in many scenes of the Anchor Bay... pitch black at times. Someone has the ratio slightly off in one of these DVDs as the faces are fatter in the Prism PAL edition and thinner in the Anchor Bay. My eye says the Anchor Bay is closer to reality, where yours may say the opposite. The Extras are totally in the Prism favor making them much like a Criterion, except lacking the inclusion of a commentary. Interesting that like one of the Criterion Hitch's (Rebecca), Prism has shown the titles as picture-boxed. This film is not really considered a Hitch classic, so I would imagine very few who own the Anchor Bay will buy the Prism just for the extras... but they do have that option.