| DVD Profile: "Alfred Hitchcock — The Masterpiece Collection" | |
From Universal Studios Home Entertainment comes "Alfred Hitchcock
— The Masterpiece Collection," a 15-disc box set that contains 14 movies
directed by the legendary Master of Suspense. Each feature film has been digitally
re-mastered and is on a disc with special features carried over from previous
DVD editions. The 15th disc in the box set contains bonus materials about Hitchcock,
as well as documentaries on two of his most popular films. I've seen some prices
for this 15-disc collection that make it one of the best DVD values ever.
I would say that three of the 14 movies in the collection deserve to be called masterpieces, namely "Vertigo," "Rear Window" and "Psycho." The box set also includes "The Birds" and the 1956 version of "The Man Who Knew Too Much," both of which I consider to be outstanding and highly entertaining. Of the remaining nine films, most are very good indeed, and all are worth a look. Ordered by date of theatrical release, here's a brief rundown on the 14 movies:
"Saboteur"
(1942)
Robert Cummings plays a man who is falsely accused of sabotage.
He must evade the police while he tracks down the real evildoer, ending up at
the Statue of Liberty.
"Shadow
of a Doubt" (1943)
Hitchcock often cited this film as a personal favorite.
When Uncle Charlie (Joseph Cotten) comes to visit his family in Santa Rosa, California,
his niece is at first delighted, but comes to suspect he may be a serial killer.
"Rope"
(1948)
James Stewart stars in this film, whose story is based on the Leopold-Loeb
murder case. Hitchcock constructed the movie from only about 10 long takes, each
averaging eight minutes.
"Rear
Window" (1954)
Ranking 42nd on AFI's Greatest American Films list,
this movie stars James Stewart and Grace Kelly, ably supported by Thelma Ritter
and Raymond Burr. Confined to his apartment with an injury, a photographer believes
a neighbor may have committed a murder. Aided by his girlfriend and his nurse,
he tries to get to the bottom of things.
"The
Trouble With Harry" (1955)
Here Hitchcock combines black comedy with
mystery. In a small New England community, the dead body of a man named Harry
is discovered, setting off a series of misunderstandings.
"The
Man Who Knew Too Much" (1956)
James Stewart and Doris Day play a likable
married couple in this entertaining mystery. The couple is vacationing in Morocco
when their son is kidnapped, and they end up in London trying to get him back
while doing what they can to prevent the assassination of a statesman.
"Vertigo"
(1958)
Ranking as the second greatest film of all time in "Sight &
Sound's" 2002 Critics' Poll, this bleak psychological drama stars James Stewart
and Kim Novak. A detective falls madly in love with an icy blonde, but she dies.
Later, he meets a shopgirl who reminds him of his dead love.
"Psycho"
(1960)
Based on the Ed Gein murder case, this thriller ranks 18th on AFI's
list and 35th in "Sight & Sound's" Critics' Poll. Anthony Perkins
portrays the creepy guy who runs the out-of-the-way Bates Motel, and Janet Leigh
plays the woman on the lam who checks in there.
"The
Birds" (1963)
This movie starts out like a romantic comedy when an
icy blonde (Tippi Hedren) meets a ruggedly handsome man (Rod Taylor) in a pet
shop. But it soon turns into a horror film where a picturesque northern California
seaside town comes under attack by aggressive birds.
"Marnie"
(1964)
Tippi Hedren and Sean Connery star in this unsettling film. Hedren
portrays a compulsive thief and liar, while Connery plays the businessman who
falls for her and deals with her in disturbing ways.
"Torn
Curtain" (1966)
Paul Newman and Julie Andrews star in this spy thriller.
An American scientist (Newman) and his fiancée (Andrews) travel to East
Germany, where they are in grave danger because of Cold War intrigue.
"Topaz"
(1969)
This is a Cold War political thriller with a complex plot and a
large cast of not-so-well-known actors. The story centers around an international
crisis involving the United States, France, the Soviet Union and Cuba.
"Frenzy"
(1972)
Set in London, this film is about a serial killer dubbed the "Necktie
Murderer" because of the article of clothing he uses to strangle his victims.
The movie got some Golden Globe nominations, including Best Picture.
"Family
Plot" (1976)
Starring Barbara Harris, Bruce Dern, Karen Black and
William Devane, Hitchcock's final movie is more of a comedy than a suspense film.
A scamming couple goes looking for a missing heir and gets mixed up with kidnappers.
Each of the 14 movies listed above is on one disc with special features as detailed below. The 15th disc in the box set contains four bonus materials: (1) a 1997 making-of documentary for "Psycho" that is an hour and a half long; (2) a 1999 making-of "The Birds" that runs nearly an hour and 20 minutes; (3) a 15-minute film containing highlights of the 1979 ceremony in which Hitchcock was given the American Film Institute's Lifetime Achievement Award; and (4) "Masters of Cinema," a pair of 1972 interviews of Hitchcock—one conducted by Pia Lindstrom, the other by William Everson—totaling 34 minutes.
"Alfred Hitchcock — The Masterpiece Collection" is a terrific value, but by no means does it contain all the Hitchcock movies worth watching. For example, "North by Northwest" (1959), which is number 40 on AFI's list of Greatest American Films, is not included in this box set. And here are eight more Hitchcock movies I think are wonderful that are not included in this collection: "The Wrong Man" (1956), "Dial M for Murder" (1954), "Strangers on a Train" (1951), "Stage Fright" (1950), "Notorious" (1946), "Lifeboat" (1944), "Rebecca" (1940), and "The 39 Steps" (1935).
But we have to keep all this in perspective. Hitchcock directed at least 35 films I would say are worth seeing, and those in "The Masterpiece Collection" box set comprise a solid beginning at becoming familiar with the body of work of this great director.
Below I've listed all the details for the "Alfred Hitchcock — The Masterpiece Collection" DVD box set.
DVD Details:
Release
Date: October 4, 2005
Number of Discs: 15
Disc
1: "Saboteur" (1 hr. 48 min.)
Full-Screen (1.33:1), Black-and-White
MPAA
Rating: PG
English Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
"Saboteur":
A Closer Look (35 min.)
Storyboards
Alfred Hitchcock's Sketches
Production
Photos
Production Notes
Theatrical Trailer
Disc
2: "Shadow of a Doubt" (1 hr. 46 min.)
Full-Screen (1.33:1), Black-and-White
MPAA
Rating: PG
English Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Subtitles:
English, French
Beyond Doubt: The Making of Hitchcock's Favorite Film (35 min.)
Production
Drawings
Production Photos
Production Notes
Theatrical Trailer
Disc
3: "Rope" (1 hr. 20 min.)
Full-Screen (1.33:1), Color
MPAA Rating:
PG
English Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
French
Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Subtitles: English
"Rope" Unleashed (32
min.)
Production Photos
Production Notes
Theatrical Trailer
Disc
4: "Rear Window" (1 hr. 53 min.)
Anamorphic Widescreen (1.66:1),
Color
MPAA Rating: PG
English Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
French Dolby Digital
2.0 Mono
Subtitles: English, Spanish
"Rear Window" Ethics: An
Original Documentary (55 min.)
A Conversation With Screenwriter John Michael
Hayes (13 min.)
Production Photos
Production Notes
Theatrical Trailer,
Re-Release Trailer Narrated by James Stewart
Disc
5: "The Trouble With Harry" (1 hr. 40 min.)
Anamorphic Widescreen
(1.85:1), Color
MPAA Rating: PG
English Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Spanish
Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Subtitles: English, French
"The Trouble With
Harry" Isn't Over (32 min.)
Production Photos
Production Notes
Theatrical
Trailer
Disc
6: "The Man Who Knew Too Much" (2 hr. 0 min.)
Anamorphic Widescreen
(1.85:1), Color
MPAA Rating: PG
English Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
French
Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Subtitles: English, Spanish
The Making of "The
Man Who Knew Too Much" (34 min.)
Production Photos
Production Notes
Theatrical
Trailer, Re-Release Trailer
Disc
7: "Vertigo" (2 hr. 8 min.)
Anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1), Color
MPAA
Rating: PG
English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
English Dolby Digital 2.0
Mono
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
Feature Commentary With Associate
Producer, Restoration Team, Others
Obsessed With "Vertigo" (29 min.)
Foreign
Censorship Ending
The "Vertigo" Archives
Production Notes
Original
Theatrical Trailer, Restoration Theatrical Trailer
Disc
8: "Psycho" (1 hr. 49 min.)
Anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1), Black-and-White
MPAA
Rating: R
English Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
French Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Subtitles:
English, Spanish
Newsreel: The Release of "Psycho"
The Shower
Scene: With and Without Music
The "Psycho" Archives
Production
Photos
Behind-the-Scenes Photos
The Shower Scene: Storyboards by Saul Bass
Lobby
Cards
Posters and Ads
Production Notes
Theatrical Trailer, Re-Release
Trailers
Disc
9: "The Birds" (1 hr. 59 min.)
Anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1), Color
MPAA
Rating: PG-13
English Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
French Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Subtitles:
English
Deleted Scene
The Original Ending
Storyboard Sequence
Tippi
Hedren's Screen Test
Newsreel: "The Birds" Is Coming
Newsreel:
National Press Club Hears Hitchcock
Production Photographs
Production Notes
Theatrical
Trailer
Disc
10: "Marnie" (2 hr. 10 min.)
Anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1), Color
MPAA
Rating: PG
English Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
French Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Subtitles:
English
The Trouble With "Marnie" (58 min.)
The "Marnie"
Archives
Production Notes
Theatrical Trailer
Disc
11: "Torn Curtain" (1 hr. 59 min.)
Anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1),
Color
MPAA Rating: PG
English Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
French Dolby Digital
2.0 Mono
Subtitles: English, Spanish
"Torn Curtain" Rising (32
min.)
Scenes Scored by Bernard Hermann
Production Photos
Production Notes
Theatrical
Trailer
Disc
12: "Topaz" (2 hr. 7 min.)
Anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1), Color
MPAA
Rating: Not Rated
English Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Subtitles: English, French,
Spanish
"Topaz": An Appreciation by Leonard Maltin (29 min.)
Alternate
Endings
Storyboards: The Mendozas
Production Photos
Production Notes
Theatrical
Trailer
Disc
13: "Frenzy" (1 hr. 56 min.)
Anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1), Color
MPAA
Rating: R
English Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
French Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Subtitles:
English, Spanish
The Story of "Frenzy" (44 min.)
Production Photos
Production
Notes
Theatrical Trailer
Disc
14: "Family Plot" (2 hr. 1 min.)
Anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1),
Color
MPAA Rating: PG
English Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
French Dolby Digital
2.0 Mono
Subtitles: English, Spanish
Plotting "Family Plot" (48
min.)
Storyboards: The Chase Scene
Production Photos
Production Notes
Theatrical
Trailers
Disc
15: Bonus Documentaries
Hitchcock's AFI Lifetime Achievement Award (15 min.)
"Masters
of Cinema": 2 Interviews of Hitchcock (34 min.)
All About "The Birds"
(1 hr. 20 min.)
The Making of "Psycho" (1 hr. 34 min.)
36-Page
Collectible Booklet
Also
of Interest on This Site:
Review:
"Alfred Hitchcock — The Masterpiece Collection"
Review:
"The 39 Steps" (1935) DVD
Review:
"Rebecca" (1940) DVD
Review:
"Notorious" (1946) DVD
A
Tribute to Alfred Hitchcock
Top
10 Hitchcock Movies
Hitchcock
and the Oscars
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