http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/ima...0933843&sr=8-5
Is it worth the $22.00? Giving allowances for the fact that it's a public domain release and quality will not be the best, is it at least watchable?
"All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible. This I did." T.E. Lawrence
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Originally Posted by Robert Harris
This is a pirated collection.
The films are NOT in the public domain. It's a pity to see that Amazon now openly supports and sells pirated merchandise, and this set should be avoided like the plague. Even the use of Hitchcock's name, signature and likeness may be illegal. RAH |
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Originally Posted by SD_Brian
So, leaving aside the moral and ethical dilemma for a moment: If someone was interested in Hitchcock's early works but was unable to find "official" releases, does anyone know anything about the relative quality of these commercially available "Public Domain" releases? Are they watchable?
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"All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible. This I did." T.E. Lawrence
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Originally Posted by Robert Harris
Putting aside the legal, which is difficult, the release is unacceptable at even PD standards.
As has been noted, they look much like a typical VHS PD release based upon 16mm dupes. Not a pretty picture. RAH |
"All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible. This I did." T.E. Lawrence
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Originally Posted by SD_Brian
So, leaving aside the moral and ethical dilemma for a moment: If someone was interested in Hitchcock's early works but was unable to find "official" releases, does anyone know anything about the relative quality of these commercially available "Public Domain" releases? Are they watchable?
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Originally Posted by John Hodson
If you're referring to Dave Pattern's excellent site Richard, it's linked in Mark B's post #7. BTW, I wholeheartedly support Robert's stance on bootleg releases. Just stay away...
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Originally Posted by Mark B
Being in complete agreement with what you have said, I can not believe that the films (of one of our most highly respected and marketable directors) are not being properly preserved and made available in the most pristine form possible on home video. It's a shame and a travesty.
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Originally Posted by Richard--W
Authorized editions of these highly popular Hitchcock films would put the bootleggers out of business.
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| It is better to import |
"Movies should be like amusement parks. People should go to them to have fun." - Billy Wilder
"Subtitles good. Hollywood bad." - Tarzan, Sight & Sound 2012 voter.
"My films are not slices of life, they are pieces of cake." - Alfred Hitchcock"My great humility is just one of the many reasons that I...
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Originally Posted by george kaplan
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"All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible. This I did." T.E. Lawrence
| Look for a multi-region DVD player with a pitch control. |
"Movies should be like amusement parks. People should go to them to have fun." - Billy Wilder
"Subtitles good. Hollywood bad." - Tarzan, Sight & Sound 2012 voter.
"My films are not slices of life, they are pieces of cake." - Alfred Hitchcock"My great humility is just one of the many reasons that I...

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Originally Posted by Michael Elliott
Does anyone really think Criterion is going to waste time and release each of these early Hitchcock titles? Of course they're not going to so releases like these are the only way people can see the film. All this picture quality talk is just downright crazy at times because the bottom line is that there are films out there that no company is going to spend money on. Are we suppose to pretend these films don't exist because they don't have Warner quality?
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Originally Posted by John Hodson
Waste time? And how would they be doing that exactly?
These are films by one of the 20th century's best and most famous directors, a name even those with only a passing knowledge of film is familiar with, not 'films out there that no company is going to spend money on'. Most of these titles are available in properly licensed releases editions in R2, with transfers that beat the hell out of the bootleg garbage on the market; there's absolutely no reason at all why R1 will not be blessed with the same at some point. Bootlegs; there is no justification whatsoever. |
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Originally Posted by John Hodson
Bootlegs; there is no justification whatsoever.
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