- Format: DVD-Video, Special Edition, NTSC
- Language English
- Region: Region 1 (US and Canada DVD formats.)
- Aspect Ratio: 4:3 - 1.33:1
- Number of discs: 1
- Classification: NR (Not Rated) (US MPAA rating. See details.)
- Studio: Criterion
- DVD Release Date: 27 May 1998
- Run Time: 97 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
- ASIN: 0780020723
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 121,022 in Film & TV (See Top 100 in Film & TV)
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Reviews
Amazon.co.uk Review
At first glance The Lady Vanishes appears to be a frothy, lightweight treat, a testament to Alfred Hitchcock's nimble touch. This snappy, sophisticated romantic thriller begins innocently enough, as a contingent of eccentric tourists spend the night in a picture-postcard village inn nestled in the Swiss Alps before setting off on the train the next morning. In a wonderfully Hitchcockian twist on "meeting cute" attractive young Iris (Margaret Lockwood) clashes with brash music student Gilbert (Michael Redgrave) when his nocturnal concerts give her no peace. She gets him kicked out of his room, so he barges in on hers: true love is inevitable, but not before they are both plunged into an international conspiracy. The next day on the train, kindly old Mrs Froy (Dame May Whitty) vanishes from her train car without a trace and the once quarrelsome couple unite to search the train and uncover a dastardly plot. No one is as he or she seems, but sorting out the villains from the merely mysterious is a challenge in itself, as our innocents abroad face resistance from the entire passenger list. Hitchcock effortlessly navigates this vivid thriller from light comedy to high tension and back again, creating one of his most enchanting and entertaining mysteries. Though this wasn't his final British film before departing for Hollywood (that honour goes to Jamaica Inn), many critics prefer to think of this as his fond farewell to the British Film Industry. --Sean Axmaker
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Many films since have tried to make hay out of a similar concept, just how can a woman go missing from a moving train without anyone seemingly having seen her, but none have ever made for a movie quite as good as this genuine classic from 1938.
Of course the audience knows that Miss Foy, a delightful turn from Dame May Whitty, was on the train and we soon learn the reasons why the other passengers don't believe, or won't back up, Iris Henderson (another great turn from Margaret Lockwood) when she insists that the old woman has, well, vanished. Two bumbling Englishmen don't want to miss the test cricket, a lawyer doesn't get involved because he's in the middle of an illicit romantic affair.
When it was remade in 1979, badly, the action almost immediately cut to everyone meeting on the train; here almost 20 minutes elapses before we get to that point and the time invested at the beginning in this filling out of the story pays off superbly when the crunch comes further down the line giving the viewer a greater, and more logical, insight into the intimacy that has developed between the characters.
Margaret Lockwood and Michael Redgrave share a flirtatious rapport and the humour in the film is charming in the extreme. Throw in a little pre-war propaganda (although on this note, its interesting to watch the bumbling Englishmen of Charters & Coldicutt) and you have an admittedly light concoction, but one that is perfectly assembled. And as numerous subsequent attempts along the same lines have proved, it's impossible to improve on perfection.
Of course the audience knows that Miss Foy, a delightful turn from Dame May Whitty, was on the train and we soon learn the reasons why the other passengers don't believe, or won't back up, Iris Henderson (another great turn from Margaret Lockwood) when she insists that the old woman has, well, vanished. Two bumbling Englishmen don't want to miss the test cricket, a lawyer doesn't get involved because he's in the middle of an illicit romantic affair.
When it was remade in 1979, badly, the action almost immediately cut to everyone meeting on the train; here almost 20 minutes elapses before we get to that point and the time invested at the beginning in this filling out of the story pays off superbly when the crunch comes further down the line giving the viewer a greater, and more logical, insight into the intimacy that has developed between the characters.
Margaret Lockwood and Michael Redgrave share a flirtatious rapport and the humour in the film is charming in the extreme. Throw in a little pre-war propaganda (although on this note, its interesting to watch the bumbling Englishmen of Charters & Coldicutt) and you have an admittedly light concoction, but one that is perfectly assembled. And as numerous subsequent attempts along the same lines have proved, it's impossible to improve on perfection.
28 of 29 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
This is one of the greatest comedy mysteries of all time and if you haven't seen it yet then your film education is sadly remiss. The script is witty and clever, the acting has just the right lightness of touch for this genre and Hitchcock's direction is as masterful as ever. And what's more - this time Carlton have produced a fantastic print of the film: it looks gorgeous!! And this gives really added value to what is already a smashing film. As I noted in a previous review, the old Cinema Classics DVD print was shameful - but I have to give credit here where it is due; this is excellent. Well done Carlton. Great film, beautifully reproduced. This is a perfect film for a cold winter's afternoon in front of the fire. Buy it now.
41 of 43 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
This is one of the greatest comedy mysteries of all time and if you haven't seen it yet then your film education is sadly remiss. The script is witty and clever, the acting has just the right lightness of touch for this genre and Hitchcock's direction is as masterful as ever. However this Cinema Club DVD version is appalling: the sound is lousy and the print is a disgrace - there is even a dirty great scratch all the way down the right hand side of the print for all of the last reel! Why bother doing a DVD transfer when they are not prepared to do some work on the film to make it look and sound as good as possible? The publishers should hang their heads in shame. This is a 5 star film on a no star print. An insult.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
"Well I don't know how a thing like cricket can make you forget seeing...
The Lady Vanishes has an amazing story and screenplay and the casting is spot on. Mystery and comedy are in equal measure in this excellent early Hitchcock movie. Read more
Published 4 months ago by j.r
THE ITV STUDIOS RELEASE IS THE THE DVD TO BUY
Since Hitchcock's classic 1938 film is now in the public domain there are some dodgy DVD releases available - all of them on sale to unwary customers on Amazon. Read more
Published 5 months ago by N. Stinchcombe
Classic Hitchcock
I was quite surprised just how much I enjoyed this film. It is pre-war, just, so I was prepared for some hammy acting and lack of pace. Not a bit of it. Read more
Published 8 months ago by R. Hughes
The lady vanishes
A Lady vanishes and Young and Innocent are among my favourite early films by Hitchcock.
Published 19 months ago by Mr. J. B. Brisset
BRILLIANT!
I watched this film last night and really enjoyed it....I shall watch it again and again I am sure. Margaret Lockwood is superb and one of my favourites. Read more
Published on 2 May 2010 by Mrs. U. Mustafa
A great film spoiled by poor quality and deleted scenes
This is a great movie, but I had to return my copy as little dots kept flashing almost all the time. Read more
Published on 8 Mar 2010 by Flos regalis
A classic from Hitchcock's career in Blighty!
No doubt about it. If I was ever trapped on a train in a politically unstable country and being shot at by foreign agents Margaret Lockwood is just the type of girl I'd like to... Read more
Published on 2 Mar 2010 by haunted
All aboard for fun
Spunky Iris Henderson (Margaret Lockwood) boards a train in Eastern Europe on her way to be married in England. Read more
Published on 15 Aug 2009 by Kona
HITCHCOCK AT HIS MOST WORLDLY AND ASSURED
The Lady Vanishes [DVD] [1938]
The Lady Vanishes was made in 1938 at a time of suspended disbelief and uneasy diplomacy in Europe. Read more
The Lady Vanishes was made in 1938 at a time of suspended disbelief and uneasy diplomacy in Europe. Read more
Published on 28 July 2009 by JESSICA'S DAD
Cricket man, cricket!
My favourite Hitchcock film (just pipping Rear Window and The 39 Steps) zings past with such gusto and panache that, come the final reel, you'll be smiling like a dazed and... Read more
Published on 15 Jun 2009 by Mr. Richard J. Hudson
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