USHE Announcement: Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection (Blu-ray) (1 Viewer)

[dpippel]

I think that's a little too generous.  Unlike some others here, I don't believe any human endeavor can yield perfection, but with a modicum of attention and common sense, something like this set could have been uniformly excellent.  And it should have been.

Agree. This is HITCHCOCK after all, one of the most important and influential directors in the history of cinema. Universal should view each and every one of the films being released in this set as jewels in their crown. Each one of them deserves the very best treatment as is technically and financially feasible. In a perfect world. Unfortunately the world is far from perfect and USHE has delivered less than stellar results on their BD releases many times in the past. Studio politics get in the way, bean counters get in the way, and sometimes incompetence gets in the way. However, it seems to me that Universal is THE most inconsistent major studio as far as the quality of its Blu-ray releases are concerned. It's always a crap shoot for the consumer.
For me, this set is a pretty big disappointment because it could have been so much better. Like some others I'll be waiting for this to significantly drop in price before I'll entertain a purchase. I may even wait to buy it used.

 

[Ruz-El]

Originally Posted by JohnMor /t/321703/ushe-announcement-alfred-hitchcock-the-masterpiece-collection-blu-ray/1350#post_3993131

I think that's a little too generous. Unlike some others here, I don't believe any human endeavor can yield perfection, but with a modicum of attention and common sense, something like this set could have been uniformly excellent. And it should have been.

I agree.

My greater concern is this. According to RAH and others in the industry, while these Blurays might not be able to be "perfect", they can be damned close and are consistently not. Typically due to budget etc. Which is understandable, it is a business, etc. What's going to happen with the next gen films? If the larger studios are satisfied with putting out "okay" product instead of the very best they can be, how are the next gen discs going to look on 4K equipment or whatever it is? These discs that look serviceable now are most likely going to look terrible when things like 4K displays become common place. So then we re-buy them again in serviceable editions that have no excuse not looking better other then budget?

It's my understanding that the last round of DVDs in the Masterpiece set looked about as good as the format allowed at the time. That's not happening with Bluray. And it should be.

 

[Scott Calvert]

I believe the term RAH used is "gently sharpened".
But fair point.
Steve W

If you can see edge enhancement, which you most certainly can in those 1080p Beaver caps (read: NOT zoomed), then there's nothing gentle about it, IMO.

 

[peerpee]

Perhaps you'd like to donate a couple million dollars to the Universal Video coffers to help pay for these titles to be "perfect". Of course don't expect to get your money back with profits.

It doesn't cost millions to not screw up and hit the mark that Universal wanted to hit with this set. It costs nothing to hold off on heavy DVNR on FRENZY (unless you've got an old DVNRed master and can't be bothered redoing it). It's cheaper to not redo the opening credits on FRENZY (especially if you're going to do it badly). It doesn't cost much to reach out and consult folk who could help on other things.
All the other problems with the set are to do with inconsistencies – old HD transfers made to different standards than what they'd be made today.

 

[FoxyMulder]

/t/321703/ushe-announcement-alfred-hitchcock-the-masterpiece-collection-blu-ray/1350#post_3993149
It doesn't cost millions to not screw up and hit the mark that Universal wanted to hit with this set. It costs nothing to hold off on heavy DVNR on FRENZY (unless you've got an old DVNRed master and can't be bothered redoing it). It's cheaper to not redo the opening credits on FRENZY (especially if you're going to do it badly). It doesn't cost much to reach out and consult folk who could help on other things.
All the other problems with the set are to do with inconsistencies – old HD transfers made to different standards than what they'd be made today.

 

[Reed Grele]

Bad news from Fingerhut:
"Thank you for your order. We regret to inform you that our manufacturer has experienced a delay with the following item(s) and shipment has been rescheduled to 11/19/2012. Hitchcock BluRay Collection. "

 

[David Weicker]

Here are Nick's first assessments:

SABOTEUR - BD50 - R0 - Checkdisc date 9th August 2012
Length 01:48:48 / AVC / DTS-HD MA 2 Ch. 48kHz / Confirmed AR 1.37:1 / 8/10
SHADOW OF A DOUBT - BD50 - R0 - Checkdisc date 7th August 2012
Length 01:47:49 / VC-1 / DTS-HD MA 2 Ch. 48kHz / Confirmed AR 1.37:1 / 7/10
ROPE - BD50 - R0 - Checkdisc date 30th July 2012
Length 01:20:41 / AVC / DTS-HD MA 2 Ch. 48kHz / Confirmed AR 1.37:1 / 7.5/10
REAR WINDOW - BD50 - R0 - Checkdisc date 27th July 2012
Length 01:52:25 / VC-1 / DTS-HD MA 2 Ch. 48kHz / Confirmed AR 1.66:1 / 8.5/10
THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY - BD50 - R0 - Checkdisc date 6th August 2012
Length 01:39:23 / AVC / DTS-HD MA 2 Ch. 48kHz / Confirmed AR 1.85:1 / 8/10
THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH - BD50 - R0 - Checkdisc date 6th August 2012
Length 02:00:18 / AVC / DTS-HD MA 2 Ch. 48kHz / Confirmed AR 1.85:1 / 6.5/10
VERTIGO - BD50 - R0 - Checkdisc date 13th August 2012
Length 02:08:27 / VC-1 / DTS-HD MA 5.1 Ch. 48kHz / Confirmed AR 1.85:1 / ?/10
THE BIRDS - BD50 - R0 - Checkdisc date 29th June 2012
Length 01:59:29 / AVC / DTS-HD MA 2 Ch. 48kHz / Confirmed AR 1.85:1 / 4.5/10
MARNIE - BD50 - R0 - Checkdisc date 6th August 2012
Length 02:10:23 / AVC / DTS-HD MA 2 Ch. 48kHz / Confirmed AR 1.85:1 / 3.5/10
TORN CURTAIN - BD50 - R0 - Checkdisc date 9th August 2012
Length 02:07:43 / AVC / DTS-HD MA 2 Ch. 48kHz / Confirmed AR 1.85:1 / 4.5/10
TOPAZ - BD50 - R0 - Checkdisc date 25th July 2012 - (labelled USHE) US BD?
Length 02:22:09 / VC-1 / DTS-HD MA 2 Ch. 48kHz / Confirmed AR 1.85:1
FRENZY - BD50 - R0 - Checkdisc date 30th July 2012
Length 01:55:52 / VC-1 / DTS-HD MA 2 Ch. 48kHz / Confirmed AR 1.85:1 / 3/10
FAMILY PLOT - BD50 - R0 - Checkdisc date 27th July 2012
Length 02:00:04 / VC-1 / DTS-HD MA 2 Ch. 48kHz / Confirmed AR 1.85:1
He said that FAMILY PLOT and FRENZY were disasters. That MARNIE, TORN CURTAIN and THE BIRDS were problematic and THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH was disappointing.
His highest marks went to SABOTEUR, ROPE, SHADOW OF A DOUBT, REAR WINDOW and THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY. RAH concurs on SABOTEUR but is underwhelmed by ROPE and REAR WINDOW.
I'm sure I will be reasonably happy with the set as all I require is that they be a step-up from the DVDs. But I don't think we should be slathering Uni with praise. Each of these films is important and each one should be treated with the same respect they gave to THE BIRDS. They could have released these individually and taken the time to get them right. Instead they chose to rush them out. And we have no knowledge that they've fixed anything except an issue which could have got them into hot legal waters.
Except for THE BIRDS and (possibly) VERTIGO, this release wasn't a labour of love. I'll show my appreciation by buying them. But have we really become so demoralised that we're actively praising a studio simply for releasing their films in satisfactory quality?

Here are RAH's assessments of the films:
Saboteur
4.5 / 5 Highly Recommended
Shadow Of A Doubt
4.5 / 5 Highly Recommended
Rope
3 / 4.5
Rear Window
3 / 4.5
The Man Who Knew Too Much
2 / 4.5 Recall
The Trouble With Harry
4 / 4.5 Recommended
Vertigo
4 / 4.5 Recommended
The Birds
4.25 / 5 Highly Recommended
Marnie
3 / 5
Torn Curtain
4.5 / 5 Recommended
Topaz
4 / 5 Recommended
Frenzy
3.5 / 4 Recommended
Family Plot
0 / 5 Recall
SO, at the worst, you are getting 3 fantastic films, 5 great films and 3 no-opinion films. Only 2 are terrible. Eleven out of thirteen are worth purchasing.
David

 

[Anthony Neilson]

"Now" is the key word here. When I was giving kudos, RAH hadn't posted on the other titles and now that he has, the set does appear to be worse than what I expected based on his posts last night. I deeply apologize for apparently offending you and anyone else with my premature and ultimately incorrect congratulations to Universal.

You didn't offend me at all. I just didn't understand why you were praising them for fixing stuff when there was no evidence that they had.

 

[TravisR]

I just didn't understand why you were praising them for fixing stuff when there was no evidence that they had.

I can't believe I'm stupid enough to keep explaining who I give credit to or why but over in his Vertigo thread, RAH said

My opinion, for what it's worth, is that Universal tried very hard to make this right. They agreed to take suggestions until after the end, and I have nothing but respect for the final result.

I think it's very fair to take the part that I highlighted in bold to mean that there were changes made after the reviews of the check discs started to circulate. Based on that, I had hoped that some or maybe even most of the other problems that had been reported were also going to be corrected. Now that there's some more reviews out, that doesn't seem to be the case. Clearly, I jumped the gun and prematurely gave credit to Universal but I did that because I couldn't think of an instance where a studio delayed a product at the 11th hour to make corrections (though I'd guess that it's happened before). And I still think that IF Universal had made most or all corrections possible, they would have deserved some credit for taking a very rare or even unprecedented action like delaying a release at the very last moment rather than simply waiting for the next time around or starting an exchange program.

 

[classicscaper]

Here are RAH's assessments of the films:
Saboteur
4.5 / 5 Highly Recommended
Shadow Of A Doubt
4.5 / 5 Highly Recommended
Rope
3 / 4.5
Rear Window
3 / 4.5
The Man Who Knew Too Much
2 / 4.5 Recall
The Trouble With Harry
4 / 4.5 Recommended
Vertigo
4 / 4.5 Recommended
The Birds
4.25 / 5 Highly Recommended
Marnie
3 / 5
Torn Curtain
4.5 / 5 Recommended
Topaz
4 / 5 Recommended
Frenzy
3.5 / 4 Recommended
Family Plot
0 / 5 Recall
SO, at the worst, you are getting 3 fantastic films, 5 great films and 3 no-opinion films. Only 2 are terrible. Eleven out of thirteen are worth purchasing.
David

Agreed, and keep in mind that both Nick and Gary seemed more lenient with "The Man Who Knew Too Much" (6.5/10 for Nick and a favorable review from Gary). To me, this seems to indicate that those less intimately familiar with the filmic materials of the movie will not necessarily see it as completely "terrible."

 

[Moe Dickstein]

The one I was honestly going to watch first was Family Plot.
How disappointing.

 

[JohnMor]

This is especially disappointing after seeing the excellent work that UNI put into the Essential Monsters Collection boxset. This is their other set of crown jewels and deserved the same care and attention.

 

[rsmithjr]

My guess:
1. If Sony had done this set, it would be beautiful, and there would have been no concerns about the cost.
2. If Criterion had done this set, it would also be quite superb, and the cost would have been less than what Universal spent.
I have to see this as a Universal problem not a financial or technical problem.

 

[rsmithjr]

14 titles was always going to be a mixed bag right? The set is probably the best we could of hoped for, but still less then it could of been. :S

One strategy would be to put some effort into the eagerly anticipated titles but to use whatever they have lying around for the other titles. Given the unavailability of the titles in singles, this might be the game-theoretic way to make the most money: almost as many sales, smaller production costs.
Do I imagine that Universal might have made this sort of calculation???

 

[JohnS]

Universal doesn't need my money.
This set is inexcusable.

 

[Scott Calvert]

My guess:
2. If Criterion had done this set, it would also be quite superb, and the cost would have been less than what Universal spent.

Why would you guess that? Criterion is certainly not above taking whatever they are given and throwing it on a BD.

 

[Moe Dickstein]

Why would you guess that? Criterion is certainly not above taking whatever they are given and throwing it on a BD.

I.e. Children of Paradise

 

[Persianimmortal]

Now read RAH's responses to the rest of the set and tell me how grateful you feel.

I still feel grateful that Universal actually delayed the set to at least fix some issues. They could have released the set in the state it was in a month ago, and we'd now have even more issues to contend with, on key titles like Vertigo (as confirmed by Robert Harris in a post on the previous page). So they deserve some credit for that.
And before we go all Chicken Little on this set, as has been mentioned several times, Robert Harris is looking at these discs with an expert's eye, with much higher standards and expectations than some of us. Yes, it's disappointing that they're not all rated 5/5. However, aside from perhaps The Man Who Knew Too Much and Family Plot, the rest appear to range from fine to excellent for most viewers.
I'm also not sure why people keep ignoring the price point for this set. Putting aside the bizarre US pricing, in other markets it's extremely low for 13 movies - around $120 for the UK set, and as I've discovered recently, it's now $99 for the Australian set. That is NOT a premium price. Sure, I'd have been happier if we had the option to pay more and get a better set, but it's clearly never been marketed as a no-compromise no-expenses-spared set.
Personally, I've decided to buy the set. I can fully understand those who will not on principle. As more reviews come to light, each person can decide whether he or she wants to accept the compromises built into this set.

 

[TravisR]

Personally, I've decided to buy the set. I can fully understand those who will not on principle. As more reviews come to light, each person can decide whether he or she wants to accept the compromises built into this set.

I guess it's obvious but what makes it a tougher choice for me is that some of the titles sound like they're excellent and some sound like they're pretty terrible. If everything was bad, it would be easy to not buy it. Or if they were available singly, I could speak with my wallet and purchase the ones that were done right & not purchase the the ones that they dropped the ball on. I understand why they went with a $200-ish box set rather than letting me build a set over time but with the set, you have to take the good with the bad or not get anything.

 

I'm definitely getting this and will be enjoying it. If I wait for perfection, I will be waiting a long time.