Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection (Limited Edition) Blu-ray Available Preorder (1 Viewer)

[Ronald Epstein]

That is one of the most gorgeous Blu-ray sets I have ever seen.


Individual film can tins. That is brilliant.


It's a shame we never see anything like that released in the United States.


The region free release is sold out on Amazon UK. Not sure if this went out of print or not. It costs about $180 U.S., I am approximating.


Even if I were not a Hitchcock fan --- and I am not -- I would splurge on the set as it would look beautiful as a shelf centerpiece.

 

[Dr Griffin]

As nice as that set is, I don't think I've ever paid that much for an individual release, but if that became available here there may be a new personal precedent set.

 

[Craig Beam]

Here's a great unboxing video of the set. I already have the basic US set, so I couldn't possibly justify getting this (even if I could afford it!)... but wow, it's awesome.

 

[Tony J Case]

Did we ever figure out if there's a difference between this and the '12 version? Well, aside from the new version being 50 bucks more.

 

[TJPC]

I just purchased the Alfred Hitchcock masterpiece collection (limited edition)at a store that is closing and is not taking returns.
The set looked fine from the outside but inside I found it is completely falling apart. Discs were either stuck in the pocket and had to be forced out, or loose. Each disc had either a blob of glue on the label side or a scratch on the play surface near the edge. The whole digipack basically spreads out like an accordion.
I would certainly take this back if I could. I plan to call Universal Home Entertainment as soon as they open today. I haven't had time to try the Blu Rays, which I have tried to clean and put in individual envelopes.

Has anyone had a similar problem with this set? Did you find a number to call to complain? (I sent an e-mail, but received a nonsensical answer which showed they had not read what I sent) Did you get satisfaction finally?

 

[David Norman]

It was a common problem with the US sets -- specifically the Hitchcock and Monster sets as well as several of those type packs. The disc would get pushed too deep into the sleeves and the binding would separate then the glue would either get on the discs. I'm not sure if maybe some of them were stores in warmer warehouses and the glue would soften, but it wasn't an uncommon story.

I think Univeral would eventually help you out, but you may have to call and get a supervisor level person instead of the first line folks that often just pick the closest answer to their provided scripts.

 

[John Maher_289910]

I imagine MARNIE remains, unwatchable, whether it is in a cardboard sleeve or a tin can.

 

[Patrick McCart]

I imagine MARNIE remains, unwatchable, whether it is in a cardboard sleeve or a tin can.

Actually, when I got my new 4K monitor (60" LED), Marnie was one of the first discs I tried out. I figured I should see what the best discs look like, as well as the worst. Before getting into details, I'll go ahead and say that I don't use any "dumb mode" options on my monitor (like frame interpolation/blending or filtering of any kind). I even used the Spears & Muncil disc to calibrate the monitor.

What amazed me was that Marnie actually looked like an organic, film-like presentation with one flaw. It looked like the compression sometimes had trouble keeping up with the grain structure in shots with diffusion filters or opticals. Otherwise, it looks quite lovely. Whether it's accurate or not is another question.

Saboteur, Shadow of a Doubt, Rear Window, The Trouble with Harry, Vertigo, The Birds, and Torn Curtain look excellent for the most part or entirely.

Rope looks just a little crushed in contrast, but otherwise nice. The Man Who Knew Too Much generally has good photographic quality, but the color is all over the place and it just looks "old" compared to the other VistaVision films in the set. Psycho looks too smoothed over and has an oddly high amount of dirt/scratches still in the image. Topaz looks alright, but has some constant edge enhancement and some shots are taken from separation masters with poor alignment. Frenzy has too much noise reduction, but is no worse than an average Universal disc. Family Plot looks like garbage, though.

Overall, I'm happy with the quality. Had they opted to give Psycho and Frenzy newer transfers, I'd have almost no complaints about the set. The new 5.1 mix on Vertigo has to be heard to believed. There's literally only one moment in the entire mix that stuck out as strange to me.

 

[TJPC]

I imagine MARNIE remains, unwatchable, whether it is in a cardboard sleeve or a tin can.

Actually that my favourite of all Hitchcock!

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I've had this set for years and I've seen every movie in it previously (if not every disc) except Topaz. I should really check that out one of these days. A Hitchcock I've never seen and don't know anything about, that's not a bad thing to have in reserve.

 

[Matt Hough]

I've had this set for years and I've seen every movie in it previously (if not every disc) except Topaz. I should really check that out one of these days. A Hitchcock I've never seen and don't know anything about, that's not a bad thing to have in reserve.

I could be wrong, but I don't think you'll find it an undiscovered gem. I know it has its fans, and there are certainly some notable Hitchcock moments in it, but I find I don't enjoy watching it very much, and the ending now used on the Blu-ray is not the ending I saw in the theater or grew up seeing in various home video incarnations.

 

[TravisR]

I could be wrong, but I don't think you'll find it an undiscovered gem. I know it has its fans, and there are certainly some notable Hitchcock moments in it, but I find I don't enjoy watching it very much, and the ending now used on the Blu-ray is not the ending I saw in the theater or grew up seeing in various home video incarnations.

Yeah, Topaz is easily my least favorite of his American work (followed by Torn Curtain). Along a similar line, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed Family Plot when I rewatched it last year.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

the ending now used on the Blu-ray is not the ending I saw in the theater or grew up seeing in various home video incarnations.

Without giving too much away, is it a case of additional footage being tacked on beyond the ending you originally remember (like the deleted Vertigo "happy" ending that some territories tacked on) or a completely different resolution to the story?

 

[Matt Hough]

Without giving too much away, is it a case of additional footage being tacked on beyond the ending you originally remember (like the deleted Vertigo "happy" ending that some territories tacked on) or a completely different resolution to the story?

Three different endings were filmed, none of which truly satisfied Hitchcock. I'm not sure whose decision it was to use the one currently on the disc. Seems like all three are available for viewing on a bonus feature or perhaps they're a part of the documentary on the film on the disc. That may be something to watch tonight (the documentary; not the film).

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Three different endings were filmed, none of which truly satisfied Hitchcock. I'm not sure whose decision it was to use the one currently on the disc. Seems like all three are available for viewing on a bonus feature or perhaps they're a part of the documentary on the film on the disc. That may be something to watch tonight (the documentary; not the film).

I think Universal did something similar on their recent disc for Jaws: The Revenge - apparently the ending on that disc is not the ending that was originally shown in U.S. theaters, but had been reshot for international audiences. The original ending is included as a bonus feature but there's no option to play it as part of the movie.

 

[Matt Hough]

I wonder if Universal ever gets around to releasing Sweet Charity on this side of the world, will they substitute the happy ending rather than the bittersweet one from the theatrical release?

 

[TJPC]

Did anyone else have the trouble I had with this set? As I said, it basically fell apart with each disc either having a blob of glue or a scratch on it and some having both.
I have attempted to clean the discs, but have not tried to play them.

I do have hope however. I went to the customer service web page and filled out a form with the details. I received a reply and they asked for a scan of the bill and my mailing address etc. but did not promise anything. I am waiting for further correspondence or best case scenario a package in the mail.

 

[John Maher_289910]

Actually that my favourite of all Hitchcock!

I was speaking of the quality of the elements on the disc, not the film, itself. Although not my favorite Hitchcock film, I love MARNIE. It just looks horrible on Blu-ray, to me.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Did anyone else have the trouble I had with this set? As I said, it basically fell apart with each disc either having a blob of glue or a scratch on it and some having both.

Fortunately my set didn't appear to have any troubles - I haven't watched every disc in there yet, but the ones I did watch have played without incident.

 

[TravisR]

Did anyone else have the trouble I had with this set? As I said, it basically fell apart with each disc either having a blob of glue or a scratch on it and some having both.
I have attempted to clean the discs, but have not tried to play them.

I had that problem with one of the discs in the similarly packaged Universal Monsters set. Fortunately, the glue was just on the edge of the disc and it came off and didn't cause a problem with playback. Is the glue on more than just the edge of your Hitchcock discs?