Product Details

• Actors: Audrey Hepburn, Cary Grant, Walter Matthau, James Coburn, George Kennedy
• Directors: Stanley Donen
• Writers: Peter Stone
• Producers: Stanley Donen
• Format: Color, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
• Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Universal Studios
• DVD Release Date: March 6, 2012
• Run Time: 114 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (384 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B006TTC5WC
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,810 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "Charade" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Audrey Hepburn plays a Parisienne whose husband is murdered and who finds she is being followed by four men seeking the fortune her late spouse had hidden away. Cary Grant is the stranger who comes to her aid, but his real motives aren't entirely clear--could he even be the killer? The 1963 film is directed by Stanley Donen, but it has been called "Hitchcockian" for good reason: the possible duplicities between lovers, the unspoken agendas between a man and woman sharing secrets. Charade is nowhere as significant as a Hitchcock film, but suspense-wise it holds its own; and Donen's glossy production lends itself to the welcome experience of stargazing. One wants Cary Grant to be Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn to be no one but Audrey Hepburn in a Hollywood product such as this, and they certainly don't let us down. --Tom Keogh

Product Description

Hollywood legends Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn light up the screen in the stylish thriller Charade. Regina finds herself pursued through the streets of Paris by several men in search of the fortune that her murdered husband stole from them. As her world becomes entangled with suspense, murder and plots twists, she finds herself leaning on a suave, charming stranger whose motives are unclear. Co-starring James Coburn, George Kennedy and Walter Matthau, this timeless classic will keep you guessing until the very end.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

149 of 152 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Third Time Is A Charm May 3, 2001

By Robert E. Rodden II

Format:DVD

Anybody else out there own three copies of Charade on DVD?

It's a great movie, yeah, but not worth three copies. Well, maybe the lesson was worth three copies. The first one took me by surprise. Front Row Features put it out. Nice looking jewel case with the word LETTERBOX EDITION across the top. I had to have it. Couldn't wait to watch it. It was the worst piece of crap I'd ever seen shoveled onto DVD. Faded colors. Blurry pictures. Horrid sound that kept breaking up. It was worse than my ten-year-old VHS copy. I was mortified. Then someone told me there was a copy out there by a company called Criterion Collection, but the price was $40.00. No way, I thought, am I paying that much for a movie.

Next copy I bought was put out by Diamond Entertainment. I'll give them their due. They did a fairly good job of cleaning up whatever print they used. The picture is pretty good; color still slightly washed out, some flickering that's annoying. The sound has been repaired. So what you get is about a C+ to a low B- for this DVD. I like Diamond. And compared to the road kill that Front Row Features served up, the Diamond Entertainment version is a seven-course meal in the finest restaurant.

At last, I couldn't stand it any longer. I went for the Criterion Collection version. I know, I know. Three copies. But the Front Row Features DVD will be thrown into the trash; I won't even subject a stranger at a garage sale to that basement torture trash. The Diamond Entertainment version, which is not a bad copy, just not the best, I'll hand over to my brother as a free-bee gift. He likes the movie, as well, and is even less likely than I to put out the cash.

But then there's the Criterion Collection version.... This IS the SEVEN COURSE MEAL AT THE FINEST RESTAURANT, topped off with the finest drinks and entertainment, and a check at the end that says ON THE HOUSE! Everything great anyone has said about the Criterion Collection DVD of Charade is true. It's beautiful. The sound is perfect. The color heavenly. There are no age spots what so ever, no dropouts, none of the flickering that indicates the film was damaged and had to be spliced. It's a beautiful widescreen transfer from a 33mm interpositive. I'd never seen the original trailer for this film till I bought this DVD; it's funny, it's charming, it gets you primed for the movie. There is an Audio Commentary with director Stanley Donen and screenwriter Peter Stone. And some great career highlights on Peter Stone's career.

It took me three times to get it right (and that won't happen again, at least with DVDs), but get it right I did. Don't ever buy the Front Row Features version; if you already have it, burn it. NOW. If you can't afford the Criterion version, go ahead and get the Diamond Entertainment version; as always, they do a good job for a low price. But if you want the absolute best presentation of this movie, if you want to see the movie as it has not been seen since it was in the theater almost 40 years ago, find the Criterion Collection DVD. You will not be disappointed. Read more ›

201 of 214 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Old Style Hollywood Glam in Gorgeous DVD Transfer February 12, 2000

By Mary C

Format:DVD

This is an exceptional DVD transfer of an exceptional movie. Criterion has done a magnificent job of restoring Charade to its colorful glory. The film is presented in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio. The print is clear, crisp, and beautiful to behold. You feel as if you can reach out and touch the actors.

And what actors! The film features the dashing older version of Cary Grant and the youthful gamine Audrey Hepburn, with enough chemistry between them to ignite a fireworks factory. The plot is a convoluted and flimsy trifle about cold war spy shenanigans, with cases of mistaken identity and episodes of grave danger for Miss Audrey. But Cary, the classic good guy in cad's clothing, is there to save the day. In addition to which he provides chaste romance that sizzles beneath the civility.

Audio commentary is provided by director Stanley Donen and screenwriter Peter Stone. While interesting and funny in spots, it does drag a bit over the length of the film. It may be better to check it out when you find something in the film that you would like to hear dissected. Otherwise, you'd be better to stick with the delightful, corny dialogue spoken in the dulcet tones of Cary and Audrey. The soundtrack music is to also to be savored, done up in classic '60s spy movie style by the movie maestro Henry Mancini.

If you have nothing to do on a rainy day and own a DVD player, this is the movie you want to have on hand to pop in the machine and deliver you from care. It's a keeper (and it comes in a keeper case!).

81 of 84 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Criterion scores again! December 28, 2000

By Laura G. Carter

Format:DVD

I got this DVD for Christmas and I wasn't disappointed. Stanley Donen, director of musicals such as "Singin' In The Rain" starring Gene Kelly, brought together Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn (who looks luminous, as always) in this wonderfully-written story about a Parisian widow (Hepburn) who is being pursued by three dangerous men (two of which are played by George Kennedy - an excellent "heavy" - and James Coburn at his most menacing) who want to find out about a large sum of money her dead husband supposedly had. Grant is the helpful stranger but eventually you begin to wonder: is he working with these men? Does he want the money for himself? Or is he really the handsome, older man Audrey finds herself falling in love with?

Enhanced by a lush score by the late Henry Mancini, photographed beautifully in Paris and containing first-rate acting and deliciously wicked dialogue by writer Peter Stone, "Charade" is a film that should be in every serious DVD collection. Grant is older but better, like fine wine, and Ms. Hepburn ... well there have been millions of words used to describe her and I can't add to them other than to say the world lost a marvelous talent at her death.

You'll enjoy "Charade" for a long, long time.

41 of 45 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars BEWARE! November 29, 1999

By A Customer

Do not buy this DVD! This is a very bad print and the master contains video drop outs. If I can't return it for credit and buy the Criterion version, I will burn it and chalk it up as a reminder never to buy a low cost version of anything worth watching. I am sorry, Criterion, I will never waste my money on lower quality versions again.

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars great movie, great extras, great media December 15, 1999

By Robert S. Truesdell VINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

First and foremost, this is a very enjoyable movie. It was very enjoyable in 1963 and it remains enjoyable today. The actors, the story, and the cinematic craft are all first rate.

This Criterion release is fantastic. Most of the video is absolutely flawless with well-saturated colors and an absence of artifacts. Even shots of Coburn's checked shirt are free of compression artifacts or aliasing which is common to this kind of shot. The audio is fine considering it is mono and mastered in 1963. There are a few rare blemishes noticeable on the screen that look like problems with the source media but that is nowhere near as offensive as artifacts or aliasing.

The fun bonus on this edition is the writer and director commentary! For those of us that like this sort of thing, this is a very enjoyable example. Listening to these two, what?, 70-year-olds bicker back and forth is a complete crack-up!