North By Northwest appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.85:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. This turned into a gorgeous presentation.
Sharpness worked well. Outside of some stylized softness and the impact of a few process shots, delineation remained impeccable.
No issues with jagged edges or shimmering materialized, and I saw no edge haloes. Grain felt light and natural, while print flaws remained absent outside of a pesky vertical line that briefly popped up at 52:07.
Colors tended toward a blue-grey vibe, though brighter hues popped up when appropriate, with reds as the most prominent. The hues appeared vivid and full, with extra punch from HDR.
Blacks seemed deep and dense, while low-light shots boasted appealing clarity outside of the usual murky “day for night” elements. HDR allowed greater impact from whites and contrast. Except for that one problematic line, about this image excelled.
Downconverted to Dolby TrueHD 7.1, I also liked the remixed Dolby Atmos soundtrack of North. The designers didn't go "audio happy" with this one, as much of the sound stayed in the center channel.
The front side speakers opened up the image at times. This meant we heard the music presented in stereo plus occasional positive use of effects like cars driving or planes flying.
The other channels contributed reinforcement of the score plus a few examples of ambient audio such as more cars and planes as they traveled. This became an appropriately modest soundfield that complemented the film.
Audio quality seemed strong as well. Speech held up better than expected, as intelligibility was excellent and no edginess seemed apparent.
Effects could lean a little thin. However, they appeared fine within age-related constraints, and they boasted pretty good low-end on a few occasions.
The score sounded bright and reasonably dynamic. Ultimately the soundtrack betrayed some signs of its age but it nonetheless came across very well.
Not found on prior releases, the 4K also provided the movie’s 1959 DTS-HD MA monaural audio. This showed surprisingly solid fidelity, as speech, music and effects all held up well.
Not that the mono mix matched with modern standards, and it also lacked the range found on the Atmos track. Nonetheless, I preferred it to the multichannel version.
As well as that one fared, I like to stick with original sound unless I find some significant defects with those tracks. Given the appealing quality of the mono track, this became my choice, though I can’t fault the well-executed remix either.
How did the 4K UHD compare with those of the prior Blu-ray? The Atmos mix became a bit more active than the BD’s 5.1 but both remained largely similar in scope. The addition of the original mono track added appeal to the 4K as well.
The UHD’s visuals delivered improvements in sharpness, colors and blacks. I hoped the image would finally lose the vertical line at 52:07 but I guess that defect can’t get deleted.
Even with that annoyance, I felt the movie looked too terrific to drop it to the “B+” level of the Blu-ray. Ignore that brief vertical line and this becomes a top-notch presentation.
The 4K UHD mixes old and new extras, and we open with an audio commentary from screenwriter Ernest Lehman. He provides a running, screen-specific affair that looks at cast and crew, story and character issues, working with Hitchcock and Cary Grant, sets and locations, the film’s reception, and a few other subjects.
Lehman’s chat starts slowly, as he does little more than narrate for the first act or so. Matters pick up pretty well for a while, but Lehman peters out for roughly the film’s last hour.
Some good tidbits still emerge. Unfortunately, there’s not a lot to keep us engaged the film’s entire running time.
All of which makes this a frustrating commentary. Lehman offers enough interesting tidbits to ensure the track doesn’t become a total dud.
However, the chat falters too much for it to turn into a success. Fans will want to give the commentary a listen, but they shouldn’t expect a lot from it.
Next comes a documentary called Destination Hitchcock: The Making of
North By Northwest. Hosted by actress Eva Marie Saint, this 39-minute, 26-second program provides remarks fro Saint, Lehman, actor Martin Landau, director Alfred Hitchcock’s daughter Pat, and production designer Robert Boyle.
Overall, we find a solid program that provides a nice wealth of information about the film. Special treat: Landau's killer impression of Hitchcock.
The Master’s Touch: Hitchcock’s Signature Style runs 57 minutes, 31 seconds and features filmmakers Francis Lawrence, Peter Bogdanovich, Guillermo Del Toro, John Carpenter, Curtis Hanson, Richard Loncraine, William Friedkin, Martin Scorsese, Christopher McQuarrie, Joe Carnahan, Ruth Myers, Marvin Westmore, Ruth Carter, Gary Rydstrom, and Ben Burtt, and authors Camille Paglia, David Sterritt, Steven Derosa, and Donald Spoto. We also get some archival remarks from Hitchcock himself.
“Touch” offers an interpretation of Hitchcock’s filmmaking techniques. This means a mix of general notes as well as specifics about various films.
“Touch” works best when we hear from Hitchcock himself. Fans have heard him address these subjects many times in the past, but that doesn’t make him any less interesting. He covers his techniques in such a precise manner that he remains fascinating.
Though the others tend toward hagiography at times, they still manage to offer good interpretation of Hitchcock’s work. With almost an hour at its disposal – and scores of flicks to explore – “Touch” has the time to explore a wide variety of filmmaking areas.
Rather than stick with basics like cinematography and editing, it digs into subjects such as costumes, sets and sound. Despite the occasional fluffiness, “Touch” provides an engaging and informative investigation.
After this comes the 25-minute, 30-second North By Northwest: One for the Ages. It features Hanson, Del Toro, Friedkin, Lawrence and McQuarrie.
“Ages” follows the same path taken in “The Master’s Touch”, as it looks at various filmmaking techniques and themes. Essentially it uses the same methodology but restricts itself to North rather than examine the entire Hitchcock oeuvre.
As with “Touch”, the program can be a little heavy in terms of praise and happy talk. That said, I can’t argue that the film doesn’t deserve all its plaudits, and it’s interesting to look at the movie from the viewpoint of so many notable filmmakers. “Ages” digs into the flick well and becomes enjoyable.
New to the 4K, Cinematography, Score and the Art of the Edit
spans 23 minutes, six seconds. It brings notes from film historians Julie Kirgo and Jonathan Kuntz, film scholar Richard Edwards, film critic Pete Hammond, film studies professor Maria Elena de las Carreras, and author Steven C. Smith.
As the title implies, “Art” primarily examines the film’s photography, music and editing. It provides good background for these domains and those who collaborated with Hitchcock.
The 4K loses a few materials from the Blu-ray, as it drops a documentary entitled “Cary Grant: A Class Apart” along with a trailer, a TV spot and a still gallery.
