Plot: What’s it about?
Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant…were there two more beautiful faces to ever grace the screen? Cary Grant was synonymous with sophistication and the art of being suave. Conversely, Hepburn is most easily identifiable with her role as Holly Golightly from Breakfast at Tiffany’s. By the time this movie was made, Grant was getting on in years (he was 61), but still a leading man. Hepburn, on the other hand, was entering her prime and though nearly thirty years younger than her co-star; the chemistry was there. The movie was directed by Stanley Donen, who is most recognized as one of the directors of Singin’ in the Rain (Gene Kelly was the other director), who took this tale of mistaken identity and put a somewhat light-hearted spin on it. Hitchcock would make a career out of the innocent man wrongly accused (even Cary Grant played the part to a tee in Hitchcock’s own North by Northwest) and though it might feel like a “Hitchcock Ripoff”, it’s really anything but.
The story starts as Regina Lambert (Audrey Hepburn) moves to France as she’s sick of the United States. Her husband, a man who she really never knew that well, is making her unhappy and she sees him less as each day passes. While she’s on a ski trip, he’s thrown off a train and killed and summarily confronted by the authorities upon her return to Paris. Her late husband evidently had been leading more of a double life than she thought as he had many identities. She then meets a stranger by the name of Peter Joshua (Cary Grant) who is nearly as mysterious as her husband. He gives her the counseling and support she needs after being told of her husband’s past by a CIA agent (Walter Matthau). Now the fun starts! Three men (played by James Coburn, George Kennedy and Ned Glass) start harassing Regina as she finds out that her late husband and a few others had stolen an ample amount of money and stowed it away. The thought is that he was killed and they are looking for the money, but naturally her ignorance is no excuse. The cat and mouse game ensues and to say that the movie is fun ? well that’s just an understatement!
Charade isn’t really that dated as we might expect. Sure, it’s forty years old, but the story and style are the same. Donen managed to craft an intriguing movie with just the right amount of drama, action and romance to make it enjoyable for everyone to see. The supporting cast is fairly strong as well and laced with some star power (Coburn, Kennedy and Matthau). It’s amazing, even forty years later, how women still want to look like Hepburn and the styles of the time are even back in fashion now. Charade might not be a perfect movie (few are), but it’s fun to watch and short of Singin’ in the Rain, it’s Donen’s best work. See it for Cary Grant in one of his later, better performances or see it for the lovely Audrey Hepburn. Fans of Alfred Hitchcock will be pleasantly surprised and, hopefully, charmed.
Video: How does it look?
If you can put aside the sordid history of this film on disc, then there’s nothing to worry about. I kid. But kind of not…It’s been a decade or so since we last saw this come out from Criterion. Since then, they’ve done (as expected) a great job of breathing new life into some of their marquee titles in their vaunted collection. What’s that mean for us? It means that we’ve got a new 4K digital restoration from the original camera negative which, of course, translates to on-screen goodness for us. The 1.85:1 HEVC 4K image simply sparkles making Audrey Hepburn look all the. more enchanting as well as the landscape of Europe looking all the more lovely (ala 1960’s). Colors pop, detail has been improved and contrast fixed. In other words – this is the transfer we’ve been waiting for.
Audio: How does it sound?
There’s not a lot of re-inventing the wheel here. The same mono soundtrack found on the previously-released Blu-ray is present here. I know that sounds like a contradiction in terms with uncompressed audio being “state of the art” and mono being only one channel but all things considered, it is an improvement over the previous DVD edition. With only one channel spewing forth any information, it’s really hard to get any sort of dynamic range. However Mancini’s score is, as usual, amazing. While there’s only one channel here, it’s used to its full potential and I don’t think we could ask for much more.
Supplements: What are the extras?
The same array of supplements that were on Criterion’s previous disc are at work here.
- Audio Commentary – Granted, it’s probably hard to find someone to record a new commentary track that had any affiliation with the movie, but we’ve got the same commentary with director Stanley Donen and screenwriter Peter Stone.
- Theatrical Trailer
- Illustrated Booklet – The standard booklet with some production photos and an essay written by film historian Bruce Elder.
The Bottom Line
There’s a lot to like about this one. It’s fun. That and seeing Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn on screen together creates a sense of magic that we just don’t see in films anymore. Criterion essentially regurgitates what’s already been out, but the real draw here is the new 4K transfer. For true fans, pick this on up – otherwise keep what you have.
