USHE Announcement: Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection (Blu-ray) (1 Viewer)

[Persianimmortal]

Yeah, Mickey, $152 is a very compelling price

It will actually be $126 USD at current exchange rates, since at checkout the VAT is removed, making the set £81.24.
That set also looks the same as the Australian version ($119) cover art which I mentioned a bit earlier. This tends to add more weight to the notion that the Aussie version, this cheaper UK version and the US version will all be in similar (regular-sized) packaging.
The only oddity now is that the US version is priced almost $100 more than the Australian and UK versions, with the only difference being the presence of North By Northwest in the US set. Barring any acts of rampant stupidity or retail suicide by the US distributor, the US set is likely to tumble in price shortly before release to come close to the other two sets.

 

[Osato]

From an article on High Def Digest about the upcoming Jaws blu ray, but it also contains some great stuff on Hitchcock..
HDD: How many films are you restoring for Universal's 100th Anniversary?
MD: As part of the centennial, we've restored thirteen titles on a full-film restoration basis, which is really unprecedented for any studio to restore that many titles in a one year period. It really demonstrates our commitment to our preserving our library. We've also done remastering on another twenty-thirty titles for Blu-ray. Some of those are titles for the 'Alfred Hitchcock Masterpiece Collection' and others. But these thirteen titles were all done on a film resolution basis. We've released some already, more that are our classic horror movies will be released in the Halloween timeframe and we also have some of Hitchcock's films as well.
HDD: How does 'Vertigo' look?
MD: 'Vertigo' will look great. You'll be excited to see it.
Here's the story link:
http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/Michael_S_Palmer/Fun_Stuff/Film_Restoration/Peter_Benchley/Richard_Dreyfuss/Robert_Shaw/Roy_Scheider/Steven_Spielberg/JAWS/HDD_Interviews_Cast__Crew_of_JAWS_About_the_Blu-ray_Restoration_and_Exclusive_Documentary/9929

 

[Doug Otte]

Well, there's a new, smaller version of the box set in the U.K. listed here. Same size as the U.S. basically, with different cover art. Decisions........decisions.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B008RLD1VY/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00

Thanks for the info. I just switched my order. I was wondering where I'd keep that huge box anyway...

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Well, there's a new, smaller version of the box set in the U.K. listed here. Same size as the U.S. basically, with different cover art. Decisions........decisions.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B008RLD1VY/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00

Thanks, Michael. The only reason I had not ordered the U.K. set was because of the oversized packaging.

 

[mikeyhitchfan]

Thanks, Michael. The only reason I had not ordered the U.K. set was because of the oversized packaging.

You're welcome. I see that there are many of us torn between the boxes. I kind of like the large U.K. box, but it seems too cumbersome to haul out and that plastic lid is likely to break sometime. The extras are kind of cool but I have several books on Hitchcock that have storyboards and poster art.
I like the artwork of the smaller U.K. box better than the U.S., but it'll likely have the ratings on the spine and discs..but, it's $78 cheaper than the U.S. To complicate it further (for me) is that the U.S. is already paid for with trade ins and credits on Amazon.com and cannot be used on Amazon U.K.
I'm already ordering the Bond and Uni Monsters sets from U.K. as they're cheaper, so I guess if I cancelled the U.S. box it would pay for other stuff like the Indy set and then some. It's nice to have these issues to ponder after years of HD and not much Hitchcock available.

 

[Moe Dickstein]

I'm not getting anything until I hear the comments on Man Who Knew Too Much

 

[Matt Hough]

Originally Posted by Moe Dickstein /t/321703/ushe-announcement-alfred-hitchcock-the-masterpiece-collection-blu-ray/120#post_3958312
I'm not getting anything until I hear the comments on Man Who Knew Too Much

I love it, too, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it's been handled astutely.

 

[t1g3r5fan]

I love it, too, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it's been handled astutely.

And I'm hoping that the original Paramount titles are restored to the film.

 

[rsmithjr]

I love it, too, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it's been handled astutely.

I saw The Man Who Knew Too Much in original release and it really impressed me and got me started on Hitchcock (although I had seen Rebecca earlier and liked it). Ditto Bernard Herrmann. I also ran it on two occasions as a projectionist.
The film really means a lot to me.
The current DVD is really terrible, probably the most EE I have ever seen on anything actually pressed. I actually watch the LD, which is overall much better than the DVD releases of the title.
I am less concerned about Vertigo somehow (would Universal really mess with the Sight and Sound poll winner?), but TMWKTM worries me.

 

[Peter Apruzzese]

And I'm hoping that the original Paramount titles are restored to the film.

I ran Universal's newer 35mm print a couple of years ago and it has the Paramount logos beginning and end. Looks beautiful at 1.85, let's hope Universal does it right!

 

[Garysb]

Hitchcock's THE BIRDS Among Films in TCM Event Series, Beg. 9/19 celebrating Universal's 100th Birthday.
http://movies.broadwayworld.com/article/Hitchcocks-THE-BIRDS-Among-Films-in-TCM-Event-Series-Beg-919-20120807#ixzz22tMgmPTi
Another NCM® Fathom Events so be aware of that. The article does say that "The “TCM Event Series”will be presented using new digital cinema projection systems in select movie theaters around the country." This is probably just hype but maybe some theaters will get better results than has been previously reported.
The series will include a double feature of Frankenstein and the Bride of Frankenstein on October 24. They will also be showing To Kill A Mockingbird. on November 15.
They certainly reduced the number of theaters in the NYC area that are showing this event compared to others like Singin' In The Rain . Only 1 theater in Manhattan and none in Westchester County where I live.

 

[rich_d]

They certainly reduced the number of theaters in the NYC area that are showing this event compared to others like Singin' In The Rain . Only 1 theater in Manhattan and none in Westchester County where I live.

What with the taxes you pay, that just doesn't seem right.
Others might get added to the list over the next few weeks.
At least there are a couple near New Haven, so perhaps I can turn that into Pepe's Pizza followed by The Birds to make it worth the drive.

 

[mikeyhitchfan]

Hitchcock's THE BIRDS Among Films in TCM Event Series, Beg. 9/19 celebrating Universal's 100th Birthday.
http://movies.broadwayworld.com/article/Hitchcocks-THE-BIRDS-Among-Films-in-TCM-Event-Series-Beg-919-20120807#ixzz22tMgmPTi
Another NCM® Fathom Events so be aware of that. The article does say that "The “TCM Event Series”will be presented using new digital cinema projection systems in select movie theaters around the country." This is probably just hype but maybe some theaters will get better results than has been previously reported.
The series will include a double feature of Frankenstein and the Bride of Frankenstein on October 24. They will also be showing To Kill A Mockingbird. on November 15.
They certainly reduced the number of theaters in the NYC area that are showing this event compared to others like Singin' In The Rain . Only 1 theater in Manhattan and none in Westchester County where I live.

Thanks for the tip! I purchased tickets for an afternoon matinee here in So Cal.

 

[JohnS]

Even though I've only seen half of these movies, I want this box set.
I ordered the reg UK set
Shipped for £84.32

 

[Osato]

Hitchcock's THE BIRDS Among Films in TCM Event Series, Beg. 9/19 celebrating Universal's 100th Birthday.
http://movies.broadwayworld.com/article/Hitchcocks-THE-BIRDS-Among-Films-in-TCM-Event-Series-Beg-919-20120807#ixzz22tMgmPTi
Another NCM® Fathom Events so be aware of that. The article does say that "The “TCM Event Series”will be presented using new digital cinema projection systems in select movie theaters around the country." This is probably just hype but maybe some theaters will get better results than has been previously reported.
The series will include a double feature of Frankenstein and the Bride of Frankenstein on October 24. They will also be showing To Kill A Mockingbird. on November 15.
They certainly reduced the number of theaters in the NYC area that are showing this event compared to others like Singin' In The Rain . Only 1 theater in Manhattan and none in Westchester County where I live.

Thanks for the heads up!!! I was hoping for Dial M in 3D.....

 

[Patrick Donahue]

Just so I can make sure before I place my order...
When Amazon.uk says it's region free, that applies to the extras as well, correct?

 

[Moe Dickstein]

I've never heard of a case where a film was all-region but the extras weren't. What would the advantage be to doing that?
Also, is there a bonus disc in this set? It seems like with BD they could keep all the extras on the film discs.

 

[Robin9]

I've never heard of a case where a film was all-region but the extras weren't. What would the advantage be to doing that?

What sometime happens on European BRDs is that the film is Zone and Region free but the "extras" are standard definition in Pal format. They're not region locked in the normal sense but your equipment needs to be able to play PAL material.

 

[Patrick Donahue]

So do we have any way of knowing if the extras in this set, or also the Universal Monsters set for that matter, are not in PAL and are viewable?

 

[David Norman]

So do we have any way of knowing if the extras in this set, or also the Universal Monsters set for that matter, are not in PAL and are viewable?

No way to know for sure except based on past experience. I don't think Universal has ever done so for their supplements. Honestly it seems so much easier and cheaper just to
use the same encodes for all Region releases rather than have to re-encode parts of the disc.