The story behind director Michael Powell and his experience after Peeping Tom was screened for British critics in 1960 is far more disturbing and tragic than the film’s subject matter. Powell and his cast were scolded and ostracized after the premiere and Powell himself said that the negative reception contributed to the collapse of his career. He moved to Australia shortly thereafter, and as for Peeping Tom, Powell stated that the distributors “canceled the British distribution, and they sold the negative as soon as they could to an obscure black-marketer of films, who tried to forget it, and forgotten it was, along with its director, for 20 years.”

The story is a character piece, a fine psychological study of a voyeuristic serial killer (Carl Boehm) who happens to be a cameraman, and his obsession with the girl next door (Anna Massey). There is a deep sense of humanity and pathos in the characterization of Mark Lewis, brilliantly written by Leo Marks (more on Marks in a minute) and acted by Boehm. Undoubtedly, this subversive approach was a key ingredient in the bitter controversy. The critics at the time were as bloodthirsty as their perception of the film’s protagonist. Powell’s favorite critical insult was: “The only really satisfactory way to dispose of Peeping Tom would be to shovel it up and flush it swiftly down the nearest sewer. Even then the stench would remain.”

Three months later, Hitchcock released Psycho to audiences in the United States, and the reaction was similarly hostile - but it became Hitch’s most successful film of his career. Go figure.

Those who blasted Peeping Tom either missed or subconsciously blocked out the theme of the film: “What causes our morbid urge to gaze?” For audiences (VIEWers) and critics (ReVIEWers), this was a tough one to swallow. And just as Powell’s brilliant 1948 film, The Red Shoes, was really more about the obsessiveness of the creative process than the ballet, Peeping Tom is more about the compulsion of the viewing and filmmaking process than the murders.

It is only because of the efforts of directors Martin Scorcese, Francis Ford Coppola and a handful of other supporters that Peeping Tom is here with us today. The Criterion Collection has blessed us with a new, anamorphic Widescreen digital transfer (created from the restored 35mm interpositive), a very informative running commentary by renowned film theorist Laura Mulvey, a still gallery of behind-the-scenes photos, English subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired and the original theatrical trailer - all on a dual-layered disc.

There is one more feature on the DVD that is worth the price of admission alone: A Very British Psycho, a 50+ minute British documentary (also anamorphically enhanced!) about the life of screenwriter Leo Marks, as well as the making and critical reception of Peeping Tom. It is quite a moving experience to see Marks reflect on his extraordinary life as a British cryptographer during WWII, and its impact on the genesis of the Peeping Tom story. His is one of the most fertile minds alive on the planet, and it’s no surprise the script is incredibly layered and witty. It’s also stunning to see actors Carl Boehm and Anna Massey reflect on the film over 30 years after Peeping Tom’s “release.”

DVD Info:
While Peeping Tom’s transfer is slightly soft and there are minor nicks and scratches throughout the print, colors are fully saturated and black level is respectable for a film with so many “battle scars.” The increased resolution of the DVD makes the film’s gritty opticals much more evident during dissolves, fades and the title sequence, but overall, it is quite an improvement over Criterion’s 1994 laserdisc and is the definitive version of the film. Criterion appears to have over-matted the aspect ratio closer to 1.78:1, as opposed to the previous laserdisc’s British 1.66:1 Widescreen ratio. The framing feels a little tighter on the DVD, but the anamorphic enhancement provides additional resolution on Widescreen monitors.

Sound:
The digitally restored sound was created from the 35mm optical track print and is presented in center-channel mono. It’s a bit thin, but the film’s dialog and unique music score by composer Brian Easdale is clear and undistorted.

For VIEWers with an adventurous taste for films with dark subject matter, Peeping Tom comes highly recommended. Criterion’s excellent DVD liner notes summarize this film experience most succinctly. Peeping Tom “creates a magic space for its fiction somewhere between the camera’s lens and the projector’s beam of light on the screen.”