Torn Curtain appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.85:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. This became a good presentation with occasional issues.
Sharpness seemed largely fine, even though Hitchcock used his standard “glamour photography” on Julie Andrews. Most shots felt pretty well-defined, but others looked slightly soft and tentative. Overall delineation was generally solid – and sometimes terrific.
I noticed no issues with jagged edges or shimmering, and edge haloes failed to appear. Source flaws were a sporadic distraction, as I witnessed occasional small specks. These never felt pervasive, though, and grain seemed appropriate.
In terms of palette, the movie went with a brownish feel, and that limited some of the color range. Still, the disc reproduced the hues as intended, and HDR brought added punch to the tones.
Blacks were deep and tight, at least, and shadows felt appropriate. Between some softness and a few print flaws, I thought this became a “B” image.
The DTS-HD monaural soundtrack of Torn Curtain has held up fairly well over the years. Music showed pretty good life given the movie’s age, so the score was fairly bright and full.
Effects seemed accurate and distinctive, and speech was generally natural and warm, though a little edginess occasionally crept into the proceedings.
Some lines also were awkwardly looped. Nonetheless, I liked what I heard most of the time and thought the audio served a “B-“.
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. The source defects and slight softness limited improvements, but this nonetheless became an appreciable upgrade over the BD.
The 4K replicates the extras from the BD, and we begin with a documentary called Torn Curtain Rising. The 32-minute, 25-second program provides movie clips and archival pieces accompanied by narration.
Unlike almost all the other Hitchcock documentaries, this one lacks any interviews. The program looks at the project’s inspirations and its script, cast and performances, the opening credits sequence, some cinematic storytelling techniques, sets and locations, themes, score, deleted scenes, and a few other production elements.
The absence of any interview subjects puzzles and disappoints, especially since I’d think quite a few participants remained among the living when this show was created. Nonetheless, the narration from Trev Broudy works well.
Broudy digs into different aspects of the movie in an enlightening manner that provides good insight. It’s more like a commentary than a documentary, but it remains informative.
Next comes a piece entitled Scenes Scored By Bernard Herrmann. This 14-minute, 35-second segment features music Herrmann wrote for Curtain but unused by Hitchcock.
We can see a few scenes as they would’ve worked had the film kept Herrmann’s score. That makes it an interesting alternate viewpoint.
In addition to the flick’s trailer, we get a collection of Production Photographs. A running eight-minute, 45-second montage, the disc includes 133 of these, and they mix behind the scenes stills, ads, and publicity shots. As always, a lot of good images appear, though they’ve never been upgraded from DVD quality, unfortunately.
A second disc provides a Blu-ray copy of Torn Curtain. It includes the same extras as the 4K.
A younger Alfred Hitchcock might not have been able to knock a flawed tale like Torn Curtain out of the park, but I’m sure he could’ve done something with it. Unfortunately, the aging Hitch failed to bring anything special to this dull, plodding flick. The 4K UHD offers relatively good picture and audio and some informative supplements. Leave the forgettable Torn Curtain to the Hitchcock completists.
Note that this 4K UHD version of Torn Curtain 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, Topaz and Frenzy and offers a bargain if you want all five films.
To rate this film, visit the DVD review of TORN CURTAIN