Blu-Ray Review: To Catch a Thief

Distributor: Paramount Pictures

Release Date: March 06, 2012

Region: Region Free

Length: 01:46:32

Video: 1080P (MPEG-4, AVC)

Main Audio:

2.0 English TrueHD Audio

English Mono TrueHD Audio

Alternate Audio:

French Dolby Digital

Portuguese Dolby Digital

Spanish Dolby Digital

Subtitles: English, English (hard of hearing), French, Portuguese, & Spanish

Ratio: 1.78:1

Bitrate: 38Mbps

Notes: This title has had several DVD releases. The best of these is the 2-Disc Centennial Collection release.  

“Sex on the screen should be suspenseful, I feel. If sex is too blatant or obvious, there’s no suspense…I deliberately photographed Grace Kelly ice-cold and I kept cutting to her profile, looking classical, beautiful, and distant. And then, when Cary Grant accompanies her to the door of her hotel room, what does she do? She thrusts her lips right up to his mouth.” —Alfred Hitchcock

Frances Stevens’ pursuit of John Robie is perhaps given more attention in the film than Robie’s pursuit of the real cat burglar, but few will complain. To Catch a Thief is gorgeous beyond description, and John Michael Hayes has fortified this light adventure with notably risqué but always elegant wit and humor. Scholars often write the film off as “lesser” Hitchcock, but the film enjoyed a good deal of success upon its release. It is true that this film does not have the depth that films like Vertigo enjoy, but it is solid entertainment and required viewing. Put extra butter on your popcorn, and enjoy the VistaVision scenery.

The Presentation:

4 of 5 MacGuffins

To Catch a Thief is housed in the standard blue case with attractive cover art that improves upon its various DVD releases. This case is protected by a slipcover with the same artwork.

 The menu itself is static, but lovely with accompaniment from Lyn Murray’s score.

Picture Quality:

4.5 of 5 MacGuffins

Robert Burks’ Oscar winning cinematography has never looked more beautiful on home video. To Catch a Thief was Alfred Hitchcock’s first film to employ the VistaVision process, and the added resolution seems to have helped in Paramount’s high definition transfer of the film. The colors seem accurately presented and never look awkward (even Cary Grant’s tan looks natural). Blacks are solid without crushing detail. Grain never seems to overwhelm the amazing detail that this high definition transfer reveals. There is a single shot during the costume gala that looks both soft and grainy, but this seems to be inherent in the source material. The troublesome moiré effect on Grant’s striped shirt that overwhelms the picture in previous home video releases of the film is all but nonexistent in this transfer. Aliasing can be an occasional issue, but is never terribly distracting. There is nothing about the transfer that should discourage fans from purchasing the disc.

Sound Quality:

4 of 5 MacGuffins

Paramount should be applauded for offering not only a True HD 2.0 Stereo soundtrack, but also the film’s original Mono soundtrack in TrueHD. Although the audio seems rather unimpressive by today’s standards, any issue one finds with the film’s audio presentation will likely be due to the age of the film. The audio is clean without much (if any) noise or distortion and dialogue is always clear and intelligible. Lynn Murray’s score also sounds better than I have ever heard it on home video. My issues with the sound are all source related and stem from the dubbing of Charles Vanel’s dialogue. Even this is a minor complaint.

Special Features:

4 of 5 MacGuffins

The large collection of special features included with the 2-Disc Centennial Collection DVD release of the film have been ported over to the Blu-ray. There is over ninety minutes of wonderful features included on the disc in addition to the commentary track. Paramount offers audiences quite a bit of bang for their buck with this release. There are no Blu-ray exclusives, but the supplements included pretty much exhaust the subject and leave little else to be said about the film.

Feature Length Commentary Track from Dr. Drew Casper

This Drew Casper track is more analytical and does not go into any depth about the actual production itself. The dry delivery might turn a few people off, but his analysis of the film remains interesting.

Writing and Casting To Catch a Thief — (09:04)

This featurette focuses on the writing and casting of the film and is thoroughly interesting and informative.

The Making of To Catch a Thief (2002) — (16:54)

The Making of ‘To Catch a Thief’ focuses on the actual production through the release of the film.

Alfred Hitchcock and To Catch a Thief: An Appreciation — (07:33)

This is a more personal look at Alfred Hitchcock and To Catch a Thief that contains interesting home movies of Hitchcock. It is revealed that the director liked vacationing in the south of France along with other relevant details. This piece is slightly less informative, but remains of interest to fans. Most of the information covered in this piece is covered in other supplements as well.

Unacceptable Under the Code: Film Censorship in America — (11:49)

This is an interesting short about the history of the production code and how it affected To Catch a Thief.

A Night with the Hitchcocks — (23:22)

Dr. Drew Casper hosts a Q&A session with Patricia Hitchcock and Mary Stone at the University of Southern California. It is interesting to hear Hitchcock’s daughter and granddaughter discuss the more personal aspects of the director’s life.

Edith Head: The Paramount Years (2002) — (13:44)

This featurette is a staple of Paramount home video releases (and for good reason). It discusses the fabulous costume designer, Edith Head. It has special relevance here, because To Catch a Thief was her favorite of the films that she worked on.

Behind the Gates: Cary Grant and Grace Kelly — (06:13)

A brief discussion on the film’s two stars focuses more on Grant than on Kelly. It relays some interesting information about the stars, but is not very comprehensive.

If You Love to Catch Thief, You’ll Love this Interactive Travelogue

This is essentially a set of short clips discussing the various locations used in the film. Footage from To Catch a Thief is used to illustrate the information.

Original Theatrical Trailer — (02:13)

This is very similar in style to other theatrical trailers of the period.

Photo Galleries

There are quite a few production photos and promotional materials to look through in a sort of slide style presentation.

Final Words:

To Catch a Thief is even more delightful in high definition.