Why So Blu?

To Catch A Thief (4K UHD Steelbook Review)

Alfred Hitchcock is a name that’s synonymous with suspense and thrills.  The twisted humor and macabre moments are icons of the genres of mystery and thriller are fantastic pieces in the storied halls of cinema.  As the 50’s evolved into the 60’s, Hitchcock films got more grand and in the Mid-50’s with Vistavision, those films were huge scale and marvelous.  Take To Catch A Thief for example! Now entering its 70th year, the film is now available in a limited edition steelbook, with its previously released 4K disc! The lush film has never looked better and the steelbook is a perfect compliment.

Film

NOTE – This portion of the review first appeared in 2020 and is written by Brandon Peters

Notorious cat burglar John Robie (Cary Grant) has long since retired to tend vineyards on the French Riviera. When a series of robberies is committed in his style, John must clear his name. Armed with a list of people who own the most expensive jewels currently in the area, John begins following the first owner, young Francie (Grace Kelly). When her jewels are stolen, Francie suspects John, destroying their tentative romance. John goes on the lam to catch the thief and clear his own name.

Grace Kelly is gorgeous. Cary Grant is Gorgeous. To Catch a Thief‘s cinematography is gorgeous. Alfred Hitchcock’s direction is gorgeous. “Gorgeous” is likely the perfect word to describe the film in a most loving way. Hitchcock preferred shooting in the studio and on back lots for his films, but here he opts to shoot in France. And boy does he craft the perfect vacation scrapbook of their trip here with some beautiful locations and glamorous sets to dig into the wonderful world of a sneaky cat burglar and their prey.

Said film is captured by celebrated and frequent Hitchcock collaborator, Robert Burkes. This was the first film from Hitchcock to be shot on VistaVision. And the film just relishes in the beautiful colors and details of Cannes and Nice. This was back in the day when films were just in love with showboating color and it really works here. Even the day for night stuff finds itself looking stylish and as an intended part of the brush strokes instead of an awkward distraction. All of the decor and clothing in the film looks dashing and just radiantly flaunts itself off the screen in every frame. While this is on the top end of middle of the road Hitch, there’s no denying its on the high end of his better looking pictures.

Cary Grant was 50 when he shot To Catch A Thief, but as a mega star he could convince you of any age late 30s through his 50s. You want Cary Grant, you get Cary Grant and he’s just a damn treat to see mosey through a film. Grace Kelly doesn’t show up for a bit in the film, but the moment the camera first catches her, she can just easily clear a room (Or beach, in this case). Kelly really drives the film and kicks it into another gear once she enters. Her character adds more pressure and obstacle for Grant’s Robie, but its Kelly’s performance that pushes it beyond the limits and makes this film much stronger than it appears on paper. There’s a power, a mischievousness and a danger Kelly brings that layers in her as a potential suspect in the scheme of things. So much so, that on a first watch one might say “Ha, got this figured out easy” only to distract you from what is really going on.

To Catch A Thief glimpses Alfred Hitchcock in an almost relaxed fashion. Even at that, he’s far and above so much better than any given filmmaker present and past. The film primarily showcases some great onscreen chemistry and powerful chewy and dialogue enhancing from Grace Kelly and Cary Grant. To boot, this one leans on the more romantic side of things with an added element of mystery and suspense. Its Hitchcock in a much more fun and loose sense. Plus, this is the movie where he took a nice vacation with this film and has the absolutely beautiful reels of film to show for it.

Video  

Encoding: HEVC / H.265

Resolution: 2160p

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

HDR: Dolby Vision

Layers: BD-66

Clarity/Detail: To Catch A Thief debuted on Blu-ray in 2012 with an excellent looking disc.  In 2020, Paramount revisited the title with its Paramount Presents line, however the disc was met with egregious criticism for its tampering with the original look of the film.  When To Catch A Thief got a 4K re-release for Paramount Presents in 2024, the disc remedied these “errors” and the disc was met with praise.  This same 2024 disc is included in this new steelbook and I can attest to the fact that the transfer is indeed lovely.  Seeing the film from VHS to DVD to Blu-ray and now 4K, the obvious uptick in detail and clarity is excellent. I can happily marvel at the beautiful location footage, and the olive skin tones of Cary Grant.  I am beguiled by the sparkling jewels and the Edith Head costuming with such lovely detailing.  This is a top notch transfer of a classic 50’s film.

Depth: Though To Catch A Thief is an older movie, the softness inherent to the source does not inhibit depth of field.  Focus and panning look lovely and there are no issues from remastering or restoration either.

Black Levels: Black levels are great here overall, with no crushing to be seen.

Color Reproduction: The color spectrum is bright and fantastic. Blues, greens and reds pop, while blacks go dark and whites are nice a bright.  Colors are all the right kind of warm and cool!

Skin Tones: Flesh tones look fabulous with no issues.

Noise/Artifacts: None.  Nice and clean except for the grain!

Audio

Audio Format(s): English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, German Dolby Digital 2.0, Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0, French Dolby Digital 2.0, Italian Dolby Digital 2.0, Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0

Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Cantonese, Japanese, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish

Dynamics: The 5.1 mix on To Catch A Thief has been around since 2012.  It plays much like a mix for a film of this era would.  Changing the mono mix to multi-channel, the mainline is still the center channel, with music being the main benefactor from opening up the mix. Surround activity is relatively limited with moderate LFE overall.

Height: N/A

Low Frequency Extension: Bass is moderate and mostly helps the music deliver some punch as needed.

Surround Sound Presentation: Surround channels offer light ambience and a little bit of nuance for the music in the film.

Dialogue: Dialogue is perfectly placed front and center.

Extras

Extras for this new edition of To Catch A Thief compile all extras from DVD and Blu-ray editions of the film! Finally! Add the new steelbook and we have a definite candidate for definitive edition of the film!!

Bonus Features:

• • Audio Commentary: Hitchcock Film Historian Drew Casper.

• • Filmmaker Focus: Leonard Maltin on To Catch a Thief

• • A Night with the Hitchcocks

• • Unacceptable Under the Code: Censorship in Hollywood

• • Writing and Casting To Catch a Thief

• • The Making of To Catch a Thief

• • Behind the Gates: Cary Grant and Grace Kelly

• • Alfred Hitchcock and To Catch a Thief

• • Edith Head: The Paramount Years
  • To Catch a Thief Theatrical Trailer

Summary

To Catch A Thief came at a time when Alfred Hitchcock was in his Hollywood prime.  He was making huge movies with huge stars that had grand scale. To Catch A Thief took the icon and his glamorous cast abroad and turned Grace Kelly into a princess! The film itself is a fun time to be had, and a great play on the heist genre.  Now celebrating 70 years, with an absolutely lovely 4K transfer, To Catch A Thief is now more collectible than ever!

Buy To Catch A Thief 70th Anniversary Limited Edition Steelbook HERE