Eine britische Blu-ray des Thrillerklassikers “Der unsichtbare Dritte / North by Northwest” [USA 1959] von Alfred Hitchcock war bereits für den 16. November 2009 ohne weitere Details angekündigt worden. Das Cover des DigiBooks ist hier zu sehen, allerdings ist noch nicht 100-prozentig klar, ob es sich dabei wirklich um das der britischen Disc oder doch um das der US-Disc handelt. Letztere wurde jetzt von Warner Bros. offiziell für den 3. November 2009 angekündigt. Zeitgleich erscheint auch eine neue DVD-Ausgabe. Geboten wird das Bonusmaterial der bisherigen DVD, zwei neue Dokumentationen, eine bereits zuvor auf DVD veröffentlichte Dokumentation über Cary Grant und ein neues Master, für das originale VistaVision-Materialien in 8k gescanned wurden. Während die DVD im normalen Case ausgeliefert wird, kommt die Blu-ray im DigiBook daher.

UPDATE 22.07.2009: Cover der US-Blu-ray

Die Pressemitteilung:

“Quintessential Hitchcock. One of the All-Time Great Entertainments.”
- Leonard Maltin’s Movie Guide

NORTH BY NORTHWEST 50TH ANNIVERSARY EDITIONS

Warner Home Video Gives Legendary Hitchcock Thriller Million Dollar Restoration for Blu-ray Book and Special Edition DVD Debuts November 3

Starring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason
Co-starring Jessie Royce Landis, Leo G. Carroll and Martin Landau

Featuring Two New Documentaries

Burbank, Calif., July 20, 2009 – On November 3, Warner Home Video celebrates the 50th anniversary of North by Northwest, Master of Suspense Alfred Hitchcock’s sleek masterwork, with spectacularly restored 50th Anniversary Editions on Blu-ray and DVD, newly remastered in 1080p from original VistaVision film elements.

The arrival of North by Northwest on Blu-ray is a landmark event in home video history, as it marks the very first of the famed director’s films to become available on this state-of-the-art format. Accordingly, the film has received a meticulous restoration and remastering especially for this occasion with Warner Bros. Motion Picture Imaging scanning the original VistaVision production elements in 8K resolution. The resulting presentation reveals a depth of field and clarity never before possible, only serving to heighten every thrill-packed moment of this beloved classic.

Starring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason, co-starring Jessie Royce Landis, Leo G. Carroll and Martin Landau, the stylish, action-packed espionage caper was written by Ernest Lehman, with music by Bernard Herrmann. Nominated for three Academy Awards® including Best Writing, Film Editing and Art Direction, the film was lauded as #4 on AFI’s ”100 Years…100 Thrills” and selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.

North by Northwest will be available for the first time in premium Blu-ray Book packaging, selling for $34.99 SRP and as a Special Edition DVD, retailing for $24.98 SRP. Both versions boast two new documentaries. The Master’s Touch: Hitchcock’s Signature Style consists of interviews, clips, and behind-the-scenes footage to reveal what defines the unmistakable Hitchcock style. In North by Northwest: One for the Ages today’s top directors Guillermo del Toro, William Friedkin, Curtis Hanson, and Francis Lawrence share their interpretations on the film’s importance and its influence on their own work. The Blu-ray Book also contains 44 pages full of photos, film facts and ‘insider information.’

Also on November 3, Hitchcock fans will be able to add to their collections with TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection: Hitchcock Thrillers, containing four of the director’s finest movies on two discs. The films in this collection are: I Confess, Strangers on a Train, Suspicion and The Wrong Man. The four-title set will sell for $27.92 SRP.

About the film
Cary Grant (as the ultimate man-on-the-run in his fourth Hitchcock teaming) gives a superlative performance while Eva Marie Saint (perfect Hitchcock heroine Eve Kendall) is at her sultry and sexy best in this heart-pounding thriller. Grant plays Manhattan adman Roger Thornhill, who is at once plunged into the world of spies and counterspies, abducted, framed for murder, chased, and (in the signature set-piece) crop-dusted. At the films’ end, he hangs on for dear life from the facial features of Mount Rushmore’s Presidents where he ultimately rescues Miss Saint.

New Special Features:

• Documentary: The Master’s Touch: Hitchcock’s Signature Style
• Documentary: North by Northwest: One for the Ages

Additional Special Features:

• Screenwriter commentary
• Music only track
• Cary Grant: A Class Apart [2003 TCM Documentary]
• Destination Hitchcock: The Making of North by Northwest hosted by Eva Marie Saint
• Photo gallery
• Trailer gallery

NORTH BY NORTHWEST 50TH ANNIVERSARY EDITIONS
Street Date: November 3, 2009

NORTH BY NORTHWEST BD BOOK
$34.99 SRP

NORTH BY NORTHWEST SPECIAL EDITION DVD
$24.98 SRP

Feature Running Time: 136 Minutes; Not Rated:
16×9 Widescreen, Technicolor
Audio: English
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish