A Few Words About A few words about... The Hitchcock Masterpiece Collection (1 Viewer)

[Josh Simpson]

I also got this set for Christmas and have been quite happy with it. I have little nitpicks, such as wishing there were slim cases and all, but "The Man Who Knew too Much" transfer didn't really bother me. That was one of the few I didn't have the original discs of, but it didn't seem too bad. I wish the AFI segment had been longer, but I enjoyed what there was. Overall, I'm happy, and was happy when my brother got it for me.

Now I need "Lifeboat" and I will have nearly all the American movies of Hitch.

 

[Patrick McCart]

I'm digging up this thread again....

I had the chance to view part of the original Rear Window DVD. As great as it was, we already know it's not as sharp or detailed as the Universal remaster. However, what really surprised me was how much cleanup was applied to the opening titles. The old DVD is littered with dirt and scratches (unavoidable with opticals of that time). The new one makes the opening titles virtually spotless.

 

[Robert Harris]

Patrick,

This is quite true of Rear Window. Universal gave time and effort toward the elimination of optical detritus, which was part of the original.

Nicely done.

RAH

 

[Paul_Nyman]

I also recently viewed Rear Window again. The newer Universal remaster looks amazing! The colors are sharp and bold.

Will Vertigo get the same treatment to finally correct the elements of time?

 

[Robert Harris]

Vertigo was restored photo-chemically and photo-optically by the best means available at the time.

Today, we would deal with it digitally, with much better results.

This would be a perfect Lowry project.

RAH

 

[Joseph Goodman]

That brings to mind something I've wondered... in at least the photo-chemical restorations/reconstructions you've been involved in Mr. Harris, after the projects were completed, what was done with the faded/damaged camera originals (or whatever earliest-generation elements that were available)?

 

[Patrick McCart]

RAH... any story behind why there is a freeze-frame on James Stewart's credit during the titles? Were there missing frames or something?

By the way, I think Vertigo looks stunning except for that "dupe dupe dupe negative" segment during Judy's flashback. Even so, it looks great besides the specks on the optical lens (two near the top and one off-center) and some horizontal blotches in a few shots.

I think you mentioned the prospect of what a digital intermediate would do for a movie like Vertigo... what resolution would be needed to keep the original image intact? With the amount of films being totally color timed digitally, I'd imagine making new prints with this method would help add the extra bit of quality to something that already has photochemically/optically restored film elements.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I'm not RAH, but I think it was purposedly done and I like the effect.






Crawdaddy

 

[Robert Harris]

Original elements, after replication, are all cold-vaulted in long term storage.

We now have an "easy" fix for the multiple dupes.

RAH

 

[Paul_Nyman]

Robert Harris,

Can you explain how digitally it would be different with the use of mutiple dupes?

What can be done to the chemical restoration sourced from the foreign footage (was it from mexico or spain?) today if Lowry had access to doing a newer retoration to Vertigo?
Will it blend the two different prints?

 

[Robert Harris]

Yes, but then you might disappear.

Proprietary.

RAH

 

[RickER]

I just bought Shadow of a Doubt, as it is one of the few i didn't own already. I also need Vertigo, never bought it because of the lack of "Anamorphic" widescreen. Any idea when another batch of these titles will be released individually, and suggestions of what NEEDS to be an upgrade of the original release?

 

[Patrick McCart]

Saboteur - Much less grainy/noisy and cleaner
Shadow of a Doubt - Lots of dirt/scratch removal
Rope - Dirt/scratch removal + sharper
Rear Window - Much, much sharper, extensive dirt/scratch removal
The Trouble with Harry - Sharper
The Man Who Knew Too Much - Worse, keep the old disc
Vertigo - Sharper, brighter, 16x9, original mono
Psycho - a LOT sharper, 16x9, excellent audio
The Birds - smoother, a lot less noise, sharp, clean
Marnie - Better color and contrast
Torn Curtain - Sharper and better framing
Topaz - Sharper and better color
Frenzy - Sharper and better color
Family Plot - Sharper and better color

Overall, the biggest improvements are on Rear Window, Vertigo, Psycho, Saboteur, and The Birds.

 

[Felix Martinez]

Yes, for an article idea, I visited the Lowry folks and discovered in fact, that -

 

[ScottR]

Doesn't The Birds suffer from a bit of over cropping on the new release? And if they release these discs separately, I hope they fix the minor sync issue with at least one scene in Psycho.

 

[Mark B]

Again, the colors were better. The first had a yellow tint to the entire film, which is not present on the new transfer.

 

[Patrick McCart]

I agree that the color is marginally better, but...

The edge enhancement is just horrible. It doesn't help that the image was already really soft.

The only good things I can say about it... it at least has the original VistaVision opening (probably taken from The Trouble with Harry), has a steadier image (the old DVD was really shaky), and is cleaner. However, there's a huge amount of noise reduction. It still irritates me that Universal has a 4K digital restoration at hand from Cinesite and it wasn't utilized. The sound is too filtered, as well.

If it wasn't for it being a minor Hitchcock film, we should have pushed Universal to re-do it. Then again, we couldn't convince Fox to re-do the horror that is the Todd-AO version of Oklahoma! It's just a pity to see such horrible transfers that don't do justice to the high-definition formats the films were shot in. Whatever will be, will be.

 

[Richard Matich]

Goood Eeeevning!!! I hate to continue a thread that has run its course [I guess]. I do want to point out that Monday I got this from Best Buy. The set is stunning! Phsyco looks like it was made yesterday. The black & white caused my jaw to drop. 'Vertigo' looks and sounds terific as well. The others [Trouble With Harry was looked at] were not seen or barely seen yet. I'll give em a go in my own good time. Of the two track on Vertigo do you like the mono trck or do you like the 5.1 track??? Do tell. I mono sounds more alive while the 5.1 sound a bit muffled. I understand about the audio elements explained by Mr. Harris. What trck do you watch 'Vertigo' with? Thaaank yooou Verrry muuuuch!!!

 

[Travis Brashear]

PSYCHO looks like it was made yesterday? Oh, but how I wish that were true...