Death by the Bags (1959)

Synopsis

Publicist Roger Tornhill accidentally finds himself in the shoes of a spy. Caught between a mysterious organization seeking to eliminate him and the police pursuing him, Tornhill is in a very uncomfortable situation. He flees across the United States and sets off in search of a truth that turns out to be very surprising.

NB: The image comparisons (.jpg compression, 8-bit) are strictly for illustrative purposes and are not representative of what the Ultra HD Blu-ray will broadcast on your calibrated UHD HDR screen.

In order to highlight the concrete use of Wide Color Gamut (WCG) on this edition (see tutorial here), the pixels which are located in the standard/BT.709 range (confined inside the small triangle REC.709) are presented to you here entirely desaturated. Conversely, those part of the expanded BT.2020 range, exclusive to the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray disc (which extend outside the small triangle REC.709) are presented to you in color:

✈️???? “It’s weird… This plane sprays crops where there aren’t any.”

A man trapped in a hellish whirlwind, sucked into a spiral of lies and danger. This is the destiny of Roger Thornhill, an ordinary New York advertising executive, whose life falls into the twists and turns of international espionage. It is obviously Death by the Bags (1959)the breathtaking Alfred Hitchcock masterpiece in question.

Thornhill, played by the magnetic Cary Grant, becomes the victim of a Machiavellian misunderstanding. He is confused with a certain “George Kaplan”, an imaginary spy created from scratch by the intelligence services to deceive their enemies. This pretense transforms his life into a waking nightmare where every face hides a threat and where every moment can be fatal.

In this odyssey, Thornhill meets the disturbing Eve Kendall, played by the brilliant Eva Marie Saint. Beneath its air of icy elegance lie ambivalent intentions. Is she a sincere ally, also manipulated, or a key piece in this merciless spy game? Hitchcock plays with our expectations, subtly manipulating our confidence like that of his hero.

Much more than a simple thriller, Death by the Bags (1959) transcends its genre to establish itself as a fascinating fresco of an America in the midst of the Cold War, haunted by paranoia and political shadow plays. Hitchcock orchestrates here a masterful dance between manipulation and deceptive appearances, plunging the viewer, just like Thornhill, into an abyss of uncertainty. An unforgettable experience, leaving its mark well beyond the final credits. Quite simply a classic!

Video Quality

Death by the Bags (1959) benefited for its 65th anniversary from a new complete restoration. This restored version, made possible thanks to a collaboration between Warner Bros. et The Film Foundationthe organization founded by Martin Scorsese, mobilized the negative VistaVision original of the film. The restoration process was meticulous, requiring careful attention to the unique challenges posed by the format VistaVision and the age of the negative. This one was scanned at an astonishing 13K resolution, each half of the frame VistaVision having been scanned at 6.5K then digitally assembled. Astronomical figures which must be placed in the context of the single format VistaVision 35mm. Unlike the standard 35mm which scrolls vertically, the VistaVision uses horizontal scrolling with an advance of 8 perforations, offering significantly greater image definition. This exceptional presentation is returned to you in 2160p, 1.85:1 ratio with the unique HDR10 option. A UHD disk (BD-100) is used with 91.42 GB of mobilized space.

No words seem sufficiently evocative to describe the sovereign clarity of the images offered by this exceptional restoration. Ladies and gentlemen: we are facing one of the most spectacular upgrades of the year 2024. It is a true renaissance. And the comparison with the previous Blu-ray, a reference until now, has never been so telling. This new 4K UHD edition transcends everything. The results are dazzling.

The definition is the highlight of this UHD edition. It reveals previously invisible details in interior scenes. The refined elegance of the Plaza Hotel, where Roger Thornhill is kidnapped at the start of the film, is magnified: the textures of the tapestries, the wood of the furniture and the folds on his clothes are displayed with remarkable finesse. Each element of the decor tells a story, now palpable. Later, in the train compartment, during the meeting between Thornhill and Eve Kendall, the subdued lighting reveals new subtleties. The reflections of the lights on the dishes, the velvety texture of the benches and the detail of the patterns on the curtains reinforce the intimacy of these momentous scenes. In the dining car, the glances exchanged gain intensity, as if each expression had been reanimated from the original negatives. Another notable example: the auction room, where Thornhill causes a scandal to escape his pursuers. The faces and the textures of the extras' clothing abound with detail. And these are just a few examples among many… You will notice that the scanning window is more generous than before with additional image areas revealed on the side walls. The film above all respects its original 1.85:1 ratio, which was not the case on the previous master.

Colorist Sheri Eisenberg was instrumental in this restoration. She was challenged by the significant discoloration of the original negative. A valuable reference copy, provided by theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciencesserved as a guide for this supervised calibration in HDR. And the results are simply remarkable with a velvety feel that emerges from these images… The video dynamics reach new heights, offering contrasting and modernized images. Contrasts have been sculpted with striking precision, even in the most subtle areas. And, like the classics restored by Warner Bros., this edition benefits from contemporary HDR processing with impressive light intensities.

Small aside: on certain extreme passages, the brightness peaks peak at nearly 4000 nits. The average peak light, measured at 891 nits, is much higher than many recent titles. We repeat: this is a trend on the great classics restored at Warner. And as we already mentioned with Purple Rain (1984), the dynamic Dolby Vision metadata, responsible for facilitating the mapping of tones, would not have been rejected by those whose screens do not yet cover these intensities.

Skillful use of Wide Color Gamut can be noticed. Each nuance brought to this segment seems to have been carefully chosen to emphasize key elements of the story. Take, for example, the shots of whiskey, the incandescent flames of the tanker truck explosion, the burgundy and black floral dress of the femme fatale, or the bright red stripes on the taxi car that takes Thornhill to headquarters of the United Nations. Temporary weaknesses can certainly be raised. Some messy adjustments; the 35mm grain, although generally controlled, is not 100% homogeneous from one scene to another; and slight instabilities in the scrolling of images (during the forest scenes near Mount Rushmore in particular). That said… we're nitpicking.

Audio Quality

This UHD edition renews the image of the film, but also the sound experience. A new Dolby Atmos mix has been created, providing a more immersive and engaging audio experience. In Death by the Bags (1959), the new proposals impress in the chase and action scenes. For example, during the famous agricultural plane attack scene, where the sound of the machine moves realistically around – and now above – the viewer. We expected it: it is this precise scene which most obviously mobilizes the higher Atmos channels. And, even if the sounds retain their period signature, the feeling of airiness provided by this remixing deserves to be highlighted. The urban atmospheres, at the station then on board the train have been reworked. The few shots (blank drawn) maintain a lively and aggressive character. The mixing especially enhances Bernard Herrmann's symphonic score, making it much more enveloping. The music, with its dramatic flights and moments of suspense, is a key element of the film's atmosphere, and the Dolby Atmos mix gives it a new dimension. This is the case from the start of the film (during the famous credits) and especially during the final scenes (at the top of Mount Rushmore).

The original version is reproduced in Atmos (core TrueHD, 16-bit, 3154 kbps). The Loudness Range indicator (LRA), now favored in our columns as an indicator of dynamics, was measured on Death to the Kits at 20.7 (LU). The period monaural version is also available in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (24-bit, 1802 kbps). The dubbed versions, including the VF, remain in Dolby Digital 1.0 (192 kbps).

Bonus

– Audio commentary by Ernest Lehman
– Death on the Trail: Cinematography, Soundtrack and Art of Editing
– Behind the scenes of Death in pursuit

– Destination Hitchcock: The Making of North by Northwest
– The Master's Touch: Hitchcock's Signature Style
– Death on the Trail: A timeless film: interviews with filmmakers
– Guided tour with Alfred Hitchcock

Conclusion

It is an exceptional restoration that will leave a lasting impression. Images brilliantly restored, restoring the film to all its splendor, beauty and original power. Added to this is an audio modernization via the original version remixed in Dolby Atmos. And Warner drives the point home by including the original mono track for purists. A perfect combo for fans of great cinema. Very highly recommended!