MovieChat Forums > Secret Agent (1936) Discussion > Hope Criterion Restores More Hitchcock M...

Hope Criterion Restores More Hitchcock Movies.


I was watching Secret Agent in one of the cheapo Hitchcock box sets and for a movie that revolved alot around dialog, it was really a drag to have to try so hard just to hear what everyone had to say. I found myself rewinding 4 or 5 times because I just could not understand what some line were. Plus there were no subtitles to fall back on.

The worst part of it all is I liked Secret Agent, the DVD release just made it less enjoyable then it should have been. If some no name DVD company can get the rights to movies such as Secret Agent. Then why can't Criterion? I would love for them to distribute copies of this as well as Sabotage, The Man Who Knew To Much, Young and Innocent, & Murder! Four really great films from Hitchcock in need of being restored (some much more than others).

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Can't you just by the classic collection, its quite cheap.

Somebody here has been drinking and I'm sad to say it ain't me - Allan Francis Doyle

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The "no name" company didn't get the rights to Secret Agent -- that's why it's such an awful transfer. The budget DVD releases are usually based on low quality video transfers from the late 1980s/early 1990s when Hitchcock's early films were deemed to be in the "Public Domain".

In the late 1990s, the European rights holders reasserted their rights and brought the films back under copyright in the US. The Criterion releases were officially licenced from the UK rights holder Granada International (previously known as Carlton International).

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I agree, I wish they would do more of the older Hitchcock films. I have The 39 Steps, which they did a beautiful job restoring. The commentary was not great, the female commmentator seemed to find everything had a sexual meaning or was a phallic symbol. But the picture and sound quality are great.

Push the button, Max!

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Sadly "Secret Agent" is one of the least known films by Hitchcock, therefore I don't think Criterion or any other important DVD company would spend an important amount of money on restoring titles that very few people know, let alone to consider paying about 25-30 bucks for them.

I mean, this is not The 39 Steps nor The Lady Vanishes. Secret Agent is not even as "popular" as The Lodger, go figure.

We'll have to accept that Secret Agent and many more pre-Hollywood films by Hitch never are going to receive a proper treatment on DVD. Pity, isn't?

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Pleasse correct me if I'm wrong. Altough frequently mispelled, I believe Peter Lorre's full name in this film is as follows:
General Pompilio Montezuma de la Villa del Conde del OmbĂș.
Thanks in advance. This is the only form that would make sense in Spanish.

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I borrowed a Hitchcock box-set from my library (so I can't bitch about the cost) and I'm amazed at the lack of quality of the discs. The video is difficult to watch in many places and the audio is atrocious. I have a nice home theater and fine equiptment but it doesn't help one bit. It would have been nice to pay someone a couple of grand to put subtitles on the discs, but no such luck

'MADACY Home Video' is the distributor.

---If you're going to take the time to do something, you might as well do it right.

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Criterion actually put it out, just back in the laserdisc days. I just watched their disc tonight and it was quite watchable.

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I own the four that are currently out (Blu Rays) but I agree I wish they'd restore and release many, many of Hitchcock's films. The supplements on the four they've done so far are all stellar, as is usual with Criterion.

Fingers crossed there are more coming soon

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Yes, I'd love it if Criterion, Kino or Masters of Cinema would issue this on Blu-Ray. I watched the film using the Hulu Plus app on my TV and the video was mediocre but watchable, while the audio was abysmal -- a constant hiss ran throughout the length of the movie, the dialogue was muffled and the sound effects were very flat and tinny. As the OP said, there was a lot of dialogue in this film and between the dreadful audio quality and various, rather thick accents, it was very easy to miss important lines of dialogue.

I for one am a big fan of Hitchcock's British films of the '30s (The 39 Steps is my favorite of his films and I've highly enjoyed the original Man Who Knew Too Much, Lady Vanishes and Sabotage) and would love to see all of them given new transfers and quality Blu-Ray releases. I liked Secret Agent but I'm afraid that due to the shoddiness of the presentation I watched, I couldn't enjoy it to the extent I might have otherwise.

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