"Foreign Correspondent" (Criterion)
There's little point in parsing whether this 1940 picture is Great Hitchcock or merely Good Hitchcock when the presentation is so terrific. For the first time I noticed that the opening of this call-for-Allied-action thriller opens with another one of Hitchcock's done-with-models traveling shots, and the look is gorgeous: black-and-white polished to a nitrate-reminiscent sheen but never digitally crushed. And the uncompressed mono soundtrack, transferred at 24-bit, has terrific presence, and reminds us that Hitchcock attached so much importance to sound as a method of both communicating data and creating suspense/shock. As for whether it's Good or Great, well the diffuse scenario makes for a less than entirely satisfying film, but there are a lot of great set pieces. Not to mention ace bits from supporting cast members George Sanders and Robert Benchley. Superb extras, too, including the Master himself doing a whole hour with Dick Cavett. —A+
"The Front" (Twilight Time)
"Samson and Delilah" (Paramount)
"Saturn 3" (Scream Factory)
"La Vie De Boheme" (Criterion)
Glenn Kenny was the chief film critic of Premiere magazine for almost half of its existence. He has written for a host of other publications and resides in Brooklyn. Read his answers to our Movie Love Questionnaire here.