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Any News on REBECCA or NOTORIOUS? (1 Viewer)

Larry Sutliff

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I've been on a Hitchcock kick lately, and was wondering if anyone has any info about possible re-releases of either of these films anytime soon. Both the OOP Criterion and Anchor Bay discs are going for big bucks on eBay these days.
 

RoyM

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I've been wondering the same thing. As you reference, the rights have bounced around a bit over the years. At one point, MGM was supposedly going to be releasing a box set of these and other older Hitchock titles, but that fell through because of a rights dispute. I held out on buying the Criterions with the hopes that the MGM's would be a nicer/cheaper alternative, but alas.

So we are now left to wonder when these classics will re-emerge. Any high profile classics such as these are usually guaranteed moneymakers, moreso since they are Hitchcocks, so I can't imagine a studio just sitting on the rights to these for very long without putting out another release.
 

Irina

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In fact, according to some reviews, Korean addition of Rebecca, is of a very high quality comparable to that by Criterion.
 

Pasquale_R

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I'm also interested to these movies (I already own Criterion's Spellbound) but I was wondering if MGM still owns the rights for them. I've seen a movie recently - I think it was the Lake House - where scenes of Notorious were used and in the end titles I am sure the copyright was credited to Buena Vista. Is this possible?
 

Patrick McCart

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The four Selznick Hitchcock films are owned by ABC Films, part of Buena Vista. I'm hoping Fox will re-license them to Criterion so they can go back in print along with the Carlton/StudioCanal BIP/Gaumont Hitchcock films.
 

Larry Sutliff

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Thanks, guys. I hope for a rerelease sometime soon. I don't like buying bootlegs, and don't feel like paying a hundred bucks for something that might be available for 12.99 in a few months.
 

Rob Lutter

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I have the Korean editions of The 39 Steps, Rebecca, and Spellbound and I've gotta say... they're a rather nice alternative to the Criterions. They have the same restored transfers, sound, and the commentary tracks from the Criterion discs.

That said, I'm about 95% sure they've just bogarted said special features without Criterion's consent.

But still... as a holdover for better things to come... ;)
 

Irina

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This is an interesting comparison of 39 Steps by Criterion (R1) and Carlton (R2):

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDCompare/39steps2.htm

I have the R2 DVD and the image quality is really great.

There is also a German (R2) 6-DVD set with early Hitchcock movies
(The Lodger / Downhill, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Sabotage, Secret Agent, Young and Innocent and The Lady Vanishes). The image quality is amazing:

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDCom...yvanishes4.htm

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDCom...wtoomuch34.htm
 

Kevin Sharp

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Have you looked on eBay lately? I just glanced over there and found 4 (legit) copies, the most expensive of which is $37.xx right now. Remember that they both retailed for $40 new.
 

Lord Dalek

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It would be lovely if Criterion was able to get their ABC releases (the Hitchcocks and Straw Dogs) back into circulation but I don't see it happening for the forseeable future.
 

MichaelColvin

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Any news or updates on "Notorious"? I also have been on a Hitchcock kick lately, and this would be a lovely film to add to my collection. What about people who weren't collecting 5 years ago?

Even if it isn't the Criterion Collection Edition as long as the quality is decent, I would be fine.
 

Doug^Ch

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I have also been on a Hitchcock kick lately, and I'm trying to obtain every movie he ever did. Thanks for bringing this thread up, because I didn't know about the German set of his earlier work, and I just ordered it based on the reviews. As for Notorious, I will have to second what others have said about the "legit" Korean editions on ebay; they are very good. That is how I bought Rebecca, Notorious, Spellbound, and The Paradine Case. I'm not quite willing to pony up Criterion prices.
 

MichaelColvin

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I would expect (but have no real idea) that the pricetag to license any Hitchcock film is very high, so they're waiting for the right level of market demand or making certain that they are doing the appropriate strategic release.

But I am curious - on Rebecca, Spellbound and Notorious, now that Criterion Co no longer has the rights, to whom have they defaulted back? Is it Universal, Paramount, MGM, who? I'm very much an outsider to this whole thing, and not certain how it works. Does anyone know who owns the rights?
 

James Phillips

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If you guys can play Region 2 discs, you can usually find the UK Freemantle editions of Rebecca and Notorious selling pretty cheaply on eBay.

They might tide some of you over until a better release comes along.

Rebecca looks pretty good.



Notorious is a little bit on the soft side, but it doesn't look too bad, either.

 

PaulP

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I'm glad I own the Criterion Hitchcocks, but the Master's earlier films are in dire need of proper representation, at least here in R1. I don't know why MGM are dragging their feet. There's always market demand for Hitch, I think.

And I hope Lionsgate's recent early films set does well so that the remaining early films are released by them. ANyone know the details of their deal with Canal? AT the very least I'd expect another box containing the films that were on the R2 set and left off the R1.

I'm just hoping to somday own a complete remastered Hitchcock catalog.
 

Jeff Newcomb

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The actual OWNER of Rebecca, Spellbound, Notorious, and the Paradine Case is none other than The Walt Disney Company. That has been the case since 1996 when Disney purchased ABC. ABC purchased the library of Selznick International Pictures shortly after Selnick's death in 1965 in order to build the library of their newly formed ABC films.

When Disney bought ABC they became the owner of the ABC films library (which also includes Straw Dogs, Duel in the Sun, Prizzi's Honor, and others). In order not to dilute their brand, Disney does not release "non-Disney" films on video. At first, they licensed the films to Anchor Bay for release on both DVD and VHS. Toward the end of Anchor Bay's license they also licensed three of the Hitchcocks and Straw Dogs to Criterion. There was a period when both the Criterion and Anchor Bay versions were in print at the same time.

In December of 2002, Disney licensed 66 films in the Buena Vista Television Library (which includes the ABC/Selznick library) to MGM for a period of five years. That license will expire at the end of this year, but the two companies may choose to renew it.

Theoretically, MGM could have released the Selznick Hitchcocks at any time. The problem with the box set that they announced was that most of the other titles in it were owned by Carlton-Rank who was recently able to re-assert their copyright.
 

MichaelColvin

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Interesting. I'm amazed that such highly demanded parts of their catalog aren't leased out (even if it's not the Disney name) so that they could reap some of the profits.

Thanks for the info.
 

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