Any chance of Hitchcock reissues from Universal (esp. Vertigo, Psycho) ? (1 Viewer)

[Deepak Shenoy]

Any chance Universal might revisit any of their Hitchcock titles ? These days when obscure titles from no-name companies get brand spanking new anamorphic transfers, it really sucks to not have the same for Vertigo and Psycho (IMHO two of the greatest movies ever made, which also represent the best work of one of the greatest directors of all time).
To their credit, Universal went out of the way to give us loaded special editions with tons of extras for both these titles. Now, they probably don't see any significant features they could add that could become a selling point for new editions.
Here are some things Universal could add to create 2-disc ultimate editions :
Brand new 16x9 transfers.
DTS track for Vertigo.
Bernard Herrmann's haunting scores on isolated audio tracks.
Hitchcock documentaries. (I have seen a number of excellent documentaries on AMC and TCM that give an overview of Hitchcock's life and work. Some include clips from interviews with the master himself. I wonder if Universal could get rights to some of these documentaries. They would make an interesting Criterion-style supplement).
Any other suggestions (of course all this is just wishful thinking at this point) ?

 

[Enrique B Chamorro]

A DTS track for Vertigo is on laser disc and an isolated

Herrmann track is on the Psycho Signature Collection

laser disc set. I think many of the isolated music tracks

from laser discs are not on DVDs because of the cost for

the music rights required. A shame, but then the studios

can push the score on CD. The old TRON laser disc box set

has an isolated score, but the new 2 disc DVD just tells

you to go buy the score on the new CD issue.

Also, isolated music tracks don't seem to be big with the

Joe 6 pack.

 

[Geo Gabor]

I know I'll probably get yelled at for this, but I really wish The Birds had a 5.1 - or at least a surround - soundtrack. I know that the original audio was mono (and I'm not against having that on the DVD), but when I watch the scenes with the birds in the room, for example, I feel like I'm looking into the room from a window. It would be much more effective if I had those birds flying all around me using the rear speakers.

Just my 2 cents, with change probably coming back.

Geo

 

[Richard Michael Clark]

In the UK, (Region 2) we have anamorphic versions of both "Psycho" and "Vertigo". The latter is identical in content to the R1 version and the former only has the Hitch-hosted trailer by way of extras.

So, like that other thread (about "midnight cowboy" - which is also anamorphic in the UK) there is hope that you might see re-issues in R1 at some point.

 

[Andrew_Sch]

Damn, my dad just bought Vertigo. I guess I can look forward to grey on the sides and black on top if and when we get our widescreen TV He needs to check those specs a little more closely before pulling the trigger, so to speak.

 

[Jon_W]

I won't worry to much about Vertigo. It is probably the best non anamorphic transfer out there

 

[Greg_Y]

Damn, my dad just bought Vertigo. I guess I can look forward to grey on the sides and black on top if and when we get our widescreen TV

Don't most 16:9 TVs have a zoom feature? My Toshiba has 3 "Zoom" modes (TheaterWide modes) that allow me to view non-anamorphic material and "fill the screen." Just because it's non-anamorphic doesn't mean you have to watch it in 4:3 mode.

 

[Larry Sutliff]

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Don't most 16:9 TVs have a zoom feature? My Toshiba has 3 "Zoom" modes (TheaterWide modes) that allow me to view non-anamorphic material and "fill the screen." Just because it's non-anamorphic doesn't mean you have to watch it in 4:3 mode.

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I have a widescreen set and I use the "Zoom" mode for VERTIGO. The transfer is so good that it's one of the few non anamorphic DVD's that looks almost as good as an anamorphic transfer. But I'd still buy a re-issue if Universal offered an anamorphic edition.

 

[Patrick McCart]

I won't worry to much about Vertigo. It is probably the best non anamorphic transfer out there

Even the letterboxed TV transfer looks fantastic (and this is low-res MPEG-I satellite...)