The Man Who Knew Too Much Blu-ray | Alfred Hitchcock Classic Thriller Movie | Perfect for Movie Nights & Collector's Editions

It's 1956, and the McKenna family of three, Ben, Jo and Hank, are American tourists on a bus traveling from Casablanca to Marrakech, in French Morocco. On the bus, they meet the strangely curious Louis Bernard, and agree to see him later for drinks and dinner.That doesn't work out so well, and Jo (for Josephine) is very suspicious of Louis. But they do meet a friendly British couple, Lucy and Edward Drayton. They are un-strange and have bad hair, which made me suspicious.The next morning, the McKennas join the Draytons at the outdoor market. They are transfixed when bartering is interrupted by the sight of gendarmes chasing two miscreants through the market. They are astonished when one of the pursued Arabs approaches, and it turns out to be a disguised Louis! Not only disguised, but dying from a knife in the back. With his last breath, the desperate Louis whispers a secret in Ben's ear.On the way to the police station to make their statement, Jo asks Ben, "Why do you suppose he turned up in a Arab outfit and wearing makeup?"Ben: "More important, why was he killed?"Jo: "Maybe he was a spy or something like that. What were you writing? What was he telling you?"She's not the only one who wants to know. The McKennas have a nightmare in store for them.I had seen this 1956 movie on TV years ago but didn't really remember it. I am expanding my Hitchcock DVD library, and viewing this DVD was like seeing the movie for the first time. It is presented in anamorphic widescreen 1.85:1. Now owned by Universal Studios, it has been digitally remastered for this "An Alfred Hitchcock Masterpiece" edition, published in 2006.This is a good movie, though not my favorite Hitchcock. It feels a little dated during the Ben and Jo's intertwining actions and reactions when they get back to the hotel after leaving the police station. The whole scene bothers me. If my husband sedated me before telling me our kid had been kidnapped, I don't know that I'd forgive him. But then, there are a couple lines beforehand, which indicate that Jo had used, and maybe overused, tranquilizers before.Overall, Hitchcock does his usual masterful job of showing a good man under stress and an intelligent woman under duress. In particular, the later action in Albert Hall gave me pause. If you could stop an assassination, but you'd been warned your child would be hurt if you did, I can imagine I'd be paralyzed as Jo was. She went to the scene, but she just couldn't take that last step. Desperate to speak and terrified to speak. Masterful acting and directing.DVD Bonus Features:1. "The Making of The Man Who Knew Too Much" (33 minutes) This is an enjoyable special. Commentators include Pat Hitchcock O'Connell (Hitch's daughter), Herbert Coleman (associate producer), John Michael Hayes (screenwriter), Henry Bumstead (production designer) and Steven C. Smith (Bernard Hermann biographer). It also has Jimmy Stewart on set, but it's excerpts from the theatrical trailer included in Bonus Feature #3.Steven Smith says that "music is almost a character in 'The Man Who Knew Too Much'.... Hitchcock needed a song for the film, because after all Doris Day was in the movie and Paramount wanted a song..... Hitchcock met with [the song-writing team] and told them very frankly that Paramount wanted a song more than he did in the movie. And he said, 'I don't know what kind of song I want in the movie, so go write me a song.' "And that's how we got "Que Sera, Sera", which won an Academy award for best song and became a huge hit for Doris Day. I was a baby when the movie and song came out, so though I knew Doris Day sang this song, I had no idea it came from an Alfred Hitchcock movie - you could have blown me away with a feather! That sweet song and Hitch?! But it worked and the juxtaposition is perfect.2. Production Photographs. This is a slideshow of posters and rehearsal stills. Some of the posters are foreign, such as "Der Mann, Der Zuviel Wusste".3. Trailers. The first is the original theatrical trailer.The second is a Re-Release trailer. Ten years after any had come out in theaters, five films were re-released: "Vertigo", "The Man Who Knew Too Much", "Rope", "The Trouble With Harry"(Shirley MacLaine's 1st movie role) and "Rear Window" (one of the best of the best!).4. Production Notes: A few screens of background information. This film followed Jimmy Stewart in the hugely successful "Rear Window" (1954).5. Languages. You can listen in English or French.Subtitles are available in English and SpanishHappy Reader