Review: ‘To Catch a Thief’ DVD
Paramount Pictures ends its tour of the 1950s, for now anyway, with the Centennial Collection edition of Alfred Hitchcock’s To Catch a Thief
Hitchcock’s 1955 film, based on David Dodge’s 1952 novel, stars Cary Grant and Grace Kelly and was filmed in location in Europe. This was the first of his films shot in Paramount’s VistaVision, a process similar to Cinemascope and used to compete against television for audiences. Despite the arduous process to shoot, he went on to use it five times but the first proved challenging, not that you can tell in the finished product.
John Robie (Grant) is a retired thief known as The Cat but he leaves his French vineyard when a copycat begins a series of crimes that convinces the police he’s back in action. Posing an American businessman, he begins seeking the most valuable jewels in France to outguess his imitator and along the way romances Francie Stevens (Kelly), daughter of a society woman who owns one of the gems on his list.
The glimpse into French society in fun and the movie moves along with solid pacing and some nice action sequences, notably the first car chase. Grant and Kelly, in her last film for the director, sparkle on screen together and Hitch does his adept visual innuendo, this time fireworks going off during some serious kissing.
Shot on location makes the film look far different than typical studio fare, aided by Edith Head’s keen eye for costuming the stars, especially Kelly who soon went on to become a princess. The cinematography by Robert Burks deservedly won the Academy Award that year.
Technically, the cleaned print transfer makes this the best edition yet released for home video, with 2.0 Dolby sound lending an assist.
The film comes with brand new commentary from Dr. Drew Casper, Hitchcock Prof. of American Film at USC who provides insights into the production. The second disc comes with the usual assortment of special features. The 2007 edition’s extras are included so you’d be buying this mostly for the restored film itself. There’s also the 23-minute [[[A Night with the Hitchcock’s]]], the USC popular class devoted to the director and his works. The surviving family usually comes to chat at least once per semester and the November 2008 visit was recorded for inclusion. Then there’s Unacceptable Under the Code: Film Censorship in America, the 12-minute featurette looking at the state of film censorship during the 1950s, considered one of the most repressive decades in America (see the Comics Code). This focuses on how Hitch worked around the restrictions with glee.
The [[[Behind the Gates]]] featurette is a six minute look at Grant and Kelly as opposed to the physical production of a film. And Edith Head: The Paramount Years makes a return appearance from an earlier part of the collection.
From the 2007 edition are Writing and Casting [[[To Catch a Thief]]] is a nine minute featurette; The Making of To Catch a Thief (17-minutes); Alfred Hitchcock and To Catch a Thief: An Appreciation (seven minutes).
Pop culture is influenced by so many different factors and timing determines what will catch on and endure while other things, quality be damned, wither and die. A perfect example is the Award-Winning darling of 2008, 
.
A long-simmering trademark dispute over who owns 
You know the music. You know the set-up and you’ve seen it played out in countless variations. Still, there is nothing like the original. Paramount’s Centennial Collection continues today with two more classic releases, including Neil Simon’s 
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Having grown up on James Bond movies, I have been conditioned to expect certain lines, images and sounds. As a result, I was curious to see what would survive when the franchise was rebooted with 
. They played with the martini line but maintained the title theme and gave us a fresh start (although I still think Daniel Craig is too old for Bond at this stage in his career).
One of the key differences between watching [[[Watchmen]]] and reading the complete book is the rich variety of extras in print. In addition to the story, there was the secondary story, [[[Tales of the Black Freighter]]], in addition to newspaper clippings and excerpts from Hollis Mason’s [[[Under the Hood]]]. Initially, these extras were never considered but were instead added after DC’s management wisely decided the maxiseries should appear without advertising. Freed, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons filled the pages with rich context, inviting readers further into their imagined universe and making for a more fulfilling reading experience.
, available to buy or download on Tuesday, you feel like you’re getting supplemental material divorced from the main story as opposed to being fully integrated with the Zack Snyder-directed feature film. One supposes we must all wait for the director’s cut where at least the Pirate tale will be once more edited in with the main story.
Baz Luhrman is a visual director. Couple him with fellow Aussies Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman; one would expect a strong story with terrific scenery and fine performances.
. The overly long film, now out on DVD, is actually two predictable stories melded into one feature. The first half is a remake of [[[The African Queen]]] repurposed as an American western set in the outback. The second half is a World War II adventure that sort of pits Jackman against the Japanese. Given its highly obvious story points, it’s hard to believe this is a product from the man who gave us [[[Moulin Rouge]]] and a fresh take on [[[Romeo and Juliet]]].
The current era of the super-hero movie can trace its roots to 1989 and the release of Tim Burton’s [[[Batman]]]. For the first time since Richard Donner’s [[[Superman]]], the comic book heroes were taken seriously and adapted for the screen with love and care. In between, there was failure after failure as no one in Hollywood seemed to understand the source material.
, on sale today. Gotham City is a dark, scary place, and its populace needs Batman, a vigilante protector. The architectural look, from designer Anton Furst, coupled with the moody lighting and off-kilter sensibilities of its director made Batman something to marvel at. He got fans to get over their complaints that Michael Keaton was the wrong choice to portray Bruce Wayne. Instead, Keaton was a conflicted everyman who had some serious issues driving him to don the costume and endure the withering barbs from Alfred (Michael Gough). Jack Nicholson’s Joker nearly stole the movie but was a terrific foil for the hero. The movie’s far from perfect with story holes and logic gaps (one bullet can take down the Batwing?).
Walt Disney learned much from the work performed in [[[Snow White]]], his first animated feature. The story was fairly basic and almost too short and to the point. For his second outing, he intended for something to further demonstrate his mastery of the animated form. As a result, his work in translating Carlo Collodi’s [[[Pinocchio]]] from book to cartoon kept changing through the production and as a result, the finished product was a giant leap forward.
, on sale Tuesday.
After years of eager anticipation, the fan community was given a film version of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ classic [[[Watchmen]]] story. DC President & Publisher has noted that after 20 years of attempts to mount this project, the sophistication of special effects and the growth of acceptance among the general audience for the super-heroic fare have come together. After several years of successful comic book adaptations, the mass audience is now ready for a movie that essentially deconstructs the genre. They have a better understanding of the unique vocabulary and storytelling needs of the super-hero story to appreciate what Watchmen attempts to do.
