Hitchcock Masterpiece collection - a significant improvement? (1 Viewer)

[Patrick McCart]

Singles have been released for Saboteur, Shadow of a Doubt, Rope, The Trouble with Harry, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Marnie, Torn Curtain, Topaz, Frenzy, and Family Plot. Nothing for Rear Window, Vertigo, Psycho, or The Birds yet.

 

[Richard M S]

Thanks Patrick.

LOL, ironically it is those 3 films (Rear Window, Vertigo, Psycho) I want to replace the most.

 

[Chuck Pennington]

Patrick - Your comment that FAMILY PLOT has only "subtle improvements" is an understatement in my mind. Check out the comparisons below.

Also, no one seems to want to comment on MARNIE and how the new transfer appears to be far too yellow in the second reel when Marnie visits her mother...

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[Jack Theakston]

Re: Marnie. The new edition is closer to the original Technicolor prints, which do exhibit a more yellow/brown color temperature. It was Universal's "house look" at the time.

Re: Rear Window. 1.66:1 as per Paramount's releases to the exhibitors. Paramount adopted 1.66:1 as their house format around May 1953 and all summer productions thereafter are 1.66:1+. By January 1954, they started to change that to 1.85:1.

SHANE was not composed for 1.66:1, but because it's a film that's largely long and medium shots, Paramount used it for their new widescreen process, which was made in short notice. Similarly, although THUNDER BAY was the first film to be presented in the flat 1.85:1 format, it was shot before Universal had delivered their mandate to compose for wide formats. Buy May productions onward WERE widescreen productions because they went into production that way.

All of REAR WINDOW's initial prints were Print by Technicolor.

 

[Patrick McCart]

Chuck: Pretty much all of the "subtle" improvement titles I listed are like that... better sharpness and clarity, but most wouldn't notice it unless they made a comparison. To me, it's a great improvement and I'm glad you pointed it out.

By the way, Family Plot is a very funny movie and doesn't really deserve the "mediocre TV movie" label a lot of people give it. Bruce Dern and Barbara Harris are fun to watch. Great music score by John Williams, too.

Jack: Thanks for clearing up about RW and Marnie. I was under the impression that the '54 prints were Eastmancolor, but I saw one of the original posters and it had Technicolor in big letters.

 

[BethHarrison]

Thanks Chuck

Awesome work! Muchly appreciated

 

[captainjoe]

I had no idea the boxset is that much better. I thought it was just encoded better with new transfers fro only a few but all are different and better. I'm happy to have it.

 

[Bruce Morrison]

Patrick, it seems strange that Universal appear to have messed up on this one title among all the films in the set. Any theories as to why this one turned out so much worse?

 

[Josh Simpson]

Chuck, thanks so much for the screen caps. I own this set, but it was great to see the comparisons. I'm glad I went with the upgrade.

 

[Chuck Pennington]

Jack: "Re: Marnie. The new edition is closer to the original Technicolor prints, which do exhibit a more yellow/brown color temperature. It was Universal's "house look" at the time."

Really? You don't think the entire scene with Marnie visiting her mother at the beginning of the film is timed incorrectly? That whole segment of the film sticks out as being WAY too yellow to me. Look at it - there isn't anything that is white anywhere, and to have the walls and all the dishes and even the tablecloth that same shade of yellow?

Look at the screen capture comparisons again.

 

[GerardoHP]

I completely agree with you, Chuck. And, by the way, thanks for posting those caps.

 

[Chuck Pennington]

People rarely agree with me, GerardoHP. It's nice to know that if I'm crazy and seeing things that I'm not the only one. There have been plenty of remasters that correct some things while screwing up others, and unfortunately I feel this way about the remaster of MARNIE. Just because it is newer than the previous release doesn't mean it is always better in all respects. It's sad because that is one of my favorite Hitchcock films.

Isn't it funny how people rush to defend things that look blatently wrong, as if they are afraid to admit something is botched and will need to repurchased in another 5-7 yrs once it is remastered... again.

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Oh, and I apologize for putting 2004 as the release date for the Alfred Hitchcock Masterpiece Collection - it came out in fall 2005. I just looked it up - I wasn't sure.

 

[Nick Eden]

So if I can recap what the general consensus of opinion is, re Hitchcock Masterpiece Collection:-

All the titles appear better than their previous incarnations with the exception of Marnie and The Man Who Knew Too Much. With this in mind an upgrade is still worth while?

 

[Chuck Pennington]

Yes, it is more than worth it, and at around $80 it's a steal. BTW MARNIE is improved as well save for one section. I'll post MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH comparison pics later.

 

[pitchman]

Nick, I say yes, too.

As nice as the outer packaging is, I think the inner packaging is kind of a mess. These films certainly deserve better than the thin cardboard, flimsy digipak treatment Universal gives them. Be that as it may, there is more than enough overall improvement to warrant the upgrade IMO. And IIRC, ALL of the content from the original "deluxe edition" discs (plus significant new material) is ported over to the boxset.

 

[Nelson Au]

Chuck, thanks for all the work to put up the screen shots. I bought this set when it came out and I have not seen the later films like Torn Curtain, Family Plot, Topaz and Frenzy yet. Now I will after seeing the caps.

Hitchcock's films of the fifies and early 60's are my favorite period, and I do enjoy several from the 40's, especially the Notorius and Spellbound. So the later films of the later 60's and early 70's are not familiar to me.

 

[Harry-N]

I bought this set when it came out. It had a problem with something or other on one of the titles and I had to replace it at Best Buy, but it was taken care of.

Enjoyed the screen comparisons, and can easily see the problem with MARNIE that's being described as too yellow. Not to make excuses, but as it is an indoor scene, is it possible that it was intended that way to perhaps indicate a yellowish incandescent lighting scheme?

Harry

 

[Chuck Pennington]

Oh, Harry, then why wasn't that ever seen on any of the other releases, and why would it only affect one reel (I believe it is the second reel). Marnie's mother's home certainly isn't as as yellow when she returns there in the finale...

I think that reel was from a slightly faded interpositive with improper color correction.

 

[Patrick McCart]

Someone wasn't paying attention. Universal had To Kill a Mockingbird, To Hell and Back, and The Man Who Knew Too Much all digitally restored at 4K by Cinesite. While they used the new 4K digital restoration for the Legacy Series "Mockingbird", they didn't for this one. It's considered a minor film, but it's actually quite good. Universal probably would have replaced it if enough people complained, but it's just not that well loved like a lot of others.

My best guess is that they didn't know the 4K remaster existed and went ahead with tinkering with the existing transfer.

 

[Chuck Pennington]

THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH (1956)
I got as close to the exact frame as I could with VLC. I'd bet it is from the same master with slight color correction and additional edge enhancement.

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