Criterion release The Man Who Knew Too Much on Blu-ray in January

[Steve Withers]

Early Alfred Hitchcock classic gets the high-def treatment

An ordinary British couple vacationing in Switzerland suddenly find themselves embroiled in a case of international intrigue when their daughter is kidnapped by spies plotting a political assassination. The Man Who Knew Too Much is a gripping early thriller from the Master of Suspense, Alfred Hitchcock, and the first film the director made after signing to the Gaumont-British Picture Corporation. Besides affirming Hitchcock’s brilliance, it gave the incredible Peter Lorre his first English-speaking role, as a slithery villain. With its tension and gallows humor, it’s pure Hitchcock, and it set the tone for films like The 39 Steps and The Lady Vanishes. The Blu-ray and DVD are released in the US on the 15th of January 2013.

Special features:

• New high-definition digital restoration

• Uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition

• New audio commentary featuring film historian Philip Kemp

• New interview with filmmaker Guillermo del Toro

• The Illustrated Hitchcock, an extensive interview with director Alfred Hitchcock from 1972, conducted by journalist Pia Lindstrom and film historian William Everson

• Audio excerpts from filmmaker François Truffaut’s legendary 1962 interviews with Hitchcock

• Restoration demonstration

• A booklet featuring an essay by critic Farran Smith Nehme