Secret Agent | John Gielgud, Madeleine Carroll | Hitch's Mix....Suspense and Humor With Great Style

Secret Agent | John Gielgud, Madeleine Carroll | Best full length DVD I have found.

DVDs:

Secret Agent

	Secret Agent John Gielgud, Madeleine Carroll Tgg Direct, 2003 average customer review:based on 20 reviews
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One of Alfred Hitchcock's finest pre-Hollywood films, the 1936 Secret Agent stars a young John Gielgud as a British spy whose death is faked by his intelligence superiors. Reinvented with another identity and outfitted with a wife (Madeleine Carroll), Gielgud's character is sent on assignment with a cold-blooded accomplice (Peter Lorre) to assassinate a German agent. En route, the counterfeit couple keeps company with an affable American (Robert Young), who turns out to be more than he seems after the wrong man is murdered by Gielgud and Lorre. Dense with interwoven ideas about false names and real identities, about appearances as lies and the brutality of the hidden, and about the complicity of those who watch the anarchy that others do, Secret Agent declared that Alfred Hitchcock was well along the road to mastery as a filmmaker and, more importantly, knew what it was he wanted to say for the rest of his career. The print of the film used in the DVD release is serviceable and probably comparable to an average 16mm classroom or museum presentation. The DVD also includes a Hitchcock filmography, trivia questions, a director biography, and scene access. --Tom Keogh

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Hitch's Mix....Suspense and Humor With Great Style

From 1936..."The Secret Agent". You'll find Hitch's unique sense of humor well integrated with the suspense and his definitive style, in this terrific film about espionage at the onset of WWI. A reluctant spy is recruited to kill an enemy spy. He is given a false name and a fake wife to keep up appearances. He goes after the target, but does he have the right man? Could there be another who is the real culprit? And what a cast.. John Gielgud stars with Madeline Carroll,Robert Young and Peter Lorre(fabulous as always) as his very strange accomplice.Other notables to look for include Lilli Palmer and Michael Redgrave.

There are several studio editions to chose from. Sometimes the reviews for the different editions are lumped together. I am reviewing the edition put out by Platinum Disc(It has the ASIN B00005A0QH in the product info, or enter in search to find it). The transfer of this 70 year old film by Platinum is decent, but probably not as good as some of the more expensive editions. The picture is nice and clear but there are quite a few scratches.The sound in Dolby Dig is clear and distinguishable. I did find it to be very viewable and perfectly enjoyable.It includes a short trivia quiz of the film, a bio of Sir John Gielgud and a few chapter stops.It comes in a nice jewel case, with an insert that also includes the same extras that are on the disc. It is available from the outside sellers at a reasonable price at this time.

Where's Hitch.....alas, there seems to be no appearance by Sir Alfred here.

I would recommend this edition of "Secret Agent" to Hitch fans who want to build up their collection without spending too much.

enjoy...Laurie

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Best full length DVD I have found.

This is the best quality DVD I have yet to find of this movie.
Still..one night scene on a lake briefly becomes hard to watch.
However, the copy is still acceptable in quality until a restored release, if it ever happens, is released.
The DVD appears full in length.
The movie has all the early Hitchcock touches:
the crafted use of sound in pivotal scenes, (as his teacher, Lang, did, most notably in his Testament of Dr. Mabuse),
the use of minature models, (which I enjoy, especially when obvious but still well done. It is sooo much better then mismatched stock footage insertions),
and the use of excellent and interesting actors. Here we have a young pre-Sir John Guilguld, as well as a young Peter Lorre in his second role for Hitchcock (having just flown in from America after doing the remake of the Hands of Dr. Orlac in Hollywood), to play a cartoon skirt chasing mustachioed Mexican contract killer working for the government character...really. Presumably, this time Lorre understood the actual meaning of his script, (unlike two years earlier in The Man Who Knew Too Much). Dialogue is weak and a major flaw of the movie. A must for both Lorre fans, and Hitchcock fans.
I remain, frustrated from waiting for an American DVD copy of Young and Innocent with the full 90 minutes. The American copy had two Una O'Conner scenes removed, for a total of a 1/9th shortening of the movie. There IS a full length version available on an English PAL DVD.

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Interesting, "But".

Interesting story, Hitchcock touch is evented. Madeleine Carroll is a standout, but did not buy into John Gielgud as the lead.

Interesting early Hitchcock

This reviewer now understands why some folks get excited about transfers from VHS to DVD. This viewer's VHS tape was in wretched condition, grainy and virtually impossible to understand. The good news is that the plot was not hard to follow, given some intense concentration. On the eve of WWI, the British Secret Service fakes the death of a young John Gielgud. JG is the spook sent to Switzerland with instructions to assassinate a German agent, whose identity is a mystery. Peter Lorre tags along for "backup". On arrival, JG finds he has been assigned a wife of convenience, beautiful Madeleine Carroll. They make friends with an affable tourist, Robert Young. Warning! One of the 4 is the German spy, whose identity is NOT divulged here. Complications arise when an innocent man is fingered as the spy-and eliminated! That leaves the real bad guy free. What happens? A good review reveals no resolutions but the windup takes place on a train in the finest cloak and dagger tradition; shades of such classics as "Sleeping Car to Trieste", "Night Train to Munich", "The Lady Vanishes" and even "From Russia With Love". "Secret Agent" is neither a true classic nor among Alfred Hitchcock's finest work but it is entertaining and a worthwhile period piece. Viewers should take caution to get their hands on a restored version. Those who do may wish to add a star to the rating above.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4

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