A Few Words About A few words about...™ To Catch a Thief -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[Lord Dalek]

Originally Posted by Robert Harris /t/318618/a-few-words-about-to-catch-a-thief-in-blu-ray/30#post_3900260
Because some extras are of a certain age, were created at that resolution, and cannot be re-shot.

RAH

I think he's referring to how Criterion simply uprezzes a lot of their old stuff in to 1080i.

 

[Everett S.]

They made squeezed anamorphic side by side Stereovision prints in the early 1980's. They were Polaroid but not very good quality.
Bob

When W.B. reissued "House of Wax" in 3d about 1970 they put it on 70mm side by side.And it looked great also sounded great in mag. stereo! Still the best looking 3d movie.Being in Technicolor!

 

[Robert Harris]

Originally Posted by Everett Stallings /t/318618/a-few-words-about-to-catch-a-thief-in-blu-ray/60#post_3900327
When W.B. reissued "House of Wax" in 3d about 1970 they put it on 70mm side by side.And it looked great also sounded great in mag. stereo! Still the best looking 3d movie.Being in Technicolor!

Bob F. can correct me if I'm incorrect, but I believe HoW was in delightful WarnerColor. Possibly some prints by Tech.

 

[Bob Furmanek]

The only Tech. prints of WAX were for a flat re-issue in the late 1950's. The original release was WarnerColor and the few surviving 1953 prints are terribly faded.
WB has a new left/right 3-D print struck circa 2005 from preservation elements that looks spectacular.
Bob

 

[Matt Hough]

Originally Posted by Bob Furmanek /t/318618/a-few-words-about-to-catch-a-thief-in-blu-ray/60#post_3900340
The only Tech. prints of WAX were for a flat re-issue in the late 1950's. The original release was WarnerColor and the few surviving 1953 prints are terribly faded.
WB has a new left/right 3-D print struck circa 2005 from preservation elements that looks spectacular.
Bob

Reading this kind of description makes me REALLY anticipate its (hopefully quick) future release in 3D.

 

[AnthonyClarke]

The old 3d version of To Catch a Thief wasn't done with red/blue glasses, but with perfectly acceptable polarised lenses -- though there may have been cheap reissues on single-strip blue/red film.
I went several times to revivals in true 3 D and the movie was every bit as good as any of the modern 3D releases. Better in fact, because this was Hitchcock!
The film crying out to be re-released in 3 D (again true 3D originally, not the red/blue compromise) is the brilliant early 1950s musical Kiss Me Kate!
Cheers from Anthony, in Woodend Vic Australia

 

[rsmithjr]

The old 3d version of To Catch a Thief wasn't done with red/blue glasses, but with perfectly acceptable polarised lenses -- though there may have been cheap reissues on single-strip blue/red film.
I went several times to revivals in true 3 D and the movie was every bit as good as any of the modern 3D releases. Better in fact, because this was Hitchcock!
The film crying out to be re-released in 3 D (again true 3D originally, not the red/blue compromise) is the brilliant early 1950s musical Kiss Me Kate!
Cheers from Anthony, in Woodend Vic Australia

Do you mean Dial M for Murder and not To Catch a Thief?
DMFM was filmed in 3D and works very well. The action takes place in a small apartment and the 3D heightens every aspect of the story and suspense.
TCAF was filmed in VistaVision/dye transfer Technicolor and looks just great but not 3D.

 

[Charles Smith]

This pre-order just dropped to $12.99 on Amazon.

 

[TravisR]

^ Thanks for the heads up!

 

[Citizen87645]

This is hard to pass up at $12.99!!!

 

[larryKR]

It's selling for $22.09 at Amazon Canada, a savings of 4% off list price.

 

[Osato]

This pre-order just dropped to $12.99 on Amazon.

Bravo!!! Thank you!

 

[haineshisway]

I've just watched the first forty-five minutes. For me, a bit of a disappointment and clearly taken from the previous DVD master, as the gold lettering in the credits was off there, too. The color is mostly great, the clarity is pleasing (clearly off the VistaVision negative) but I think had they done a fresh transfer at 4K this would be a whole different ball of Technicolor wax. It will please most, certainly, but it doesn't quite reach the heights of The Ten Commandments and White Christmas, at least for me. Still and all, I love this movie and it looks great.

 

[TravisR]

I got my copy today but haven't had a chance to watch it yet.
However, for those who fret over packagaging, you want to be careful when/if you remove the sticker on the slipcase because it'll tear a small piece of the 'shiny' stuff off the slipcase.

 

[Robert Harris]

Originally Posted by haineshisway /t/318618/a-few-words-about-to-catch-a-thief-in-blu-ray/60#post_3903648
I've just watched the first forty-five minutes. For me, a bit of a disappointment and clearly taken from the previous DVD master, as the gold lettering in the credits was off there, too. The color is mostly great, the clarity is pleasing (clearly off the VistaVision negative) but I think had they done a fresh transfer at 4K this would be a whole different ball of Technicolor wax. It will please most, certainly, but it doesn't quite reach the heights of The Ten Commandments and White Christmas, at least for me. Still and all, I love this movie and it looks great.

Definitely a problem with the dupes, which could have easily been alleviated.

RAH

 

[TexasRex]

What on earth is going on with Cary Grant's horizontally-striped shirt in the early sequences??!! It's flashing like a neon sign! Vibrating colors, purple splotches all over his shirt -- but JUST HIS SHIRT!!
Have I got a bad disc? Everything else looks stunning as you say. This can't be right!

 

[Will Krupp]

There has always been aliasing on his shirt in every video incarnation. I actually found it far less "awful" on this than I have on video in the past but, yes it's still there.

 

[rsmithjr]

This is called a "moire". It is basically caused by heterodyning two patterns against each other: in this case, the pattern of the shirt and the pattern of the pixels.
This particular shirt goes crazy with every video format.
Moires are often very noticable in NTSC sources, where the color and luminance share the same frequency range. "Comb filters" do some good in separating these but it doesn't work perfectly. You will see venetian blinds etc. showing these effects.
Right now, I am projecting TCAT on my Mitsubishi 1080P projector from the new Blu-ray. The moire is certainly less noticable than with other video formats, almost perfect. Try my old 1982 Paramount LD for example to see a much worse example, even using a digital comb filter. Try an analog NTSC set from 1985 with that LD and it really jumps out at you.
I saw the film in original theatrical release and don't remember it from that experience. But I was 10 years old!
Patterns similar to this (herringbone suits for example) can be seen now and again in old films and they always cause problems. For some reason, Cary Grant's shirt in TCAT is notorious!
VistaVision certainly produces better looking results than any other video format on Blu-ray. Just wonderful.

 

[Jacksmyname]

Received my copy today, and my wife and I watched it this evening.
Other than Mr. Grant's shirt, it's absolutely terrific.

 

[John Hodson]

For some reason, Cary Grant's shirt in TCAT is notorious!

I have a Suspicion it's how your monitor is positioned; mine is North by Northwest.