Offbeat Blu-ray Review: Wait Until Dark

Distributor: Warner Bros.

Release Date: January 24, 2017

Region: Region A

Length: 01:47:41

Video: 1080P (MPEG-4, AVC)

Main Audio: 2.0 English Mono DTS-HD Master Audio

Subtitles: English

Ratio: 1.85:1

Bitrate: 35.00 Mbps

Notes: This title was previously released in various DVD editions.

“On Broadway a couple of seasons ago, Wait Until Dark seemed like a wrong number for playwright Frederick Knott, who once dialed ‘M’ for murder. The thriller’s screen incarnation gives him a chance to call again. This time he gets through—with a better scenario, set, and cast.” –Time (Cinema: The Return of the Helpless Girl, November 03, 1967)

It probably wasn’t terribly surprising for Time magazine readers to read an immediate reference to Dial M for Murder in the opening paragraph of their review for Wait Until Dark. Most viewers were probably already drawing comparisons to the earlier film. Like Charade before it, Wait Until Dark is often cited as one of “the best Hitchcock films that Alfred Hitchcock didn’t actually direct.” However, the connection between Alfred Hitchcock and Wait Until Dark seems less tenuous due to his collaboration with Frederick Knott on the screenplay adaptation of Dial ‘M’ for Murder—which had already enjoyed immense stage success by the time our favorite director had gotten ahold of the property.

This is a 1966 Playbill for the stage production of Wait Until Dark.

Wait Until Dark enjoyed similar success when it opened at the Ethel Barrymore Theater on February 2, 1966. Lee Remick’s portrayal of Susy Hendrix earned her a Tony Award nomination and after eleven months and 374 performances, the play had generated a solid reputation and had become a hot Hollywood property. Fortunately, Seven Arts had bought the film rights shortly after its Broadway opening, and Mel Ferrer had begun putting together a production package that would include Audrey Hepburn in the starring role. (It has been suggested that the project may have been a last-ditch effort to save their troubled marriage.)

Julie Herrod had previously portrayed Gloria in the original Broadway production of Wait Until Dark.

The resulting film was an extremely diverting experience which contained a few stellar performances (especially by Audrey Hepburn and Alan Arkin) and an incredibly suspenseful final act. However, if the film has a Hitchcockian veneer, it is largely the result of Knott’s skillful use of the same genre tropes that made Dial ‘M’ for Murder such a success. A few of Terence Young’s directorial flourishes could have been cribbed from Hitchcock, but they certainly weren’t given the same dexterous execution.

For example, Young makes decent use of the “caged character” shot that features in so many of Hitchcock’s films, but instead of allowing the audience to process the shot on a subconscious level, he insists on driving it home by having Audrey Hepburn grab the rails of her stairway in a moment of emotional desperation. This moment in the film is certainly effective, but it isn’t nearly as seamless or as graceful as Hitchcock’s approach.

When this kind of frame appears in a Hitchcock film, the characters in question do not resort to such histrionics—and they certainly don’t interact with their cage!  They simply feel trapped, and the image reflects the character’s emotion. In fact, one might say that the image renders such such moments unnecessary.

These screenshots from The 39 Steps, Shadow of a Doubt, and The Wrong Man are only a few examples of many “caged character” shots in the Hitchcock canon.

This isn’t to suggest that Wait Until Dark isn’t a terrific film. One simply feels that critics often describe certain directorial flourishes as “Hitchcockian” without really taking the time to understand the differences in technique or execution. This is unfortunate, because a film should really be considered on its own terms and enjoyed for its own merits.

The Presentation:

4 of 5 MacGuffins

The disc is protected in a standard Blu-ray case with film related artwork. It is a better than average design that should please most fans.

The menu utilizes this same artwork and are easy to navigate. However, the unusual absence of chapter menus might bother some viewers.

Picture Quality:

4.5 of 5 MacGuffins

Warner Archives continues their reputation for impressive Blu-ray transfers with this incredible new Blu-ray release. To say that this is an improvement over the previous DVD releases is an understatement. Detail and clarity are both vastly improved and look great here, and grain is surprisingly well managed. Colors seem to reflect the filmmaker’s original intentions as well, and they seem more natural here than they did on previous releases of the film.

Sound Quality:

4.5 of 5 MacGuffins

The sound is also improved upon here and sounds better than the heavily compressed tracks available on the DVD releases. The English Mono DTS-HD Master Audio track might be less dynamic than some of the more robust mixes in recent years, but this is a great transfer of the original mono mix and music, sound effects, and dialogue are all rendered with incredible fidelity.

Special Features:

3 of 5 MacGuffins

A Look in the Dark: The Making of Wait Until Dark – (08:40)

To call this short featurette a “making of” retrospective is actually rather misleading. It would be more appropriate to label the program as an appreciation. Alan Arkin and Mel Ferrer are on hand to reminisce about the film’s production, but their memories aren’t terribly vivid and never really penetrate past such surface level topics as Arkin’s approach to portraying Roat, Hepburn’s wonderful talent, and the film’s positive reception upon its release. It never becomes tedious or boring, and there are a few interesting revelations here that make it a welcome addition to the disc.

Theatrical Trailer – (02:36)

It was interesting to see how the film was sold to the public upon its release, although this particular trailer is rather straightforward and is constructed from footage of the film’s climax with the following voiceover narration:

“Audrey Hepburn. The role you’re going to remember whenever you’re alone.”

Warning Trailer – (01:08)

More interesting is this “warning trailer” that is essentially an audience “teaser.” There is less actual footage used here. We merely see provocative images that are followed by a textual scroll (complete with voiceover).

Over the brief introductory footage, we hear a slightly different take on the narration used for the main trailer:

“Audrey Hepburn. The role you’re going to remember whenever you are alone.”

This is followed by the aforementioned textual scroll that makes the following announcement:

 “During the last eight minutes of this picture the theatre will be darkened to the legal limit, to heighten the terror of the breathtaking climax which takes place in nearly total darkness on the screen. If there are sections where smoking is permitted, those patrons are respectfully requested not to jar the effect by lighting up during this sequence. And of course, no one will be seated at this time.”

It is an interesting glimpse at the film’s infamous marketing campaign (which has been compared to the infamous marketing campaign used for Psycho).

Final Words:

Wait Until Dark is essential viewing for those who enjoy suspense yarns, classic cinema, or Audrey Hepburn, and this solid Blu-ray transfer from Warner Archives is the best way to enjoy the film in one’s home environment.