Catch Me If You Can: Spielberg's Delightfully Entertaining Crime Flick Makes Its 4K Debut (4K/Blu-ray)

The Film:

When it comes to naming the greatest directors in the history of cinema, I don't think you're going to find many that disagree with Steven Spielberg being somewhere on that list, having given us a multitude of classics that includes "Jaws," "Schindler's List," "Jurassic Park," and most of the "Indiana Jones" films. The unfortunate part is that, in such an extensive filmography that contains so many masterpieces, there are other entries that tend to get overshadowed and not discussed nearly as much as they should.

As far as Spielberg goes, this includes films like "A.I.: Artificial Intelligence," "Hook," and his 2002 hit "Catch Me If You Can," a delightful crime comedy-drama that recently received a stunning 4K upgrade from Paramount Pictures, who've also thrown in several extras to accompany it. Once again, this gives us the perfect excuse to go back and revisit another classic to see just how well it's held up over the last 23 years, so let's dive right into it.

As the film opens, FBI Agent Carl Handratty (Tom Hanks) arrives in France to pick up prisoner Frank Abignale Jr. (Leonardo DiCaprio) to bring him back to the United States. We then jump back a few years to when Frank was still living with his parents, Frank Sr. (Christopher Walken) and Paula (Nathalie Baye). His father's problems with the IRS eventually have them moving to a small apartment, where Frank inadvertently discovers that his mother is having an affair with the president of the local Rotary Club.

His parents decide to divorce, leaving him with the choice of who to live with. However, he decides to run away instead, turning to scams in order to make money. He begins passing forged checks and posing as various occupations, including an airline pilot for Pan Am and a doctor at a Georgia hospital. It's not long before the FBI is on to him, with Agent Handratty spearheading the case. Obviously we already know the result of the pursuit from the start, but just how much can Frank get away with before all is said and done?

I still fondly recall seeing "Catch Me If You Can" in theaters way back in 2002 and immediately falling it love with it, with many subsequent viewings over the years. The zany, wild, and outlandish nature of the tale was such an incredible breath of fresh air, especially coming from the great Steven Spielberg, who had spent the previous decade focusing on dramas like "Saving Private Ryan" & "Schindler's List" and more action-oriented films like "Minority Report" & a pair of "Jurassic Park" films.

Purported to be based on the true story of Frank Abignale Jr., whose exploits remain rather dubious to this day, the film is simply a delightful fictionalized encapsulation of the events that had this young man pulling off some incredibly impressive scams, which had him only a few steps ahead of the FBI team that was hot on his trail. Aside from floating bad checks, and sharpening his methods all the while, he somehow manages to fool an entire airline company into thinking he's a legitimate pilot, despite not knowing anything about flying planes (aside from the bits of info he's able to gather in interviews). Subsequently, he followed this up by fooling a hospital into thinking that he was a doctor, despite once again not knowing anything about the profession (this time, aside from what he picks up from watching episodes of "Dr. Kildare").

Helping to bring Jeff Nathanson's sharply-written, BAFTA-nominated screenplay to life is a marvelous ensemble, headed by Leonardo DiCaprio, who brings the perfect amount of charm & confidence to the part of Frank, Tom Hanks, who endows Handratty with sheer determination, and Christopher Walken, whose role of a down-on-his-luck, yet devoted father earned him multiple accolades, including a SAG Award & a BAFTA (on top of an Oscar nomination). Suffice it to say that these three are an enormous part of why the film works so well, and why it's so fun to watch.

In the end, "Catch Me If You Can" truly is one of those films that doesn't get as much mention & appreciation as it should. Rewatching it for the umpteenth time 23 years after its release, it hasn't lost any of its charm. Spielberg has certainly made a lot of masterpieces in his time, and maybe this can't quite stack up to the power of some of those, but it certainly deserves to be in the conversation somewhere in that top tier as it's quite a marvelous accomplishment.

Video/Audio:

This edition of "Catch Me If You Can" comes with the film on both 4K (2160p, UHD) and Blu-ray (1080p, HD) in 1.85:1 transfers of excellent quality. The 4K upgrade is simply stunning, making the film look better than it ever has, with a picture that's beautifully sharp & clear throughout its entire 141-minute runtime. Likewise, the 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio tracks are fantastic, giving you all of the dialogue & John Williams' unforgettable Oscar-nominated score in outstanding quality. Overall, Paramount has done a wonderful job in both areas for the film's new release.

Special Features:

Catch Me If You Can: Behind the Camera (17 Minutes)

Cast Me If You Can: The Casting of the Film (5 Featurettes, 28 Minutes)

Score: Catch Me If You Can (5 Minutes)

Frank Abignale: Between Reality and Fiction (4 Featurettes, 15 Minutes)

The FBI Perspective (7 Minutes)

Catch Me If You Can: In Closing (5 Minutes)

The film comes with an excellent selection of vintage featurettes, totaling a little over an hour, that focus on areas such as the making of the film, casting, the music, and the man the film is based on. Definitely plenty of great material here for fans to dig into.

Conclusion:

Steven Spielberg's "Catch Me If You Can" remains as delightfully entertaining as ever after 23 years, utilizing Jeff Nathanson's marvelous screenplay and a trio of wonderful performances from DiCaprio, Hanks, and Walken to tell a wild & outlandish tale that hasn't lost any of its charm. The new 4K release presents the film in stunning quality and includes a great selection of extras, making it an extremely easy recommendation to add to your personal collection.

Score: 5/5

Now available on 4K/Blu-ray.

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