Notorious (1946) Blu-ray Review (Criterion Collection)

Nelson Au said:

Great review Josh. I’m really looking forward to watching this disc. I’m still in the 1930’s in my Hitchcock viewing project. But have this disc waiting as I get to it.

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I look forward to reading your thoughts when you get to it. And I’ve been enjoying your Hitchcock project - I’m glad you took it on!

I thought I was completely satisfied with the MGM/Fox disc until I saw this. I’ve always liked Notorious but felt that I didn’t love it as much as I was “supposed” to. Seeing this new restoration really felt for me as if I was watching it for the first time, and I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed the movie as much as I did this time.

Johnny Angell said:

I gotta ask, what’s it take to get 5 out of 5 for special features? On the surface, this release should be awarded 5 points.

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I always wrestle with the numerical ratings. In this case, I decided not to give it a perfect score for bonus features because there were significant bonus features from the MGM-Fox release that did not carry over. The MGM-Fox disc included two different audio commentaries, an isolated music track, a half hour documentary, two other featurettes, and two audio interviews.

(Typically, this type of bonus material is available for license, or is included in the licensing for the film itself. For instance, Shout Factory's new version of "City Slickers" includes all of the bonus material from MGM-Fox's previous disc.)

And that's why I felt I couldn't give it a perfect score on bonus features; what's there is great, but it's also missing previously produced material. This means that collectors will need to hold on to both editions in order to retain all of the bonus content, which I find less than ideal. On the other hand, I didn't want to leave the impression that it was a poor quality effort, which is why the score is almost perfect.