Es geschah am hellichten Tag (Remastered Version) - Classic German Thriller Movie | Perfect for Film Enthusiasts & Mystery Lovers | Great for Movie Nights & German Language Learning

This is the best version ever filmed, although not very well known in the U.S. or outside German speaking Countries."The Pledge", starring Jack Nicholson is inspired directly from this movie, although set into an American mountain site community.The original, also known as "Es geschah am hellichten Tag", starring two legends of the German silver screen, Heinz Ruehman and Gert Froebe (Goldfinger), is taken from the original Play "The Pledge" (Das Versprechen) by the internationally well known author, Friedrich Duerrenmatt.Set in the Swiss Alps, this thriller depicts a very uncomfortable theme: murder and paedophilia. Both treated in a very elegant way, without ever visually shocking the viewer.Although there are no true violent scenes in this tiny picture, tenseness and suspense pervade the entire picture. There is a sense of an impending, ominous horror looming throughout the storyline.The threat is well felt and at no moment in this Film, can one feel relaxed or truly "comfortable". The story is simple, well told and very gripping.This is another jewel in post WWII German cinema. Alas, the DVD can only be found in Germany and just in the German spoken version.I can only hope that people at Criterion, will take notice of this fact and try to retrace a pristine copy to transfer on DVD for the English speaking area of influence, because it is a classic and deserves to be seen either with an additional English-dubbed track, or at least in its original German version, provided with a good English subtitle transliteration.I just own it on VHS tape, recorded many years ago from Swiss television and even if just a tape, the quality of the picture is astonishing for this kind of transfer. The sound is crystal clear and worth every penny.This is truly a picture to own. Besides, like many pictures of those bygone days and years still very "Modern", dealing with a problem, that back then was a rare occurrence, but today seems to be an unstoppable plague.This stands to show that visionary pictures are ageless, no matter what...**************************************************************************************Update as of 12/10/2015I have bought the German DVD version and have noticed that the quality of the picture, as well as the soundtrack (just in German) are practically identical to my old VHS version.No effort was made to improve contrast, eliminate specks and scratches (although to some this may seem romantic). Image-wise it has just improved due to its digital transfer in this format.Even the soundtrack which amazingly (considering what they do these days) is almost lacking any kind of music and has not been improved much. Granted, since its soundtrack is comprised of just dialogue and background noise, it would not require much improvements there, but still, adding some clarity to it would not have damaged the final result.Disappointing is just the fact that in Europe there is still some kind of "Nationalism" regarding some movies, even when they have become well known abroad and throughout the world.It would have been refreshing, if the producers of the DVD had at least made an effort to add at least a secondary language, or at least a set of subtitles (even close-captioning for those who are hearing impaired), but no, nothing of the kind.So German it is and it remains. What a pity. Thankfully, I do understand and speak German, but there are many out there who do not, and I am asking myself if sometimes some good soul would consider that we are not living in the Middle Ages and that this world is spanning from the United States to Asia, Countries in which German, French or even Italian are not so currently spoken as English.My suggestion then would be, if the European DVD and movie market suffers from "American" and "British" influences, who by the way, often offer their products in other languages as well (Spanish and French are often included as alternatives, at least for U.S. movies - the UK has still to make more efforts, especially with their own Nationally produced movies, while more widely known ones also include German, Dutch and even Eastern European languages), is to at least include French and English, or French and Spanish options.I know that it is to ask for Heaven on Earth, due to those stupid regional law-abiding constrictions and copyrights (money, money, money), but if Europe wants to effectively be represented in this world of ours, it would be about time to do so.Just a suggestion.For the rest I stand by this movie, which is still a jewel in its own right, not just for its author and his players, but rather due to its legacy and themes it explores.Well worthwhile collecting.