Alfred Hitchcock Premiere Collection - Oct 14, 2008 (1 Viewer)

[PaulP]

That's true about Under Capricorn, Patrick, but there is a 2006 French edition with a vastly improved transfer (though still not perfect).

I'm just hoping for a couple of sets from anyone who owns these rights to release fully restored editions of these remaining films. Having a complete restored Hitch canon is essential!

 

[Simon Howson]

If Under Capricorn is ever officially reissued Warner should be asked to do an ultra resolution preservation of it - even if it is released by another company.

I think it is one of Hitchcock's most under rated films. But I guess it has special significance for me given its setting in colonial Australia, and the long takes that are even more sublime than those used in Rope.

 

[Richard--W]

Of course it is.

 

[PaulP]

If you'll click on Under Capricorn in my previous post, I linked it to the great Hithccock Wiki. In there you will see the 2006 French edition release by Paramount. You can see the specs and the screenshots.

 

[Lord Dalek]

You sure? Its got cigarette burns on it. Unless the neg is a dupe element those shouldn't be there.

 

[Professor_Echo]

I would advise anyone who is selling their Criterion Hitchcocks to be patient and wait until you get the price that will make you happy. I sold my five Criterion Hitch titles on Amazon Marketplace and made about $500 total. REBECCA took a year to sell at $200, but it finally found a buyer. I think the price may drop a bit with this news, but there are pure Criterion collectors out there who really want the rare OOP Hitchcock titles. It's debatable whether to list them now before the news of the new editions starts making non-Criterion buffs wary of buying the old ones or to wait and see if the new transfers are as good as the Criterion ones.

 

[Craig Beam]

I made a total of $198.00 for the three over the past two days. Considering I paid about $75 total for them when they were new, I'm pretty happy.

 

[Corey]

Is this up for pre-order yet?

 

[John Hodson]

More Hitch from Universal:

Universal Studios Home Video have announced the Region 1 DVD release of new Two-Disc Special Editions of Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, Rear Window and Vertigo on 7th October 2008. Priced at $26.98 SRP each, these two-disc sets are released under the Universal Legacy Series banner and offer the following features…

Psycho

Disc 1: Main Feature
1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
English and French DD2.0 Mono
English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles
Feature Commentary with Stephen Rebello (author of "Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho")
Newsreel Footage: The Release of Psycho
The Shower Scene
The Shower Scene: Storyboards by Saul Bass
The Psycho Archives
Posters and Psycho Ads
Lobby Cards
Behind-the-Scenes Photographs
Production Photographs
Production Notes
Theatrical Trailer
Re-Release Trailers

Disc 2: Extra Features
The Making of Psycho
In the Master's Shadow: Hitchcock's Legacy
Hitchcock / Truffaut Interview Excerpts
Alfred Hitchcock Presents "Lamb to the Slaughter"

Rear Window

Disc 1: Main Feature
1.66:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
English and French DD2.0 Mono
English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles
Feature Commentary with John Fawell (author of "Hitchcock's Rear Window: The Well-Made Film")
Production Photographs
Production Notes
Theatrical Trailer
Re-Release Trailer Narrated by James Stewart

Disc 2: Extra Features
Rear Window Ethics: An Original Documentary
A Conversation with Screenwriter John Michael Hayes
Pure Cinema: Through the Eyes of the Master
Hitchcock / Truffaut Interview Excerpts
Breaking Barriers: The Sound of Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock Presents "Mr. Blanchard's Secret"

Vertigo

Disc 1: Main Feature
1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
English DD5.1 Surround and DD2.0 Mono
English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles
Feature Commentary with Associate Producer Herbert Coleman, Restoration Team Robert A. Harris and James C. Katz and Other Vertigo Participants
Feature Commentary with Director William Friedkin
Foreign Censorship Ending
The Vertigo Archives
Production Notes
Original Theatrical Trailer
Restoration Theatrical Trailer

Disc 2: Extra Features
Obsessed with Vertigo: New Life for Hitchcock's Masterpiece
Partners in Crime: Hitchcock's Collaborators
Hitchcock / Truffaut Interview Excerpts
Alfred Hitchcock Presents "The Case of Mr. Pelham"

Details at DVD Times.

 

[Eric Peterson]

It seems a bit late in the game to be triple-dipping on some of these Hitchcock films. I love these films, but at this point I think I'll hold out for Blue-Ray when I make the conversion. Although, the commentary on "Rear Window" is very tempting.

 

[PaulP]

Other than the commentaries, these extras, at least at first glance, seem to be duplicated from the Masterpiece set.

 

[Martin Teller]

These releases are a slap in the face to everyone who shelled out $$$ for the Masterpiece box. I'll wait for Blu-Ray.

 

[TravisR]

I'll wait for the eventual Blu-Ray releases simply because I'm not buying the same movies for the third time on DVD (especially when the current DVDs are perfectly acceptable to my eyes and the new DVDs won't be that much better).

 

[Jrf2]

This would be a great time to release these on Blu as well. For some reason though I have a feeling Universal won't this time around. I never picked up the Masterpiece set and I'm still holding on to the old non anamorphic Psycho and Vertigo discs. My 2001 Rear Window disc is fine, but I'm dying to get rid of the other two.

 

[PaulP]

You should do so. Now.

 

[Ruz-El]

i have copy copies of the criterions, but only own LIFEBOAT, so I'll grab this for sure! Can't wait!

Missed the uni re-releases... quadruple dip? Might pick them up if they are cheap or if Mr. Harris comments on them being huge upgrades from the Master Piece collection set.

 

[Ed Moroughan]

I'll be picking up the Vertigo set....I've never been able to find the previous versions anywhere, and I don't buy used discs. (sorry!) Maybe the Rear Window set also if it's an improvement on the previous releases. It must be Hitch's year eh? LOL

 

[WadeM]

Originally Posted by PaulP
Remaining unreleased in a restored edition in R1:

The Pleasure Garden (1925)
Downhill (1927)
Easy Virtue (1928)
Champagne (1928)
Blackmail (1929)
Juno and the Paycock (1930)
Number Seventeen (1932)
Waltzes from Vienna (1934)
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)
Secret Agent (1936)
Jamaica Inn (1939)
Under Capricorn (1949)


I wouldn't be surprised if the best R1 ever sees of Jamaica Inn is the Kino version. Kino is no Criterion, but they're still better than most.

 

[BillyFeldman]

Are these new transfers of Psycho, Vertigo, and Rear Window? If not, why on Earth would anyone who had the Masterpiece set buy these?

 

[Patrick McCart]

I'm happy with the MC until Blurays come out for these three. However, Vertigo has wrong color timing in the opening credits from the fade-in after the VistaVision logo until the spiral appears in the eye. It's a dull orange when it should be greyscale.

For a BluRay, it would be interesting if Universal attempted a new 5.1 remix with better foley effects.

It seems like the only advantages are the new featurettes, AFP episodes, and commentaries.