Search - Charade [Criterion Collection] on DVD

Content Advisory: Questionable for Children Movie Release: 1963 DVD Release: 04/06/2004 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV - Closed Captioned Edition: Dual Layered,Restored/Remastered Audio Tracks: English SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 54 mins Studio: Criterion Members Wishing: 42 Genres: Mystery, Comedy Thriller, Romantic Mystery See Also: Charade [Special Edition], Charade, Charade [Collector's Edition], Charade, Charade, Charade [Widescreen], Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn: Charade, Charade, Charade, Charade

Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn star in this stylish comedy-thriller directed by Stanley Donen, very much in a Hitchcock vein. Grant plays Peter Joshua, who meets Reggie Lampert (Hepburn) in Paris and later offers to help her when she discovers that her husband has been murdered. After the funeral, Reggie is summoned to the embassy and warned by agent/friend Bartholemew (Walter Matthau) that her late husband helped steal 250,000 dollars during the war and that the rest of the gang is after the money as well. When three of the men who attended her husband's funeral begin to harass her, Reggie goes to Joshua for help, at which time Joshua confesses that his name is actually Alexander Dyle, the brother of a fourth accomplice in the gold theft. The three men from the funeral are revealed to be the three other accomplices in the crime, and though she knows next to nothing of the heist, Reggie is caught in a ring of suspense as she is followed by the shadowy trio, all after the money. Apparently, the only person she can trust is Joshua/Dyle -- until Bartholomew tells Reggie that the fourth accomplice had no brother, and Joshua/Dyle reveals that he is, in fact, a crook named Adam Canfield. Now Reggie doesn't know where to turn. The musical score by Johnny Mercer and Henry Mancini was nominated for an Academy Award. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Cary Grant - Peter Joshua/Alexander Dyle/Adam Canfield/Brian Cruik
Audrey Hepburn - Regina Lampert
Walter Matthau - Hamilton Bartholomew
James Coburn - Tex Penthollow
Ned Glass - Leopold Gideon
George Kennedy - Herman Scobie

Often cited as the best Hitchcock film that Hitchcock never made, Stanley Donen's stylish and humorous thriller Charade arrives on DVD in fine form courtesy of The Criterion Collection. Presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen, the image is crisp and sharp -- offering bright, vivid colors, solid blacks, and even skin tones. The only minor complaint that could be made regarding the transfer is that it is shows minor evidence of edge enhancement in certain scenes. Audio is presented in Dolby Digital Mono and rings through very clear without any notable hiss or distortion. Though not brimming with extra features, this disc does offer some insightful bonus material that will appeal to both longtime fans of the film and those new to the work of Stanley Donen. A commentary track featuring Donen and screenwriter Peter Stone in particular is both an amusing and insightful listen, with the couple bickering at times like an old married couple with great affection for one another despite the occasional conflicting memory. There is no shortage of entertainment value to Donen and Stone's lively discussion, which addresses everything from the weight of the Cuban Missile Crisis on the lighter-than-air party scene to the film being placed in turnaround to their careful handling of minor crises and Cary Grant's indestructible hair. An introduction to the selected filmography on the disc is penned by Stephen M. Silverman (taken from his book -Dancing on the Ceiling: Stanley Donen and His Movies) and offers a loving overview of Donen's films. The selected filmography is not, as on many discs, simply a list of films, but instead offers detailed descriptions of Donen's most beloved cinematic endeavors accompanied by a generous amount of film stills, posters, and other assorted images. Though Peter Stone's filmography isn't presented with quite the same reverence, it does offer a good overview in addition to a pair of black-and-white stills from Charade. A quirky full-frame trailer rounds things out nicely by offering a colorful and exciting preview of the comedic mystery. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide