USHE Press Release: ALFRED HITCHCOCK: THE MASTERPIECE COLLECTION (1 Viewer)

[Ronald Epstein]

FOURTEEN UNFORGETTABLE MASTERWORKS BY THE VIRTUOSO OF CINEMATIC SUSPENSE

ALFRED HITCHCOCK: THE MASTERPIECE COLLECTION

The Definitive 15-DVD Boxed Set Packed with Exclusive Bonus Features - Coming October 4, 2005 From Universal Studios Home Entertainment

Universal City, California, September 14, 2005 - Universal Studios Home Entertainment presents the definitive collection of classic films directed by the master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection, available on DVD on October 4, 2005. Fourteen brilliantly directed stories of crime and intrigue starring a Who's Who of Hollywood have been digitally re-mastered for this comprehensive 15-disc boxed set. An array of never-before-seen footage offers film lovers an exclusive glimpse behind the scenes of some of Hitchcock's most elegantly suspenseful films, starring James Stewart, Paul Newman, Sean Connery, Anthony Perkins, Doris Day, Grace Kelly and an abundance of other screen legends. The arrival of this must-own collection is perfectly timed to the highly anticipated October 4, 2005 release of Alfred Hitchcock Presents Season One, which features all 39 television episodes of the Emmy( Award-winning murder mystery series.

An extraordinary tribute to the achievements of one of Hollywood's most enduring talents, the Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection includes an original 36-page collectible book and an exclusive bonus disc showcasing materials never-before-available on DVD. Original production notes, photos, drawings, trailers, specially produced documentaries, alternate endings, additional scenes and a peek at some of the legendary storyboards on which Hitchcock meticulously plotted each shot of his films round out this distinguished collection. The set is priced at $119.98 SRP. Preorder close is September 30, 2005.

Turner Classic Movies Cross Promotion
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) will honor one of the most iconic film directors of all time when it pays tribute to the legendary master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock, this October. Twenty-five years after Hitchcock's passing, TCM's celebration includes an on-air, 39-film festival Oct. 24-30, original interstitial programming featuring Patricia Hitchcock and Tippi Hedren along with authors and Hitchcock fans Jeff Kraft and Aaron Leventhal throughout the month, and a unique sweepstakes: Footsteps in the Fog: Alfred Hitchcock's San Francisco. Details will be available at TCM's website www.turnerclassicmovies.com.


A HOLLYWOOD MASTER
An acknowledged genius of the golden age of Hollywood, Hitchcock spiked his tales of murder and intrigue with repeated blasts of mistaken identity, espionage and a bevy of ice-cold blonde goddesses. One of the best known and most influential directors in the history of film, he was nominated for six Academy Awards( for Best Director and received the prestigious Irving B. Thalberg Memorial Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in honor of a body of work that has continued to influence directors for generations.

THE LEGENDARY GENIUS' BEST FILMS
TOGETHER FOR THE FIRST TIME

Disc 1: Saboteur
After Barry Kane (Robert Cummings) is falsely blamed for sabotaging an aircraft plant, he encounters a national network of unlikely spies as he flees cross-country to clear his name, ending in a final dramatic confrontation atop the Statue of Liberty. Disc also features: Saboteur: A Closer Look.

Disc 2: Shadow of a Doubt
Charlie Newton (Teresa Wright) refuses to believe that her namesake Uncle Charlie (Joseph Cotten) is the "Merry Widow Murderer," a vicious serial killer pursued by two persistent detectives. Special features include: Beyond Doubt: Hitchcock's Favorite Film.

Disc 3: Rope
Two intellectually gifted but morally bankrupt young men strangle an acquaintance for a thrill and hide his body in their living room during a dinner party. James Stewart stars as the teacher who suspects their secret. Special features include: Rope Unleashed.

Disc 4: Rear Window
This film brings together two of Hitchcock's favorite performers in a twisted tale of voyeurism and murder. James Stewart stars as a wheelchair-bound photographer trying to convince glamorous girlfriend Grace Kelly that he saw a murder through his apartment window. Special features include Rear Window Ethics: An Original Documentary and A Conversation with Screenwriter John Michael Hayes.

Disc 5: The Trouble with Harry
In Hitchcock's first comedy, everyone in a small, quiet New England town believes they have something to do with Harry's mysterious death. Disc also features: The Trouble with Harry Isn't Over.

Disc 6: The Man Who Knew Too Much
The McKennas (James Stewart and Doris Day) are vacationing in Morocco with their young son when they stumble across a plot to assassinate a foreign dignitary. The killers kidnap their son to ensure the McKennas' silence. Bonus features include The Making of the Man Who Knew Too Much.

Disc 7:Vertigo
A San Francisco cop (James Stewart) who retires after developing a fear of heights becomes obsessed with a mysterious woman (Kim Novak) who draws him into a bizarre conspiracy. Special features include Obsessed with Vertigo: New Life for Hitchcock's Masterpieces, The Vertigo Archives, plus an alternate ending.

Disc 8: Psycho
In Hitchcock's most popular film, a woman trying to track down her missing sister stops at a motel run by seemingly mild-mannered Norman Bates and his domineering mother. Special features include The Psycho Archive, Newsreel Footage of the Release of Psycho and storyboards for the infamous Shower Scene.

Disc 9: The Birds
Hitchcock's knack for transforming normal into terrifying starts when Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren) is attacked by a seagull. Special features include Hedren's screen test, the film's original ending and newsreel clip, "The Birds is Coming!"

Disc 10: Marnie
Tippi Hedren is Marnie, one of Hitchcock's trademark blonde princesses with a dark secret. She's a career thief, an amoral temptress who may just have been found out and will do what she needs to protect herself. Special features include The Trouble with Marnie and The Marnie Archives.

Disc 11: Torn Curtain
At the height of the Cold War, U.S. rocket scientist Michael Armstrong (Paul Newman) apparently tries to defect to the other side. His fiancée (Julie Andrews) follows him to East Germany to save him. Special features include Torn Curtain Rising and scenes scored by Bernard Herrmann

Disc 12: Topaz
When a high-ranking Russian defector claims that a French spy ring codenamed "Topaz" has been passing NATO secrets on to the Russians, American agent Michael Nordstrom must expose the spies. Special features include Topaz: An Appreciation by Film Historian and Critic Leonard Maltin, alternate endings and more.

Disc 13: Frenzy
A sadistic sex killer known as the "Neck Tie Murderer" is terrorizing London and the police have their eye on Richard Blaney, forcing him to go on the run in order to prove his innocence. Special features include The Story of Frenzy.

Disc 14: Family Plot
In Hitchcock's last film, a phony psychic and her hapless boyfriend (Barbara Harris and Bruce Dern) meet up with a couple of vicious kidnappers as they search for a wealthy woman's long lost nephew. Special features include Plotting Family Plot and Storyboards: The Chase Scene.

Disc 15: Bonus Disc
The final disc in this exceptional boxed set includes The American Film Institute's Salute to Alfred Hitchcock, a touching tribute to Hitchcock's lifetime of extraordinary work, and Masters of Cinema, an in-depth interview with the influential director, as well as special looks back at two of his most esteemed films in The Making of Psycho and All About the Birds.

For more information please visit: www.hitchcock-collection.com

TECHNICAL INFORMATION
DVD
Street Date: October 4, 2005
Pre-Order Close: September 30, 2005
Copyright: 2005 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.
Price: $119.98 SRP
Selection Number: 28346
Running Time: 27 hours, 10 minutes (not including bonus features)
Layers: Dual (Single Sided)
Aspect Ratio: Anamorphic Widescreen (1:66:1/1:85:1), Full Screen (1:33:1)
Ratings: Not Rated, PG, PG-13 and R
Technical Info: English, French and Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono,

 

[PaulaJ]

These are going to be available individually, right...?

I want Vertigo and Psycho because of the new anamorphic transfers.

Or have all the movies been remastered since they first appeared on DVD?

 

[Bill Huelbig]

Has anyone been able to confirm whether or not the original mono soundtrack has been added to "Vertigo"? Thanks.

 

[Gordon McMurphy]

There seems to be no confirmation, yet. I would wait until competent reviews are in before you order this set if you want the mono on Vertigo, as I am. No mono, no sale. The listing in the press releases/Univeral website of "a" mono track on Vertigo could simply refer to the commentary track, which I have confirmed as being 2.0 mono and NOT stereo.

I'd buy the others if released seperately. The new Psycho is being released in the UK seperately, so I'd get that if the boxed set didn't include Vertigo with it's mono track restored.

 

[Jing_B]

They should be available individually.

 

[Blu]

Where is Lifeboat?

 

[Patrick McCart]

Fox owns Lifeboat and it's their only Hitchcock film. The DVD is coming out around the same time.

 

[Jing_B]

The only titles i want from this set is Psycho, Vertigo, Shadow of a Doubt and The Birds. I already have the already-released anamorphic Rear Window.

 

[Jonathan_]

DVD Empire doesn't show these title being available individually. It only shows the boxset.

 

[Alan_H]

Here

 

[James Luckard]

Does anybody know yet about the packaging? I'm really hoping they are in individual slim keepcases inside the big box. I keep my Hitchcock films in chronological order. If the Uni set is one giant accordion, I couldn't do that, and that might honestly impact my buying it, since the next generation of home video seems to loom.

 

[David D H]

Did Robert A. Harris have anything (such as supervision work) to do with the new Universal transfers? Especially Vertigo and Rear Window.

 

[Mark VH]

I am SO on the fence about this one. I've already got about two thirds of the set from previous releases, and there are roughly three remaining titles (Marnie, Saboteur and Frenzy) that I may have bought individually somewhere down the road (I hadn't planned on getting Topaz, Torn Curtain or Family Plot).

The completist in me says go for it, 'cause at the very least, I'm getting six new Hitchcock titles that I don't already own, three of which I really want and three of which are, at best, a curiosity (and at $15 each individually, that adds up to $90 - Amazon is listing the set for $83.99). I'm also getting new transfers of the films I already own and a slicker, more space-saving package.

At the same time, there are a ton of other DVDs and sets coming out that I'm dying to have (still haven't bought Garbo, and I was hoping to scoop up the long-coveted Art of Buster Keaton box for my birthday, October 11).

But screw it. I'm due for a re-watching of all the films in the set that I already own, and this is as good an excuse as any. It's a tough call, but I think I'll probably go for it.

 

[Eric Peterson]

I already own the original boxes that I paid approximately $250 for, so I really only have a need for the new transfers on Psycho & Vertigo (Assuming that they are new transfers! - This press release is somewhat vague if you ask me)

It is a good deal price wise, but I can't commit to this until I see a professional revue of the transfers and a confirmation that all existing bonus materials have been ported over. Universal just doesn't have the track record to allow me to pre-order.

 

[Craig Beam]

I'm all over it. It's Hitchcock, for God's sake.

 

[Dale MA]

Yeah, I've got mine on preorder. I've already handed all my old Universal Hitchcock discs to my sister. My only worry now is that the set gets to the UK in one piece...

 

[Jeff Swindoll]

Since I've been following the threads on the problems people are having with the Bela Lugosi and Hammer Collections, I'm glad that they didnt cram all of the Hitchcock movies onto 3-4 double sided DVDs. Thanks for the heads up Ron. I only have 4 of the titles, so I'll probably get this set. Especially since it's confirmed that they're not going the Bela/Hammer cramming route . Now I'm only on the fence about American Gothic, Kolchak, and the 2nd Season of Munsters. Will have to see how the threads and reviews talk about the quality of those sets.

 

[Rob Gardiner]

The press release demonstrates how out of touch Universal is with its customer base.

The press release does not mention new transfers on any of the films, or the inclusion of the mono soundtrack on Vertigo. This means one of two things:

(1) New transfers and mono Vertigo are not included in the box set,

OR

(2) New transfers and mono Vertigo ARE included in the box, but aren't mentioned

Universal should realize that these are SELLING POINTS. As everyone else in the thread has indicated, we base our buying decisions on details such as these. The average consumer owns about 20 DVDs -- I would not be surprised to learn that the average HTF member owns ten times that number. That means that each one of us represents the buying power of ten mere mortals. And this is a box set that obviously caters to the film buff / HT enthusiast, rather than the civilian population.

I eagerly await full specs on this release, as I too will base my buying decision on the details that Universal does not see fit to mention.

 

[Ruz-El]

I have this on pre-order as well. I have 4 of the 14 titles, but I'm sure my friends well take those off my hands. It's too good a set to pass up.

 

[TravisR]

Apparently not. http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...03#post2799003