Alfred Hitchcock Premiere Collection - Oct 14, 2008 (1 Viewer)

[Craig Beam]

I'd love to say I'm passing on the new Vertigo.... but a new commentary track? Okay, sold. I'd prefer a Blu-ray release, however....

 

[Craig Beam]

Covers:

 

[Steve...O]

Having a sizable portion of the Hitch canon on BD would be something that pushes me over the line to buying a BD player. I have no interest in these triple dips though.

Not to put words into his mouth, but Mr. Harris posted something fairly recently stating that with the tools available today that the VERTIGO restoration could be improved. It wasn't clear if such a project was a bona fide possibility though. Mr. Harris obviously would be limited in what he could say if it was.

As far as the MGM set goes, since I have the Criterions and excellent standalone of Lifeboat I have no desire to rebuy those to get this high priced set. Hopefully Y&I, Sabatage, Paradine, Lodger will be standalone releases at some point.

Agree with the prior posters who have lobbied for a high quality R1 release of the Lorre MWKTM.

 

[DavidJ]

Ditto.

 

[ahollis]

I can not see triple dipping into these collections. If I purchased the Universal re-releases it actually would be the third time for DVD. I also have the MGM releases through Criterion or Fox and the other two just can not make me part with the money. I want more new stuff not more new old stuff. Come on Universal, where is Island Of Lost Souls and The Uninvited. Surely they could sell a few discs more than the third time around for Hitchcock.

 

[Douglas R]

It would have been better if a new thread had been started for the Universal releases. We now have a confusing thread with two different sets being discussed and the topic title referring to the MGM collection.

 

[MattPeriolat]

My problem? I actually have to get all three! The Master collection from Uni for those not being released as Legacy, the three Legacies for all the bells and whistles and the Premiere collection to get Notorious et al.

Rich? No. Just a movie fan who wants it all.

 

[Matt Hough]

I don't understand why Universal wouldn't dip its toe into the water with at least one of these classics on Blu-ray? (I'd prefer VERTIGO but I suspect PSYCHO might be the more popular title.)

I just don't want to rebuy these even with the extras unless they're on Blu-ray.

 

[Craig Beam]

Who says they won't? I have no doubt these three titles will be among Universal's first Hitchcock releases on Blu-ray... just not yet. Which sucks, I agree... especially since this is VERTIGO's 50th Anniversary.

 

[Jeff_CusBlues]

Thanks for the list and links Paul. I got into DVD too late to get the three OOP Criterions and don't want to pay the high Ebay prices so this new set is wonderful for me. I'll definitely be buying it. Your post also reminded me I need the Criterion 39 Steps and Lady Vanishes as well as the Collectors Edition of To Catch a Thief.

 

[WilliamMcK]

Bizarre about the Universal Legacy editions. I'll probably get Vertigo IF they've corrected the color timing on the face during the opening credits. Psycho is in dire need of a remastering---I just watched the disc from the Masterpiece Collection last night and the white and black levels seemed to fluctuate from shot to shot (as did the grain level). Perhaps this was how it was filmed, but I don't remember it being distracting during the numerous theatrical screenings I've seen. And I wonder if Rear Window will really be 1.66 this time around.

 

[hanshotfirst1138]

Wonder if this will be the TCM restoration of The Lodger? The reissues of the films that were on Criterion discs are great, it'll be nice to finally get them for reasonable prices. Wonder if any extras will carry over? Oh, and big question: since this appears to be Harris's restoration of Vertigo, will it include the original mono track?

 

[PaulP]

No, the supplements are almost all new.

 

[Patrick McCart]

I noticed some variations in grain, but they tended to be optical shots with higher levels. Nothing really looked off. Any specific spots? Universal handles film grain perfectly on their B&W titles, at least for the last few years. No or minmal filtering, razor sharp.

Also, Rear Window is 1.66:1 on both the original 2002 and MC re-issue DVDs. The MC lacks the noise filtering on the '02 DVD and has more dirt/scratch removal.

 

[Craig Beam]

Read the specs. Vertigo's mono track is there.

 

[Martin Teller]

Woohoo, got $122 for Rebecca and Notorious on eBay, which will more than cover the new box.

As for the Criterion extras not all getting ported over, who cares? I watched them once, and I count on one hand the number of DVD extras I've watched more than once.

 

[DavidJ]

I may have to reconsider my position on selling mine. Dang.

 

[PaulP]

Tsk. It's having the extras that counts in collecting.

For example, take Blade Runner (if you don't like Blade Runner, it's okay, this is only an example). Are you gonna watch all five versions all the time? No, you might check them out, but will re-watch your favorite version from then on. But it's nice knowing you have these other ones.

 

[WilliamMcK]

I'd have to put the MC Psycho disc in again and make specific notes, but off-hand where I noticed grain differential the most was during the used car lot sequence: the back and forth shots between Janet Leigh and John Anderson.

I know everyone keeps telling me both Rear Window releases were is in 1.66. But both take up my full 1.78 screen (and it doesn't overscan--at least the picture boxing on academy ratio Criterion releases is painfully obvious).

 

[Lord Dalek]

If it wasn't for having that over blown still of Jimmy Stewart, that would have been the best Vertigo cover art ever. *sigh*