3-D prints of Dial M for Murder were struck only recently in the United States. The three- dimensionality here is nothing but an immense, jubilant pleonasm, because even in the flat version, when exploring the limited space allowed to it (the film takes place almost entirely in one space), Hitchcock’s staging is extraordinary. Hitchcock had furthermore decided not to resort to the shock effects usually used to get the most out of the process. He settled for putting the camera in a hole, so the lens was frequently at floor level.

Jacques Lourcelles, Dictionnaire du cinéma. Les films, Paris, Robert Laffont, 1992

Dial M for Murder is a wonderful film to watch – a lesson in editing – I often recommend it to my students. When I finally saw it in 3-D two years ago, I understood. I was twelve when I saw it during its first run, in the «flat» version, and I really liked it. It was basically an English stage play, but then there was the murder scene, the suspense regarding the husband: will they catch him, or not? Us kids thought it was neat for that. I remember, though, that I was also fascinated by his use of color and shots, and then by the story. […] When I’m feeling a little tired, I concede myself a viewing of Dial M for Murder. It’s as if I were listening to one of Bach’s fugues: you know, when you try to guess the point in which the next phrase starts, and the point where it interrupts. But then a third comes along! Then a fourth! And now, there are five all together…

Martin Scorsese, Il bello del mio mestiere, Roma, Minimum Fax, 2002