To Catch a Thief appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.85:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. Expect a solid Dolby Vision presentation of the VistaVision source.
Outside of some inevitably “off” process shots, sharpness excelled. The movie consistently looked tight and distinctive
No issues with jagged edges or shimmering occurred – a minor miracle thanks the Grant’s striped shirt – and edge haloes remained absent. Grain felt appropriate and I saw no print flaws.
Colors became a highlight, as the movie’s broad palette worked well. The different hues seemed vibrant and full, with a pleasing boost from HDR.
Blacks appeared dense, and shadows felt appropriate. Whites and contrast enjoyed a nice bump from HDR. I felt highly satisfied with this terrific image.
In terms of audio, the disc threw in a reworked Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack. While not a splendid soundfield, the film came with a moderately engaging mix.
Music exhibited acceptable stereo spread, and effects broadened on occasion. While a fair amount of the action felt fairly “centered”, the mix managed to spread out fairly well at times.
For instance, street and driving scenes offered a nice sense of movement, and those on the water expanded sonic horizons in a pleasing manner. A fireworks display boasted nice activity in the surrounds, too, While nothing here excelled, the soundscape felt engaging enough.
Audio quality was dated but fine. Dialogue showed a lot of looping, and some revoiced actors created minor distractions.
Those issues always existed, of course, so I couldn’t fault the 4K UHD for these choices. Despite some dull speech at times, the lines usually felt fairly natural, and they always remained intelligible.
Music lacked much range, but the score seemed reasonably lush, and effects followed suit. Though those elements didn’t betray a lot of real impact, they felt acceptably accurate and lacked notable distortion. Given the movie’s age, this was a more than adequate remix.
How did the 4K UHD compare to the ”Paramount Presents” Blu-ray from 2020? Both came with identical 5.1 audio, which meant the continued – and disappointing – absence of the original monaural mix.
Taken from the native 4K VistaVision source, the Dolby Vision image offered a considerable upgrade over the 2020 Blu-ray. It looked tighter, brighter, and more film-like than its mediocre predecessor.
Note that Thief first came out on Blu-ray in 2012. That one fared better than its 2020 successor but the 4K UHD easily topped it as well.
The 4K UHD includes most of the extras from those two Blu-rays, and we open with an audio commentary from film historian Dr. Drew Casper. He offers a running, screen-specific piece that looks at the source novel and its adaptation, filmmaking techniques and interpretation, cast and crew, elements of the era, movie trends and technical elements, how the flick fits into the Hitchcock oeuvre, shooting on location, and a mix of topics.
A veteran of many tracks of this sort, Casper knows his way around the format, and he also knows his Hitchcock. His comfort with commentaries becomes clear as he seems well-prepared and eager to impart his knowledge. Casper digs into Thief with gusto and provides an abundance of useful information in this consistently enjoyable chat.
Another extra from both releases, Behind the Gates: Cary Grant and Grace Kelly lasts six minutes, seven seconds as it provides notes from film historian Richard Schickel and producer AC Lyles.
They provide some basic notes about Grant and Kelly. This is too short a show to come to much, but it’s still enjoyable.
Previously exclusive to the 2020 BD, Filmmaker Focus runs seven minutes, 19 seconds. It brings notes from film critic/historian Leonard Maltin.
Here we get info about Hitchcock’s career as well as general thoughts about Thief. Maltin provides a decent overview of the flick, but he doesn’t bring out a ton of insights.
A trailer repeats from both BDs. After that, we go to pieces on the 2012 disc but not the 2020 reissue.
A Night with the Hitchcocks goes for 23 minutes, 21 seconds and presents a November 2008 Q&A. Hosted by Casper, it features Alfred Hitchcock’s granddaughter Mary Stone and daughter Pat Hitchcock as they go through audience questions. USC School of Cinematic Arts Dean Elizabeth Daley also offers a few introductory remarks.
They chat about aspects of Alfred Hitchcock’s career and his personal life. The latter side of things proves the most interesting, as we find some nice insights into the private Hitchcock. There’s nothing revelatory on display, but the show offers good notes.
For a look at pressures put on filmmakers, we go to the 11-minute, 50-second Unacceptable Under the Code: Film Censorship in America. It features Casper, USC Professor of American Film Dr. Richard Jewell, and former Writers Guild of America president Del Reisman.
They offer a quick history of movie censorship as well as notes about Hitchcock’s attempts to skirt the Production Code for Thief. Despite its brevity, the program packs a lot of good information. I wish it ran longer, due to the richness of the subject but “Code” does very well for itself nonetheless.
Writing and Casting To Catch a Thief lasts nine minutes, four seconds as it involves comments from daughter Pat Hitchcock, granddaughter Mary Stone, and author Steven DeRosa.
“Writing and Casting” covers… um, writing and casting. We learn about the adaptation of the original novel as well as how the various actors came onto the project.
DeRosa offers most of the information, and he gives us some fine notes about censorship issues and cut sequences. The cast-related aspects are less interesting but throw out a couple of decent tidbits. This is a short but reasonably effective program.
Next we get the 16-minute, 56-second The Making Of To Catch a Thief. It features remarks from Stone, DeRosa, Pat Hitchcock, production manager Doc Erickson, and French continuity person Sylvette Baudrot.
We find info about shooting on location in France, problems related to language and actors, the use of VistaVision and cinematography, costumes and period continuity, some notes about Hitchcock and his style, censorship concerns, score, the movie’s release and a few general memories of the production.
The title of “Making” seems a little misleading, as the featurette doesn’t provide a full examination of the movie’s creation. Nonetheless, it spices up the disc with a nice collection of anecdotes and facts. Though it doesn’t follow a particularly coherent path, the content seems interesting and useful enough to keep us involved.
For the seven-minute, 32-second Alfred Hitchcock and To Catch a Thief - An Appreciation, we hear from Pat Hitchcock, Stone, and Baudrot. “Appreciation” acts more as a love letter to the director than to the film.
That’s fine, as we get some sweet anecdotes about Hitchcock and see a few home movies from his life. The end result seems fairly inconsequential but enjoyable. I do like Stone’s comments about taking a class on Hitchcock films in college and how her discussions with him affected that course.
Finally, we get Edith Head – The Paramount Years. It runs 13 minutes, 43 seconds as it offers notes from biographer David Chierichetti, Custom-Made Costume department head Tzetzi Ganey, fashion designer Bob Mackie, and actor Rosemary Clooney.
“Years” looks at the famous costume designer and her work over the years. It seems awfully short for a take on someone with such a long and successful career, and it only tells us a little about Thief. Nonetheless, a quick overview is better than nothing, and we find enough useful notes to make the show worthwhile.
The 4K UHD brings back the few extras from the 2020 BD but it still drops a few from the 2012 disc, as it continues to lack some good still galleries as well as a fun “interactive travelogue”.
This set duplicates the same disc from the film's initial 2024 4K UHD release except it comes packaged in a snazzy steelbook case. Nothing else new arrives here to differentiate the 2025 package from its 2024 predecessor.
The duo of Cary Grant and Grace Kelly are as gorgeous as the backdrop of the French Riviera. While To Catch A Thief doesn’t rate as one of Hitchcock’s best efforts, it becomes an enjoyable romp nonetheless. The 4K UHD delivers excellent visuals as well as good audio and a reasonable set of supplements.
This easily becomes the best version of the film yet to hit the market, and in an unusual twist, this steelbook release retails for less than the pre-existing 4K UHD set. While that comes with a nearly $40 MSRP, the steelbook goes for about $26.
