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To Catch a Thief (1955)
To Catch a Thief (1955) poster

To Catch a Thief (1955)

Mystery, Romance, Thriller • 1h 46m

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Paramount 4K Blu-ray

UHD Blu-ray

Best English-friendly release · updated 9 months ago

UHD tiers

Disappointing
Paramount

Overview

An ex-thief is accused of enacting a new crime spree, so to clear his name he sets off to catch the new thief, who’s imitating his signature style.

Release details

Best Video Release

2024 Paramount "Presents" 4K: although there are reviews that called it disappointing. It is also regarded as a vast improvement over all previous versions by many others as well.

This is a problematic release, because while scenes like the aerial shots at the beginning looked pristine and shows new detail, many others are suspiciously identical across all three Blu-ray releases (the 2012, 2020 and this 2024).

Some defects on this are unfixed from the 2020 Blu-ray for some reason. (See this review and its discussion.)

Best Audio Release

1996 Paramount Hi-Fi VHS

Length
106 mins
Type
Movie

More from Alfred Hitchcock

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Director: Alfred Hitchcock

1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Warner Archive Blu-ray

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

WB Blu-ray

Best Video:

WB Blu-ray

Best Audio:

1987 WB LaserDisc

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Excellent
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Universal 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

Universal Blu-ray

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Excellent
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Universal 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

1985 MCA LaserDisc

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

France Carlotta Blu-ray

Best Video:

France Carlotta better encode than Criterion

Best Audio:

2004 Prism Leisure DVD

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Excellent
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Universal 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

2005 US DVD

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Excellent
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Universal 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

Turbine Germany Blu-ray, WB DVD(?)

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Criterion Blu-ray

Best Video:

Criterion Blu-ray

Best Audio:

Criterion Blu-ray

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Excellent
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

WB 4K

Best Video:

WB 4K

Best Audio:

1984 MGM Hi-Fi VHS

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

2D version: Warner Archive Blu-ray

3D version: Warner Archive 3D Blu-ray

Best Video:

2D version: Warner Archive Blu-ray

3D version: Warner Archive 3D Blu-ray

More from Paramount

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Director: Peter Faiman

UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Australia Cut: Australia Fox DVD

International Cut: Paramount Blu-ray

Encore Cut: Germany Winkler Film 4K Blu-ray, censored but good encoding

Upcoming Release:

US Paramount 4K Blu-ray, is the International US Cut and not the Encore Cut

Best Video:

Australia Cut: Australia Fox DVD

International Cut: Paramount Blu-ray

Encore Cut: Germany Winkler Film 4K Blu-ray, censored but good encoding

Best Audio:

Australia Cut: Laserdisc

Additional Info:

The film exists in three versions:
- the original Australian cut (~104 minutes at 24fps/~100 minutes at 25fps);
- the American/international version (~98 minutes at 24fps/~94 minutes at 25fps) trimming some exposition in the Outback first half of the film and some shorter extensions of a few seconds in the New York section, altering some of the dialogue – including censoring a "fuck" to "screw" – but featuring one additional dialogue extension not in the Australian version (a comparison of the two cuts can be found at Movie Censorship);
- the Australian Encore Cut (~95 minutes at 24fps/~91 minutes at 25fps) which uses the international version source so it already has those alterations but also removes approximately three minutes consisting of parts of two scenes featuring Mick grabbing the crotch of a cross-dressing prostitute and a later sequence when he does the same thing at a party to a woman with a deep voice (a comparison of the international version and the Encore Cut can be found at Movie Censorship).

Director: Martin Scorsese

Solid
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Arrow UK 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Arrow UK 4K Blu-ray > Paramount US, same black crush as the US disc but encoded by FiM and very good new supplements

Additional Info:

Paramount US 4K Blu-ray has FEL Dolby Vision 

Arrow UK 4K Blu-ray has MEL Dolby Vision

Director: M. Night Shyamalan

1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

2D version: Paramount Blu-ray

3D version: Paramount 3D Blu-ray

Upcoming Release:

Paramount 4K Blu-ray on October 26 2026

Best Video:

2D version: Paramount Blu-ray

3D version: Paramount 3D Blu-ray

Director: Billy Wilder

Solid
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Paramount 4K Blu-ray or Blu-ray

Best Video:

Paramount 4K Blu-ray. See caps
HDR/grading: nice, but some blown out
Encoding: inconsistent, smeared motion
DNR: inconsistent, frozen
Old Paramount Blu-ray is arguably a solid alternative choice

Best Audio:

Paramount 4K Blu-ray mono is different version of the Blu-ray mono from the same old 2000 DVD transfer.

Additional Info:

The 5.1 remix on the 4K Blu-ray is an appalling remix done by going wild with artificially generated stems from Park Road Post who were given the surviving mono to separate. The experience is jarring and fidelity to original mix in terms of level balance, directionality and impact is nonexistent. Not only does this sound painfully weird, but the Paramount mixers then did whatever they wanted in terms of LFE, sound pans and effect changes.
The original mono mix was not restored and still needs it badly. The 4K master is filled with frozen grain examples coming and going plus some HDR issues in addition to the usual Paramount problems. It is simultaneously better and worse than the Blu-ray master.

Director: Robert Altman

1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Paramount Blu-ray

Upcoming Release:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray scheduled for Dec 2026 release

Best Video:

Paramount Blu-ray

Director: Richard Linklater

Solid
1080p Blu-ray
Additional Info:

Germany Blu-ray has English audio 

Germany Blu-ray is part of a 3-film box set like the Criterion but by StudioCanal 

Director: Michael Bay

UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Original AR: Paramount 4K Blu-ray

IMAX AR: Paramount 3D Blu-ray

Best Video:

Original AR: Paramount 4K Blu-ray

IMAX AR: Paramount 3D Blu-ray

Director: Stanley Donen

1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Paramount Blu-ray

Best Video:

Paramount Blu-ray

Director: Trey Parker

1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Paramount Blu-ray

Best Video:

Paramount Blu-ray

Best Audio:

Paramount Blu-ray

Directors: Arturo Perez Jr. & Samantha Jayne

UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Paramount 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

Paramount 4K Blu-ray

More Mystery on Blu-ray

Director: Pupi Avati

UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

UK Shameless 4K Blu-ray or US Arrow 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

UK Shameless 4K Blu-ray or US Arrow 4K Blu-ray

Both the US Arrow 4K Blu-ray and UK Shameless 4K Blu-ray are better than the horrible grade of the France Le Chat Qui Fume which has blacks looking greenish and milky with some yellow push. However, comparing these two, there's significant tradeoffs; Arrow has less black crush and some shots seems to be better graded but it's worse in some shots with a slight magenta grade; the UK Shameless 4K Blu-ray has a better color grading.

Additional Info:

UK Shameless 4K Blu-ray and US Arrow 4K Blu-ray have exclusive extras

Director: Mamoru Oshii

Excellent
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

US GKIDS 4K Blu-ray authored by FiM

Best Audio:

4K restoration includes a high-fidelity Dolby Atmos remix sourced from new transfers of original magnetic elements, with inconsequential content differences from the original mono mix. Umbrella 4K Blu-ray only includes a 5.1 mixdown of the remix, other discs have it in Dolby Atmos.

Umbrella/GKIDS 4K Blu-ray's 2.0 track is a stereo downmix. Older BDs and LDs have the original mono mix in varying quality, but are all inferior in fidelity to the new 5.1 remix. The digital track on the Bandai/Emotion Japan LaserDisc BELL-942 is the best of the bunch.

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=23714400&postcount=159

Only the GKIDS 4K Blu-ray has the English dub.

Director: Carol Reed

Solid
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray or Lionsgate Limited 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray/Lionsgate Limited 4K Blu-ray (shared encode); slight improvement over the 2015 StudioCanal Blu-ray

Best Audio:

StudioCanal/LG UHDs port the 1999 Criterion DVD, considered the best source

Additional Info:

StudioCanal has a remastered Blu-ray, Lionsgate only a 4K Blu-ray

Director: John Carpenter

Solid
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Universal 4K Blu-ray. Maybe Turbine Blu-ray instead for better audio?

Best Audio:

Director: W.S. Van Dyke

1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Warner Archive Blu-ray

Best Video:

Warner Archive Blu-ray, 4k scan

Director: Jacques Tourneur

Solid
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Warner Archive 4K Blu-ray

Director: Paolo Cavara

Excellent
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

US Celluloid Dreams 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

US Celluloid Dreams 4K Blu-ray caps and detailed QC breakdown

Director: Victor Halperin

1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Kino Lorber Blu-ray

Best Video:

Kino Lorber Blu-ray

Director: David Lynch

Excellent
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray > Criterion 4K Blu-ray

StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray is encoded by FiM and doesn’t have the low-pass filter the Criterion 4K Blu-ray has.

Best Audio:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray is closer to the original DVDs than the 2015 Criterion release, not sure about whether the StudioCanal 4K is like the Criterion 4K/original DVD

Additional Info:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray has FEL Dolby Vision, StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray has MEL

Director: Vincent Sherman

1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Indicator Blu-ray

Best Video:

While no comparison is available Indicator Blu-ray is most likely better than Mill Creek Blu-ray

Edit History

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Researched and maintained by

M_ADISKANBGR8vanshady

· last reviewed 9 months ago

Every recommendation follows the same method — how these calls are made.