4k is now the standard for digital preservation whether or not a Blu-ray or any other use is specifically contemplated.
I'd hate to imagine what that one process shot of Marlene Dietrich would look in 4K. Blu-ray is going to be unforgiving enough for that.
George Feltenstein confirmed in the podcast linked below that Mr. and Mrs. Smith is the last Hitchcock title that Warner owns that is still in need of a Blu-ray release. He's working on it, but it won't be in 2022. Perhaps, in future years.
I think Stage Fright is a really good movie. It stands pretty high in my personal ratings for the Hitchcock films of the 1950s....I've been waiting for years for Stage Fright and have pre-ordered it.
I agree; Stage Fright has never been given its due, I don't think. I loved it from the very first time I saw it on TV, and my admiration has never ceased.
Back in the late '70's, I think, Film Comment ran a feature on the last page every month of film critics and filmmakers writing about their favorite unappreciated films, and Molly Haskell did a fabulous piece praising "Stage Fright", particularly focusing on Dietrich's performance. I also love the opening "flashback", it's one of Hitchcock's best sustained suspense sequences, and also Joyce Grenfell bellowing "Shoot lovely ducks". At least, I'm pretty sure that's Joyce Grenfell.
I have never seen it, but being a HUGE Alastair Sim fan does he have a good role in the film?
Yes, it's one of his best performances from my pov. And he's in quite a bit of the movie. It's a fairly substantial role.
You just sold one copy! I love any film Sim is in, Scrooge is my favorite of his with Cottage To Let and The Belles Of St. Trinian's and Laughter In Paradise all great films.
Going to pre-order Stage Fright thank you! More Sim is always a treat!
The reason it's mostly criticized is because of a certain structural device--or should I say, a very personal take on a specific kind of film grammar--which "wasn't done" back in the day, but is now used by filmmakers of every stripe, and has been, since the 1950's. It subverts certain aspects of the genre, which for me, makes the film more interesting, as it has a kind of ripple effect, altering one's perceptions. Hitchcock, as usual, was ahead of his time. But there's so much more--the atmosphere of the "backstage London" setting, all these wonderful British character actors, and a song Cole Porter wrote specifically for Ms. Dietrich, "The Laziest Gal in Town." That sequence alone is worth the price of admission.
Marlene Dietrich included that song in her cabaret act for several years. I first came across the song when she performed it in one of her television shows in the 1960s. She told the audience it was by Cole Porter and came from Stage Fright.
