Witness for the Prosecution (1957) (Blu-ray) Available for Preorder (1 Viewer)

Preordered!

Nice price, too.

Looking forward to seeing cover art for all of these classics.

According to Amazon, this is coming from Kino. I hope they don't screw it up.

Does Kino include English subtitles on their Blu rays?

Is this worth a blind buy?It would be my first Kino title

^ For some, the answer would be yes, just on the strength of Billy Wilder's involvement (as director, at least - there was possibly more involvement

Ronald Epstein said:

Is this worth a blind buy?It would be my first Kino title

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The film is great and worthy of innumerable repeat viewings. We'll see how Kino releases it. I hope that they don't turn it over to the people who screwed up White Zombie.

Thanks, Joe. Preordered!

JoeDoakes said:

I hope that they don't turn it over to the people who screwed up White Zombie.

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Not the case here, these are licensed from MGM and are almost certainly have been transferred at MGM/Fox facilities. Also the HD transfer of this particular film has already been widely available on Netflix and other outlets for years. It was already done, with no additional work necessary

Also, the White Zombie incident is a one-time goof that so far Kino has never been guilty of since.

Ronald Epstein said:

Is this worth a blind buy?It would be my first Kino title

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i would strongly suggest renting or borrowing a copy first. I'm a huge Agatha Christie fan but not a fan of this film. It's a bit on the talky side and while Laughton and Lanchester are excellent, Power and Dietrich's performance are really very poor (unless you're taken by their film personas). There's a "twist" in the film that even the most backward child can guess.

Of course, this is just my opinion. There are many people who just adore the film.

I strongly disagree with Thomas here. Power and Dietrich do just fine in this picture (though I agree not their best) and the twist is nowhere near as telegraphed in the film as he suggests. I wouldn't confuse personal genre savviness with a weakness of the film itself. One could say the same thing about the ending to Psycho or other Hitchcock classics.

Though I agree that a rental is a good idea as this one is widely available for streaking in HD. I would not recommend the DVD because it is not in anamorphic widescreen.

Ron,

I think you'll like it despite some misgivings from some around here.

Ronald Epstein said:

Is this worth a blind buy?It would be my first Kino title

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Absolutely. A compelling courtroom drama with stellar cast. After first watching this I wanted to watch everything I could with Charles Laughton in it. The twisted ending is worth the price of admission. But don't revel it to anyone.

IMO, the movie is great. It is "talky" but most films of that era were (people's attention spans were much longer too). I will take a pass on this one as I just (last month) purchased the Australian region-free blu released by Umbrella. Very good picture/audio and I figure Kino is using the same transfer.

There are actually THREE twists at the conclusion of the film, all coming in rapid succession and quite mind blowing.

And I completely disagree with those who said it isn't Power's best work. He's superb in the film if possibly a trifle older than the part required.

Matt Hough said:

And I completely disagree with those who said it isn't Power's best work.

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It isn't his best work. I think most would agree his career best performance is Nightmare Alley (1947). And if anyone is impressed with Dietrich's "acting", I suggest they watch the TV version (which I'll concede is inferior) but it has a real actress as Christine and Diana Rigg blows Dietrich out of the water.

I thought Dietrich was great. I can't imagine anyone else in the role.

Thomas T said:

i would strongly suggest renting or borrowing a copy first. I'm a huge Agatha Christie fan but not a fan of this film. It's a bit on the talky side and while Laughton and Lanchester are excellent, Power and Dietrich's performance are really very poor (unless you're taken by their film personas). There's a "twist" in the film that even the most backward child can guess.

Of course, this is just my opinion. There are many people who just adore the film.

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I strongly disagree as well, although it took me until a second viewing to come to this opinion: I think Power and Dietrich are magnificent if you consider that...


This has become one of my all-time favorites. And like ahollis, I became a big Charles Laughton fan with this movie. His scenes with Elsa Lanchester are hilarious.