Review Detail

Having not seen this film (or the original that this is a remake of) for a few years, I suddenly felt the need for a Hitchcockian thriller and from its description this edit seemed to fit the bill perfectly.

It did not disappoint, plenty of thrills with zero drag in the story and not an edit out of place. I cannot think of how it could be condensed down more, which is interesting when you consider that the 1934 version is even shorter at only 75 minutes.

There was a fade-out that felt a little fast and one instance where I consciously thought that a scene had been cut, but it turned out that these were both native to the source, the latter at first might appear to be a plot hole but it makes sense when you stop to think a little.

I chose the track with the rerecorded music, nothing gives away its origins other than the comparative clarity but this is fitting for the scenes as you want to focus on just the score and the visuals.

The only thing I can currently think of that I would have liked to have been left in is Hitch's customary cameo at the market, in a shot of a few seconds among others cut for pacing, hardly too important though! The main issue is the video quality, while generously encoded with no artifacts the source unfortunately has problems such as significant colour flickering (which has only recently been rectified in the recent restoration for the American 4K disc) but that's hardly the fault of the editor.

I hope to get the chance to watch the initial Scribbling Cut soon, looking forward to seeing what the extra half-hour adds.