DVD Corner

Foreign Correspondent Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack Review

“Foreign Correspondent” is a vastly underrated Hitchcock film.

The plot: With a potential war on the horizon, the New York Globe editor wants someone who can get real news and facts. Enter Johnny Jones, a fresh faced crime reporter who quickly becomes the new foreign correspondent for the paper under the name of Huntley Haverstock. His mission? To attend a peace conference put on by the Universal Peace Party (led by Stephen Fisher) in honor of Dutch Diplomat Van Meer (who knows a great deal about a secret peace treaty). After Haverstock/Jones arrives at the conference, things quickly go south as Van Meer is apparently assassinated right in front of him. As Haverstock goes looking for answers, he discovers that Van Meer isn’t dead and has been kidnapped. Who has kidnapped Van Meer and for what reason? Can Haverstock/Jones avoid being killed for knowing too much?

When it comes to the filmography of Alfred Hitchcock, “Foreign Correspondent” isn’t one of the titles that are often mentioned, but it should be. This 1940 gem has everything you could possibly want from a Hitchcock film. There’s humor (especially in the first half hour), romance between Jones and Stephen Fisher’s daughter Carol, plot twists galore, witty dialogue, well developed characters (some of which aren’t who they seem to be), spies, winning performances by Joel McCrea and Herbert Marshall, political intrigue, and, of course, plenty of suspenseful moments from the master of suspense like the windmill sequence, the plane crash, and the intense bit where Johnny Jones may or may not be bumped off by an alleged bodyguard. What’s not to like?

Video/Audio:

Presentation: 1.37:1 1080p. How does it look? The Blu-ray transfer offers up stunning clarity to this B&W classic.

Audio Track: Uncompressed Mono. How does it sound? The audio is a bit low for my liking, but it’s still a solid hi-def track.

Extras:
* A booklet featuring an essay by James Naremore.
* “Foreign Correspondent” trailer.
* A 1946 Academy Award Theater radio drama version of “Foreign Correspondent.”
* “Have You Heard?”- An Alfred Hitchcock created photo still war thriller for Life Magazine.
* “Hollywood Propaganda And World War II”- A 25 minute featurette about Hollywood propaganda films and what their messages were. Of course, “Foreign Correspondent” is touched upon here as well.
* “Dick Cavett Interviews Hitchcock”- A fantastic and funny hour long interview with Hitchcock from The Dick Cavett Show from 1972.
* “Visual Effects In Foreign Correspondent”- F/X guru Craig Barron chats about f/x sequences in “Foreign Correspondent” and breaks down how they were created.

Overall Thoughts: It may not be on the same level as say “Psycho,” but “Foreign Correspondent” is a Hitchcock work that has stood the test of time. Hopefully, the film will find more of an audience with this superb Criterion edition.

March 6, 2014 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Blu-Ray review | Alfred Hitchcock, Foreign Correspondent Blu-ray Review, Foreign Correspondent Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack Review, Foreign Correspondent Criterion, Foreign Correspondent DVD