Pull the trigger on a blind buy for Charade? - Blu-ray Forum

Yojimbo68 · 04-03-2012, 02:15 AM

I noticed that you have To Catch a Thief in your collection. If you like that odds are you'll like Charade. Granted, Charade is no North By Northwest but then again...what is?!

Sinthetic · 04-03-2012, 02:17 AM

Go for it.

Hawkguy · 04-03-2012, 02:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yojimbo68

Granted, Charade is no North By Northwest but then again...what is?!

Well, that's a matter of opinion...I'd say it's the other way around, personally

greekak229 · 04-03-2012, 02:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CoopFilm

Well, that's a matter of opinion...I'd say it's the other way around, personally

ScarredLungs · 04-03-2012, 02:28 AM

Great Movie. I blind bought it and it is fantastic.

hedliniv · 04-03-2012, 02:29 AM

Personally, I think to catch a thief has much more replay value. Charade is a good movie but the 3rd time I watched it was the last time for me. I say go for it as you can get most of your investment back if you don't like it...

Hawkguy · 04-03-2012, 02:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by greekak229

I'd say it's largely because it was the first film I saw from that era that got me really interested in seeing all those other ones, so I'm extra nostalgic towards it.

jmbenesh · 04-03-2012, 03:40 AM

Worth a blind buy? Absolutely.

Carlos2992 · 04-03-2012, 04:03 AM

Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn, you can't go wrong with it.

octagon · 04-03-2012, 04:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CoopFilm

Well, that's a matter of opinion...I'd say it's the other way around, personally

Quote:

Originally Posted by greekak229

I dunno, I can almost see that. Neither are meant to be taken too terribly seriously (the suspense elements in North by Northwest are just so over-the-top) and one could argue that Charade is a little tighter overall.

As for the original question, yeah, Charade's a pretty safe blind buy.

What you see is what yu get and I mean that in the good way - if the description and/or trailer are a pretty good measure of what's inside. And it looks absolutely gorgeous. I was kind of on the fence about buying it myself but I wound up enjoying it a lot more this time around than in any of its previous incarnations.

Persianimmortal · 04-03-2012, 04:32 AM

Charade is worth a blind buy if you like To Catch a Thief and North by Northwest, no question

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yojimbo68

Granted, Charade is no North By Northwest but then again...what is?!

Agreed, I love North By Northwest. But have you seen North By Northwest 2: The Quickening - it's at least as good as the original.

Clark Kent · 04-03-2012, 06:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Persianimmortal

Charade is worth a blind buy if you like To Catch a Thief and North by Northwest, no question

While Charade is watchable, it is not in the same league as those two other movies. I would only recommend a blind buy if someone is a big fan of Cary Grant or Audrey Hepburn.

Persianimmortal · 04-03-2012, 06:59 AM

Not quite in the same league but in the same vein, and fun to boot. I also assume that people who like the other two movies are Cary Grant fans by default, since he takes up most of the screen time in those others too.

EricJ · 04-03-2012, 07:13 AM

In defense of this movie, let's start a new practice:
Instead of asking total strangers whether to spend your money buying a movie you've never seen in your life just to watch it...let's use a new invention just popularized, called "YouTube", to answer the first question for free:

Mild SPOILERS ahead, but nothing in context

...Ain't progress wonderful?

jmbenesh · 04-03-2012, 07:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EricJ

In defense of this movie, let's start a new practice:
Instead of asking total strangers whether to spend your money buying a movie you've never seen in your life just to watch it...let's use a new invention just popularized, called "YouTube", to answer the first question for free:

Mild SPOILERS ahead, but nothing in context
CHARADE - Trailer - HQ - (1963) - YouTube

...Ain't progress wonderful?

Even better, since the film is public domain, anyone can just pull it up on Hulu and watch it there, in its entirety -- crappy video quality included. Or you can watch it below!

fdm · 04-03-2012, 07:32 AM

If you've not seen it, it should be a pretty decent blind buy for most. I've seen it enough times to get a bit in nodding off mode when watching it... up until the blu-ray and then it was on the verge of being like I was watching it again for the first time. So blu-ray is the way to go with this one.

(Other title I've had a similar experience with is The Maltese Falcon.)

BluBonnet · 04-03-2012, 07:33 AM

Well, it's still the best Hitchcock movie that Hitchcock didn't direct, imho.

For fans of Grant or Audrey, it's an absolute gem that stands up to repeated viewings quite well (and let's not forget the great supporting performances by Walter Matthau, James Coburn and George Kennedy - and the great Mancini score).

EricJ · 04-03-2012, 05:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmbenesh

Even better, since the film is public domain, anyone can just pull it up on Hulu and watch it there, in its entirety -- crappy video quality included. Or you can watch it below!

Hulu - Charade - Watch the full movie now.

Although, if it's the Criterion version and you like what you see, it's WORTH buying for Criterion's cleaned-up full-color rescue from public-domain neglect.

If only they could rescue more poor homeless PD titles, at least some that aren't early UK Hitchcock.

04-03-2012, 02:15 AM	#1
Yojimbo68 Blu-ray Samurai Member since:Jul 2008 4K collection:160 Blu-ray collection:1563 DVD collection:683 Digital collection:1328 iTunes collection:2 Blu-ray reviews: 8	I noticed that you have To Catch a Thief in your collection. If you like that odds are you'll like Charade. Granted, Charade is no North By Northwest but then again...what is?! Last edited by Yojimbo68; 04-03-2012 at 02:18 AM.

04-03-2012, 02:17 AM	#2
Sinthetic Blu-ray Samurai Top contributor Member since:Nov 2011 Location:UK 4K collection:- Blu-ray collection:- Trading Score:18	Go for it.

04-03-2012, 02:28 AM	#5
ScarredLungs Blu-ray Champion Top contributor Member since:Dec 2007 Location:Utah 4K collection:65 Blu-ray collection:1433 Prime collection:1 Blu-ray reviews:8 Trading Score:4	Great Movie. I blind bought it and it is fantastic.

04-03-2012, 02:29 AM	#6
hedliniv Blu-ray Guru Member since:Nov 2009 Location:Odessa, FL 4K collection:1 Blu-ray collection:373 DVD collection:9 Digital collection:499 Blu-ray reviews:13 Trading Score:262	Personally, I think to catch a thief has much more replay value. Charade is a good movie but the 3rd time I watched it was the last time for me. I say go for it as you can get most of your investment back if you don't like it...

04-03-2012, 03:40 AM	#8
jmbenesh Power Member Member since:Feb 2011 Location:Tempe, AZ Blu-ray collection:200 Blu-ray reviews: 3	Worth a blind buy? Absolutely.

04-03-2012, 04:03 AM	#9
Carlos2992 Expert Member Member since:Oct 2008 Location:Lanus, Argentina Blu-ray collection:911 Trading Score:1	Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn, you can't go wrong with it.

04-03-2012, 06:59 AM	#13
Persianimmortal Active Member Member since:May 2011 Location:Canberra, Australia	Not quite in the same league but in the same vein, and fun to boot. I also assume that people who like the other two movies are Cary Grant fans by default, since he takes up most of the screen time in those others too.

04-03-2012, 07:32 AM	#16
fdm Blu-ray Ninja Top contributor Member since:Nov 2007 Location:Way Out West 4K collection:- Blu-ray collection:- DVD collection:- Digital collection:- iTunes collection:- Prime collection:- Blu-ray reviews:2 Trading Score:3	If you've not seen it, it should be a pretty decent blind buy for most. I've seen it enough times to get a bit in nodding off mode when watching it... up until the blu-ray and then it was on the verge of being like I was watching it again for the first time. So blu-ray is the way to go with this one. (Other title I've had a similar experience with is The Maltese Falcon.)

04-03-2012, 07:33 AM	#17
BluBonnet Blu-ray King Top contributor Member since:Oct 2009 Trading Score:1	Well, it's still the best Hitchcock movie that Hitchcock didn't direct, imho. For fans of Grant or Audrey, it's an absolute gem that stands up to repeated viewings quite well (and let's not forget the great supporting performances by Walter Matthau, James Coburn and George Kennedy - and the great Mancini score).

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