classícman

Could someone please furnish me with a technical review of the Criterion rendition of The Lady Vanishes. I have the Laser Light DVD, and I think the transfer leaves something to be desired.

BearFan

Classic,

I do not have the LaserLight version of Lady Vanishes so I can not compare the transfer to that. I do have the LaserLight 39 Steps, I can say that the Criterion Lady Vanishes has a much better transfer than LaserLights 39 Steps if this helps you out at all.

They have a brief feature of how they cleaned up the print and they did a very solid job of it. The transfer is very good, as is the audio, no noticable drop-outs to be heard.

I'd say it is probably worth the price if you are a fan of the film. I hope the Criterion 39 Steps coming out in a few months gets the same treatment.

The disc also includes a commentary by Bruce Eder, which is quite good in explaining how Hitchcock directed films of that era and his style.

Kwasi Chan

Criterion really cleaned up the print of The Lady Vanishes. There's even a short segment on the restoration work showing before-and-after scenes. I think the original aspect ratio was 1.37:1 but Criterion has the movie framed at 1.33:1 on the DVD. It is also presented in mono (no subtitles) and has a commentary by film historian, Bruce Eder. Even with the restoration work, there are still scenes that could not be perfectly restored but it looks really good for a 1938 British film.

PictureMan

I have both -- the Criterion is better. Its sharper, and the contrast is better (blacks appear blacker, highlights are cleaner).

They also cleaned up lots of scratches and dust on the print.

But -- the laserlight version is still pretty good. Much MUCH better than Madacy transfers or Silver Screen transfers of similiar era films.

BTW, I have the Criterion laserdiscs for both The Lady Vanishes and 39 Steps -- the laserdisc for TLV looks better than the 39 steps -- I suspect that 39 Steps prints are generally in worse condition, or never looked as good as TLV to start with.

Last, The Lady Vanishes is both my favorite Hitchcock film, and my favorite "old" movie. For some reason I can watch it again and again (sort of a comfort film).

jeff

classícman

I agree with thefixx about the Criterion LDs of The Lady Vanishes & 39 Steps; The Lady Vanishes is significantly a better transfer than the latter. My problem with the Laser Light DVD is with the audio. At times it is barely audible.

DVDer

I was very impressed with the visual and audio quality of "The Lady Vanishes" Criterion Collection edition. The back of the case, by the way, does say that this is a restored (image and sound) version.

--Heather

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http://www.dvdtracker.com/~ahber16.asp

Spiderbite

watched my Criterion copy this weekend.

what a great movie. i am not a big fan of old movies but was drawn to this one who else...Hitchcock. i really enjoyed it from beginning to end. some great witty dialogue & humorous parts but it also kept me interested in the story & suspense.

i had doubts that i would enjoy this movie since most of the older movies remastered by Criterion i have not cared for.

the picture quality was really good & even the mono sound was decent. damn train whistles scared me a couple of times.

anyone riding the fence on this one, give it try. if you like Hitchcock, you should like The Lady Vanishes.

Topgun94

Have to agree on the quality. Criterion did a good job on cleaning up the picture and sound. I love the humor of this movie and it really sets the film apart from other Hitchcock releases. This film and Notorious are two of my favorite Hitchcock films. I love rewatching it.

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Aaron
My DVD Collection
My Rather Small Laserdisc Collection