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UNIVERSAL

MOVIE INFO

Director:
Alfred Hitchcock
Cast:
Jon Finch, Alec McCowen, Barry Foster
Writing Credits:
Anthony Shaffer

Synopsis:
The Necktie Murderer has the London Police on red alert, and an innocent man is on a desperate quest to find the real serial rapist-murderer and clear his own name.

MPAA:
Rated R.

DISC DETAILS
Presentation:
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audio:
English DTS-HD MA Mono
French DTS Mono
Castillian DTS Mono
Japanese DTS Mono
German DTS Mono
Italian DTS Mono
Subtitles:
English
Spanish
French
Castillian
Japanese
German
Italian
Danish
Finnish
Norwegian
Swedish
Closed-captioned
Supplements Subtitles:
English
Spanish
French
Castillian
Japanese
German
Italian

Runtime: 116 min.
Price: $29.98
Release Date: 10/31/23

Bonus:
• “The Story of Frenzy” Documentary
• Production Photographs
• Trailer
• Blu-ray Copy


PURCHASE @ AMAZON.COM

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-SVS SB12-NSD 12" 400-watt Sealed Box Subwoofer


RELATED REVIEWS


Frenzy [4K UHD] (1972)

Reviewed by Colin Jacobson (March 12, 2024)

With 1972’s Frenzy, we found Alfred Hitchcock’s penultimate directorial effort. Four years later, 1976’s Family Plot would become his last cinematic hurrah.

A serial killer known as the “Necktie Murderer” terrorizes London. He rapes women, strangles them and leaves a necktie around their gullets as a calling card.

From there we meet Richard Blaney (Jon Finch), a heavy drinker with a temper. The former RAF Squad Leader can’t keep a job, and he runs through money quickly. He even tries to hit up his ex-wife Brenda (Barbara Leigh-Hunt) for cash – and antagonizes her in the process, with seems to be par for the course in his personal relationships.

All of this makes it no surprise when Richard becomes a suspect in the Necktie Murderer investigation – especially since Brenda becomes one of the killer’s victims. The audience knows the culprit’s true identity, but to the film’s characters, Richard looks like the most likely party. The narrative follows his efforts to clear his name.

After a couple of spy flicks, Hitchcock returned to psychological thrillers with Frenzy, ground he last visited in 1964’s lackluster Marnie. Since I wasn’t wild about that movie, I hoped that the serial killer adventure of Frenzy would prove more satisfying.

Does it fare better than Marnie? Yeah, but that doesn’t make it a match for Hitchcock’s better work.

That said, Frenzy stands out in a couple of ways. For one, it was Hitchcock’s first – and only -“R”-rated effort.

Of course, Hitchcock only made three movies after that rating came into existence, so that doesn’t mean much. Nonetheless, Frenzy does show how censorship standards changed over the years, as it boasts some profanity as well as nudity.

Those factors led to its “R”, which comes as a surprise since one would assume an “R”-rated Hitchcock flick would get that designation from its gore. The latter element doesn’t seem much more graphic than what we would’ve found in earlier Hitchcock efforts, though, as there’s really very on-screen little violence in Frenzy.

The other semi-novel aspect of Frenzy comes from its setting, as Hitchcock hadn’t worked in his native England since 1950’s Stage Fright. This side of things seems less significant than the rating change, though.

It’s not like Hitch’s films suffered due to his absence from the UK. It’s vaguely cool that he went home near the end of his career, but I don’t find much greater meaning than that.

In truth, I can’t locate a lot about Frenzy that I could call great. While it entertains, it seems too inconsistent to truly satisfy.

Storytelling choices create the main problems. Early on, the film sets up all the reasons Richard could be the Necktie Murderer, and we even find some incredibly clumsy exposition via a pub conversation about the psychology of the serial killer. Everything we see in the flick’s early moments leads the audience to believe Richard did it.

Which is why the audience can likely figure out Richard didn’t do it, but that doesn’t mean I care for the decision to explicitly remove all doubt so quickly. I know that Hitchcock liked to let the audience know more than the film’s participants, as he felt that decision would increase tension.

The famous example relates to the use of a hidden bomb. Hitch thought it would be more unsettling for the audience to know the bomb’s ticking and fret whether it would be stopped in time.

No such tension results here, though I’m not quite sure what aspect of Frenzy is supposed to result in tension. I guess we’re meant to worry about how Richard will prove his innocence, but we never really care, mostly due to the casual way Hitchcock tells the tale.

The film doesn’t even focus on Richard all that much of the time. We visit our nominal protagonist on occasion but we also see a lot of the killer and Scotland Yard’s Chief Inspector Oxford (Alec McCowen), the lead investigator.

Unfortunately, Hitchcock doesn’t develop any of these elements well. Only Brenda’s murder provides any doubt about the outcome, as the other killing we see is a foregone conclusion.

Bizarrely, the flick’s most dramatic scene comes from one in which the killer tries to remove an incriminating item from a corpse. We almost worry that he’ll get caught, even though we dislike the bastard and want to see him apprehended.

The flick’s best scenes do come from its two murders, as Brenda’s demise presents a particularly unsettling rape sequence. As I mentioned, it’s not graphic beyond the display of some nudity, but Hitch still makes it quite disturbing, so it’s easily the movie’s most effective piece.

To his credit, Hitchcock goes exactly the other direction for the second murder, as in this one, we see absolutely nothing. The killer takes his prey into an apartment, which the camera never enters.

Instead, it slowly withdraws from the setting and wanders to the street outside the building. Since Brenda’s rape/murder set up the killer’s MO, we don’t need to see the actual crime and this makes the subdued portrayal all the more impactful.

Outside of those segments, however, I can’t find much about Frenzy that impresses. It remains reasonably interesting, but the unfocused storytelling and odd choices means it suffers from a surprising lack of tension and intrigue. It never becomes a bad film, but it certainly does little to stand out as memorable.


The Disc Grades: Picture B+/ Audio B-/ Bonus B-

Frenzy appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.85:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. This became a pretty solid presentation.

Overall sharpness remained very good despite the haloes, though. A sliver of softness crept in at times, but the majority of the film delivered appropriate delineation.

Jagged edges and moiré effects created no obvious distractions, and I saw no edge haloes. Grain felt natural and print flaws failed to turn into a problem. I saw a couple small specks but these felt insignificant.

Colors acted as a strength, as the movie offered vivid hues most of the time. While the film came with a mild push toward the blue side of the street, plenty of other colors appeared as well, and HDR gave them extra oomph.

Blacks came across as dark and dense, while shadows appeared clear and smooth. HDR added range to whites and contrast. This wound up as a strong image.

As for the DTS-HD MA monaural soundtrack of Frenzy, it seemed more than adequate given the film’s age and origins. Speech remained intelligible and reasonably natural, and the lines lacked edginess or other issues, though they felt a bit boxy at times.

Music seemed reasonably concise, with relatively positive range and impact. Effects were similarly clean and accurate enough for what I expected.

No background noise or other issues distracted. This felt like a slightly above average track for its era.

How does the 4K UHD compare to the prior Blu-ray? Audio felt identical.

On the other hand, the 4K looked better defined and warmer than the Blu-ray. This turned into a clear upgrade over the mediocre BD.

The 4K replicates almost all of the extras from the BD, and it starts with a 44-minute, 46-second documentary called The Story of Frenzy. We get notes from director’s daughter Pat Hitchcock O’Connell, filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich, screenwriter Anthony Shaffer, and actors Jon Finch, Anna Massey, and Barry Foster.

We learn about the film’s story, script and research, cast and performances, working with Hitchcock and shooting particular scenes, sets and shooting in London, camerawork and some technical elements, the score, and the movie’s legacy.

Most of these Hitchcock documentaries work well, and “Story” continues that trend. It differs from many of the others due to the inclusion of so many folks who were involved with the flick.

That’s a good thing, as they add immediacy to the discussion. “Story” also runs longer than many of its siblings, and it becomes a satisfying examination of the film.

Hitchcock made a lot of clever ads, and the theatrical trailer for Frenzy falls in line with its predecessors. Via a running 13-minute, 40-second montage, 90 Production Photographs show shots from the set and publicity images.

We also see a few snaps from three “unscripted scenes”, though we don’t learn any more about those. Unfortunately, Universal never upgraded the quality of the images so they remain DVD caliber and less than accurate.

A second disc provides a Blu-ray copy of Frenzy. It includes the same extras as the 4K.

With 1972’s Frenzy, Alfred Hitchcock returned to his homeland, but he didn’t return to form as a classic filmmaker. The flick shows a few inspired moments but seems meandering and forgettable too much of the time. The 4K UHD gives us appealing picture and acceptable audio along with supplements highlighted by an informative documentary. Hitchcock fans will want to give this one a screening, but it’s not one of the director’s more memorable works.

Note that this 4K UHD version of Frenzy can be purchased solo or as part of the five-film “Alfred Hitchcock Classics Collection”. It also includes 4K UHD versions of Rope, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Torn Curtain, and Topaz and offers a bargain if you want all five films.

To rate this film, visit the DVD review of FRENZY

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