57 Charade

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Martha
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57 Charade

#1 Post by Martha » Sat Feb 12, 2005 8:28 pm

Charade

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In this comedic thriller, a trio of crooks relentlessly pursue a young American, played by Audrey Hepburn in gorgeous Givenchy, through Paris in an attempt to recover the fortune her dead husband stole from them. The only person she can trust is Cary Grant’s suave, mysterious stranger. Director Stanley Donen goes deliciously dark for Charade, a glittering emblem of sixties style and macabre wit.

Disc Features

- Restored high-definition digital transfer (with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition)
- Audio commentary featuring Stanley Donen and screenwriter Peter Stone
- The Films of Stanley Donen: A selected filmography, with an introduction by Donen biographer Stephen M. Silverman (DVD edition only)
- Original theatrical trailer
- English subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired
- PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by film historian Bruce Eder


Non-Anamorphic DVD:
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Anamorphic DVD:
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Fletch F. Fletch
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#2 Post by Fletch F. Fletch » Thu May 05, 2005 2:26 pm

Right from the get-go, I really found the film's playful tone engaging. Like in the first scene where Regina is eating a meal unaware that someone is aiming a gun at her until it is revealed to be a child with a squirt gun. I love how the film plays up the faux suspense, complete with menacing music only to deflate it with the scene's punchline.

I really enjoyed the film's screenplay, filled with witty banter that flows with a snappy rhythm like something out of a screwball comedy. I always think of the scene where Peter and Regina meet for the first time and he asks, "Do we know each other?" to which she replies, "Why? Do you think we're going to?" And then, later in the conversation, Regina rebuffs him by saying, "I already know an awful lot of people and until one of them dies I couldn't possibly meet anyone else." And then, Peter replies dryly, "Well, if anyone goes on the critical list let me know." This exchange is indicative of the entire film which is filled with this kind of smart repartee that is so wonderful to hear coming from seasoned pros like Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn.

I also found the film's atmospheric, exotic locale completely engaging. The Paris setting really envelopes the characters in a world that feels real and not like it was shot on a soundstage somewhere. For example, there's a scene between Peter and Regina that takes place a long boat lit by beautiful lights as it travels through the city at night. This is a wonderfully atmospheric sequence that really drew me into the film and this world.

I never had the original DVD so I don't know how much of a leap in quality the new anamorphic transfer is from the original, but it looks pretty good to me.

Anyone else listen to the audio commentary with Stanley Donen and Peter Stone? I found it to be a very entertaining conversation between the two men and it is quite apparent that they men have remained good friends over the years in the way they joke and correct each other over certain anecdotes. I enjoyed how they spoke so knowledgably about their experiences on the movie and recounted all sorts of stories that made me feel like I was sitting with these guys over a couple of drinks, watching their movie. Nice.

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Gregory
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#3 Post by Gregory » Thu May 05, 2005 2:41 pm

I never had the original DVD so I don't know how much of a leap in quality the new anamorphic transfer is from the original, but it looks pretty good to me.
I've kept my copy of the original release because it was a pretty good non-anamorphic transfer, overall. But according to the Beaver comparison here, the re-release trades old minor flaws for new ones. Instead of having a bit too much red (as many Criterion transfers do, it has a bit too much green. Instead of being slightly cropped on the top and left sides, it's slightly cropped at the bottom.

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mbalson
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#4 Post by mbalson » Thu May 05, 2005 11:20 pm

I've compared the old and new Criterions to the transfer found on the flip side of The Truth About Charlie.
The end result is that the new Criterion is the same as the TTAC disc with small black bars matting the left and right sides.
If you have a 4X3 TV your best bet by far is the original Criterion, if you are 16X9 enabled just get the Truth About Charlie disc at any used DVD store $5 or less.

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dx23
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Re: 57 Charade

#5 Post by dx23 » Tue Jun 15, 2010 12:59 pm

Nice to see Charade getting the Blu-ray update. In stores, September 21, 2010.

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HistoryProf
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Re: 57 Charade

#6 Post by HistoryProf » Tue Jun 15, 2010 1:05 pm

Should be great in blu...a perfect choice for the upgrade! Very excited about this one...it's the best Hitchcock film Hitch never made :)

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domino harvey
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Re: 57 Charade

#7 Post by domino harvey » Tue Jun 15, 2010 4:40 pm

You're thinking of the wrong Audrey Hepburn film

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zedz
Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2004 7:24 pm

Re: 57 Charade

#8 Post by zedz » Wed Jun 16, 2010 12:25 am

Sucks to be Jack Weston.

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stagefright50
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Re: 57 Charade

#9 Post by stagefright50 » Fri Jul 09, 2010 1:32 pm

Criterion has update the blu page for Charade and it looks to be the most barebones blu release yet. They're retaining the commentary and removing the filmography. Sort of a disappointment considering it is listed at 39.95 but I will still be buying it.

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Norbie
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Re: 57 Charade

#10 Post by Norbie » Sat Jul 31, 2010 1:36 pm

What's all this talk about the Blu-ray not having the same special features as the DVD?

facebook:
Arun Dhillon - Is blu ray of 'Charade' going to be bare bones? Why criterion has decided to remove the documentary from the blu ray as the same is present on dvd edition? This is so not criterion.

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cdnchris
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Re: 57 Charade

#11 Post by cdnchris » Sat Jul 31, 2010 2:18 pm

They removed the filmographies from the Blu-ray (or so they say on their site,) which was on both previous DVDs. Basically they were text notes with photos presented in a gallery. There was no documentary.

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stagefright50
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Re: 57 Charade

#12 Post by stagefright50 » Tue Sep 14, 2010 6:16 pm


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cdnchris
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Re: 57 Charade

#13 Post by cdnchris » Sat Sep 18, 2010 11:44 pm


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Venom
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Re: 57 Charade

#14 Post by Venom » Mon Sep 27, 2010 10:21 pm

They just don't make movies like this anymore, even if it's supposed to be this movie. I could barely stomach the trailer for The Truth About Charlie, looked absolutely horrid. If I'm at all wrong about that please let me know.

And as for Stanley Donen, how about getting Saturn 3 out?

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manicsounds
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Re: 57 Charade

#15 Post by manicsounds » Sat Jul 20, 2013 8:59 am

The Universal Blu-ray doesn't look that bad, according to Blu-ray.com

I'm confused about the "rights" situation of this movie. I remember in the early days of DVD there were countless public domain copies of this movie alongside the original Criterion DVD, I guess because Universal didn't renew the copyright.

But since there are no PD blu-rays of this title being released, I assume Universal renewed the copyright after the lapse and now they are the owners again?

Oh, and if you haven't seen the Shout Factory news, they are releasing Donen's "Saturn 3"

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Moe Dickstein
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Re: 57 Charade

#16 Post by Moe Dickstein » Sat Jul 20, 2013 1:35 pm

This film is still PD but the music is copyrighted.

The film was PD the moment it was released because the titles people at Universal screwed up and left out the (c) symbol on the copyright notice - go check it out.

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Richard
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Re: 57 Charade

#17 Post by Richard » Fri Jan 24, 2020 7:43 pm

Why is the blu-ray release so expensive? It has a list price of $39.95 and rarely dips below 34 dollars on Amazon. Seems a bit much for a single disc release.

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swo17
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Re: 57 Charade

#18 Post by swo17 » Fri Jan 24, 2020 7:46 pm

Buy it during a 50% off sale--there are at least four regular ones each year

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colinr0380
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Re: 57 Charade

#19 Post by colinr0380 » Sat Jan 25, 2020 10:30 am

I guess the price is due to the commentary? I think at least back in the day when commentaries appeared more regularly people on the forum had a working assumption that it automatically made any disc $39.95 regardless of whether it was the only feature or not, whilst a disc without a commentary was often $29.95 even if there were a lot of other kinds of extra features. I do not know if that notion still holds up for more recent releases though.

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Richard
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Re: 57 Charade

#20 Post by Richard » Mon Feb 03, 2020 2:51 pm

A week and a day later and the price drops to 27,99 which is much lower than I have ever seen it. Amazon's pricing algorithms must be tracking this forum. :)

Anyway, I have placed my order since this seems as good as it is ever going to get.

Glowingwabbit
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Re: 57 Charade

#21 Post by Glowingwabbit » Mon Feb 03, 2020 3:05 pm

Richard wrote:
Mon Feb 03, 2020 2:51 pm
A week and a day later and the price drops to 27,99 which is much lower than I have ever seen it. Amazon's pricing algorithms must be tracking this forum. :)

Anyway, I have placed my order since this seems as good as it is ever going to get.
Is there any reason you can't wait until the 50% sale?

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Richard
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Re: 57 Charade

#22 Post by Richard » Mon Feb 03, 2020 3:16 pm

Glowingwabbit wrote:
Mon Feb 03, 2020 3:05 pm
Richard wrote:
Mon Feb 03, 2020 2:51 pm
A week and a day later and the price drops to 27,99 which is much lower than I have ever seen it. Amazon's pricing algorithms must be tracking this forum. :)

Anyway, I have placed my order since this seems as good as it is ever going to get.
Is there any reason you can't wait until the 50% sale?
Lack of self control (I'd really like to watch it again) and there are more than enough other titles on my wish list anyway.

black&huge
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Re: 57 Charade

#23 Post by black&huge » Mon Feb 03, 2020 5:43 pm

Hahaha I too actually pulled the trigger when I saw it dip to 27.99 knowing full well I culd have waited a few weeks for the flash sale but I'm saving that for a couple of boxsets. So I total feel ya on this, Richard.

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reaky
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Re: 57 Charade

#24 Post by reaky » Sun Apr 11, 2021 2:24 pm

Bit of a sheep in wolf’s clothing, this - for all the Hitchcock trappings (even down to the hero hanging off a building and the showdown in a theatre), this actually owes just as much to screwball comedies like The Awful Truth, with its central couple constantly fibbing when not goofing around to entertain each other.

The Bond films lifted quite a bit from this, from the exotic location and post-offing quips to the heavy with a metal claw. It’s gorgeously designed and shot, and Paris looks just lovely.

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dustybooks
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Re: 57 Charade

#25 Post by dustybooks » Sun Apr 11, 2021 6:22 pm

Charade does share its title designer Maurice Binder with all of the early Bond films. The titles were always my favorite part of those movies. (Not so with Charade, which I find fluffy but comforting and delightful. This era of jet-set caper cinema is a source of personal fascination; I love The Pink Panther for similar reasons.)

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