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    About This Item

    Unique ID Code: 0000027056
    Added by: DVD Reviewer
    Added on: 21/11/2001 07:38
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    Strangers On A Train (UK)

    8 / 10
    1 vote cast
    Rate this item
    Inline Image

    A Tennis Star Plays A Match With Murder
    Certificate: PG
    Running Time: 96 mins
    Retail Price: £9.99
    Release Date:

    Synopsis:
    Strange thing about this trip. So much occurs in pairs. Tennis star Guy (Farley Granger) hates his unfaithful wife. Mysterious Bruno (Robert Walker) hates his father. How perfect for a playful proposal: I`ll kill yours, you kill mine. Now look at how Alfred Hitchcock reinforces the duality of human nature. The more you watch, the more you`ll see. `Isn`t it a fascinating design?` the Master of Suspense often asked.

    Actually, it`s doubly fascinating. For Hitchcock left behind two versions of `Strangers On A Train`. The original version (Side A) in an all-time thriller classic. A recently found longer pre-release British print (Side B) offers `a startling amplification of Bruno`s flamboyance, his homoerotic attraction to Guy and his psychotic personality` (Bill Desowitz, Film Comment). The laying bare of Bruno`s hidden nature, along with the great set pieces (head-turning tennis match, disintegrating carousel) and suspense as only Hitchcock can deliver, makes for a first-class trip.

    Special Features:
    Interactive Menus
    Scene Access
    Theatrical trailer
    Hitchcock newsreel footage
    The Hollywood original and the alternative British version

    Video Tracks:
    Standard 1.33:1

    Audio Tracks:
    Dolby Digital Mono English
    Dolby Digital Mono Italian
    Dolby Digital Mono French

    Subtitle Tracks:
    French
    Italian
    English
    Spanish
    German
    CC: English
    Portuguese
    Dutch
    Arabic
    Bulgarian

    Directed By:
    Alfred Hitchcock

    Written By:





    Starring:
    Marion Lorne
    Kasey Rogers
    Patricia Hitchcock
    Leo G. Carroll
    Robert Walker
    Ruth Roman
    Farley Granger

    Soundtrack By:
    Dimitri Tiomkin

    Director of Photography:
    Robert Burks

    Editor:
    William H. Ziegler

    Costume Designer:
    Leah Rhodes

    Producer:
    Alfred Hitchcock

    Distributor:
    Warner Bros

    Your Opinions and Comments

    8 / 10
    A classic thriller, and a brilliant one, from the master of suspense.
    Don`t be misled by the title - the movie does not take place on a train most of the time.
    The video transfer of this 50 year-old movie is average. Naturally, it`s a 1.33:1 transfer.
    While there are no compression signs at all, the transfer reveals a lot of scratches and dust particles. While several scenes look rather "clean", others show their age clearly. It`s obvious that no restoration was made here.
    The DD 1.0 soundtrack is satisfying. While listening to a mono track is not something I do often, this mono track sounds good and stable, without any hisses and pops. The dialog is always clear as well.
    The menus are all still and silent.
    The extras include a weird gag reel and an alternate British version of the movie. The differences between the two versions` content are quite subtle (the British one contains an extra scene and has an alternate ending). However, the video transfer of the British version is not good at all and reveals plenty of grain and compression signs. The DD 1.0 soundtrack is similar to the American version`s soundtrack.
    One cannot ignore Walker`s (obviously gay) attraction to Granger. Sure, nowadays we can see this in various movies, but given the fact that this movie is 50 years old changes the perspective a bit.
    Bottom line - a top notch thriller. Highly recommended.
    posted by Zvi Josef on 21/11/2001 07:46