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A Few Words About A few words about...™ - Jamaica Inn -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

Robert Harris

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"Make way for Pengallan!"

Many cinephiles have a tendency to dismiss Jamaica Inn as a failure, or as non-Hitchcockian Hitchcock.

While the great Alfred Hitchcock's final British production until Stage Fright in 1950, and Frenzy in 1972 (yes, I'm aware that parts of The Man Who Knew Too Much II and Under Capricorn were shot in the UK) is decidedly B minus level as part of his canon, to my mind, it is not to be missed.

I was first able to view Jamaica Inn c. 1970 in a 16mm print taken from a 35 release.  The audio, which had not been re-recorded was heavy on the bass, generally filled with wow, and difficult to understand.

Viewing the Cohen Blu-ray edition these many years later, turns out to be a multiple pleasure.

Initially for its quality, which is a superb image harvest from 35mm elements -- the work was performed in league with the BFI -- but also, for the quality of the film, which while not prime Hitchcock, is filled with wonderful moments and characters with depth.  Charles Laughton is wonderful.

The imagery is superb.  And while I'm not certain of the generation, it isn't too far away from original, as resolution, blacks and shadow detail are terrific.  Grain structure may or may not be original, but it hardly matters, as the final image works beautifully even in projection on a large screen.

As importantly, the image is stable.

The audio, is likewise of high quality.  Hearing the score, along with all of the dialogue for the first time left me smiling.

Seeing Miss O'Hara for the first time in Jamaica Inn, in BCU, leaves no doubt that even at this early stage of her career (her first billing as Maureen O'Hara, and not FitzSimons) a star was being born.

Jamaica Inn is a film that demands to be viewed by anyone interested in the cinema of Alfred Hitchcock.  It serves as a final (albeit odd) final nod to British cinema, before he moved on to his contract with David Selznick, and another film based upon a novel by Daphne Du Maurier

Rebecca, would win the Academy Award as the Best Picture of 1940, making for one of the most auspicious geographic moves by a filmmaker ever in motion picture history.

Currently available with a street price of $23, Jamaica Inn is well worth the price admission, and belongs in any serious cinema library.

The release comes with a worthwhile commentary, and a less worthwhile booklet giving the new owner basic cast, crew and a few stills.  As Cohen Film Collection is taking things seriously, I'd love to see them follow through in the future with something more in line with the Twilight Time monographs by Julie Kirgo.  Their releases deserve it.

A very high quality release from Cohen.

Image - 4.5

Audio - 4.5

Pass / Fail - Pass

Highly Recommended

RAH

 

Robin9

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It's been a long time since I last saw this film. I wasn't impressed but as this disc is so good, I'll take RAH's advice that Jamaica Inn belongs in my collection. I like Hitchcock and I just love Maureen O'Hara! Charles Laughton too!
 

RMajidi

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Robert Harris said:
Many cinephiles have a tendency to dismiss Jamaica Inn as a failure, or as non-Hitchcockian Hitchcock.

While the great Alfred Hitchcock's final British production until Frenzy in 1972 ...is decidedly B minus level as part of his canon, to my mind, it is not to be missed.
I agree with a B minus movie rating, and nothing like the travesty that many make it out to be (witness pre-release HTF thread). Very pleased about the image and sound clarity. Happy I pre-ordered. Thanks RAH.
 

DavidJ

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Fantastic news. I've had this one preordered for a while now. It's one of the Hitchcock films I've yet to see.
 

Konstantinos

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If I may ask, does the Bluray have English subtitles?

edit: Oh, never mind. I found out that it doesn't.

And I wanted this movie so much. :(
 

Steve...O

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Very disappointed to hear that no SDH on what otherwise would be a stellar release
 

mikeyhitchfan

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Great to hear. I assumed it would look good due to the 4k scan, but nice to hear confirmation. Being a Hitchcock collector I of course have pre-ordered and will enjoy a great presentation at last. It won't get many plays over the years, as it's not a favorite of mine, but I'm hoping my opinion will be enhanced by a viewing of the film in pristine condition.
 

davidmatychuk

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It's certainly atypical Hitchcock, but he's a master, maybe THE master, and "Jamaica Inn" is a fun, atmospheric, Gothic romp. It sounds like this will be a wonderful upgrade over the old Kino On Video DVD.
 

Rick Z.

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"Grain structure may or may not be original"

By that you mean "fake grain" may have been added, right?
 

ljgranberry

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Thanks for the recommendation - nice to finally get the chance to see a quality presentation of this, even if it isn't one of Hitch's masterpieces.
 

RMajidi

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With May and June featuring Charles Laughton and Maureen O'Hara's first two pairings, Jamaica Inn and Hunchback of Notre Dame on Blu, I'm reminded of their third outing together on This Land Is Mine. Does anyone know of the status of this wartime Renoir propaganda film and the chances of its release on Blu-ray?
 

ljgranberry

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I've seen different running times for this film: 108 minutes for the UK release, 99 minutes for US. With this release clocking in at 99 minutes, is it possible this is a version with some scenes deleted?
 

Randy_M

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I found this presentation to be a revelation. A very good film (in my mind), brought to near perfection by the Cohen people. Kudos!
 

Matt Hough

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I finally got around to watching this tonight. What a stunning restoration in both picture and sound! I have never seen a decent copy of this film either at revival theaters or home video, so this was like removing a thick, heavy blanket from over the image and letting us see the production for the first time. We know it was filmed in a studio, but my gosh do they ever do the visuals proud with this production!

And I've always liked the movie and don't consider it bottom of the barrel Hitchcock (I still find that to be Under Capricorn). So many performances to savor, so much good with the movie. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and loved the audio commentary, too (I rewatched it to listen to the commentary).
 

DavidJ

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I bought this and never got around to watching it. Your comments, Matt, have encouraged me to rectify that as soon as possible.
 

bigshot

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I think the imagery is better than the characters, honestly. And that is hard to do with Charles Laughton. A big bump in the Hitchcock road.
 

warnerbro

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When I first saw this a few years ago I thought it was a rotten film -- probably because the print was muddy, smeary, and the audio muffled. I saw it today in this new Cohen bluray and now I love this movie. The print was sharp and clean and bright, the sound crisp. These have got to be the best sets ever built. It is amazing to believe it was all sets. Wow! What a fun, exciting movie! This print makes all the difference in the world.
 

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