Rating: 
Summary: Du Maurier.....Laughton.....O'Hara.....Hitch!
Review: This review refers to the Laserlight(Special Edition)DVD of "Jamaica Inn"...The talent combined in this 1939 film is immense. Based on a novel by Daphne Du Maurier,Alfred Hitchcock skillfully directs an extraordinary cast, all turning in strong performances, that bring the characters depth and the story to life.Marueen O'Hara is amazing in her first feature role, showing us way back then what made her the great star she has been all these years.It also stars other great British actors Lelsie Banks,Emlyn Williams and Robert Newton. But it is the legendary Charles Laughton who you can't take your eyes off of in this thriller. The depth with which he portrays his multi-faceted character is simple awesome. The story is set off a rugged coastline.A group of dangerous cut-throats are misguiding innocent vessels, causing them to crash into the rocky terrain,so they can loot all the cargo.When young and beautiful Mary(O'Hara)is on to them, she risks life and limb to try and stop them. She turns to the only one she can trust..Sir Humphrey Pengallan(Laughton)for help. But yikes!... has she even endangered herself further with this move? He may be the most deranged of all! Where's Hitch?....Although he made an appearance in the one before this one("The Lady Vanishes"/1938) and the one after("Rebecca"/1940), he seems to have eluded us in this one! There are a couple of DVD editions of this film available here at Amazon. And while this one is not immaculate,showing it's age at nearly 65 years old, and there does seem to be something missing in a transition to a scene, I did not find anything about the view that took away from the enjoyment of this Hitch classic. I read the reviews of the other edition, which by the way costs more than three times as much as this one, and I didnt see anything better about that transfer than this Laserlight edition.The black and white images seemed clear and bright, and even the darker scenes were perfectly distinguishable. Very occassionaly, the sound did come and go, but was audible for the most part. This edition also includes an intro by Tony Curtis, and a fun trailer of "The Birds", introduced by the master himself. The DVD will automatically go straight to the film, so be sure to press menu to see the intro by Tony first. There are subtitles in Spanish, Japanese, and Chineese, all very clear and are even available for the introduction.On the case it also shows these as languages to view the film in, but I did not find this feature on the menu. This may not be the best print,but it is a decent transfer and for the price this is the best way to go for the Hitch enthusiast.This film may also be purchased as part of several Hitchcock sets offered here at Amazon. Get the popcorn ready for this one and enjoy...Laurie
Rating: 
Summary: Very poor picture and sound
Review: Warning!this is the laserlight version and is cheaply made with very poor sound and a very poor picture.It certainly is NOT "mastered from the best available sources".In fact this version is shorter than the other available one,suggesting that the print it was copied from must have been cut due to a degraded print.The "introductions" by Tony Curtis to the laserlight copies look as if they were all filmed in one morning.Get the other version.
Rating:
Summary: Very poor picture and sound
Review: Warning!this is the laserlight version and is cheaply made with very poor sound and a very poor picture.It certainly is NOT "mastered from the best available sources".In fact this version is shorter than the other available one,suggesting that the print it was copied from must have been cut due to a degraded print.The "introductions" by Tony Curtis to the laserlight copies look as if they were all filmed in one morning.Get the other version.
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