CHICAGO – Seeing Kim Novak’s first appearance in “Vertigo,” that stunning shot of a green dress in a sea of black suits at Ernie’s, is something that every movie fan should experience in HD. And now they can on one of the fifteen discs included in the glorious “Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection,” the Blu-ray release of 2012.
Rating: 5.0/5.0 |
Spanning four decades of the career of arguably the best filmmaker of all time, this is a glorious Blu-ray release, the kind of set that serves as a centerpiece for a true movie fan’s entire collection. You may have heard that early editions of this set included a few notable problems (bad color mixes on some films and font issues on others) but those have been corrected and to this Hitchcock fan’s eyes, the films have never looked better.
“Saboteur” (1942)
Arguably the least-known film in the set (in close competition to the final few films of Hitch’s career), “Saboteur” suffers historically from a relative lack of star power (part of the resonance of some of Hitchcock’s biggest hits comes from who he cast in them) but it does feature a surprising scope that history has somewhat forgotten. Originally pitched to David O. Selznick with Gary Cooper & Barbara Stanwyck in the lead roles, one wonders what “Saboteur” might have been with the budget for which it was originally conceived. Still, what resulted features Hitchcock’s brilliant sense of pacing. “Saboteur” may be ridiculous but it is so in such a well-paced way that one doesn’t mind while they’re watching it. It is the kind of international escapism that modern Hollywood filmmakers would be wise to imitate seventy years after its release.
Special Features:
o Saboteur: A Closer Look
o Storyboards: The Statue of Liberty Sequence
o Alfred Hitchcock’s Sketches
o Production Photographs
o Theatrical Trailer
“Shadow of a Doubt” (1943)
I started my journey through this collection with the film that I hadn’t seen in the longest time, “Shadow of the Doubt,” and my response throughout was how much I had undervalued the film in memory. This is a GREAT movie, reportedly Hitchcock’s favorite from his entire career, and it’s not often mentioned enough in conversations regarding the filmmaker’s best movies. This is a master class in tension as Joseph Cotten rocks as Uncle Charlie, the figure that Teresa Wright’s naive niece thinks will break her out of her small-town rut but ends up introducing her to pure evil. The transfer on this one is particularly stellar with just the right color mix to amplify Hitch’s use of shadow and light.
Special Features:
o Beyond Doubt: The Making of Hitchcock’s Favorite Film
o Production Drawings by Art Director Robert Boyle
o Production Photographs
o Theatrical Trailer
“Rope” (1948)
Often seen as a product of its gimmick — the film, which reimagines a murder at the hands of Leopold and Loeb, is presented in one unbroken take — “Rope” was largely dismissed not only on its initial release but for decades after that. And yet the film has built up a pretty loyal following. Recent articles about most-underrated Hitchcock films always bring it up and I’ve noticed it has a huge following in non-critics circles. Ask your grandma her favorite Hitch, she might say “Rope.”
Special Features:
o Rope Unleashed
o Production Photographs
o Theatrical Trailer
“Rear Window” (1954)
And here’s where the real meat of the “Masterpiece Collection” starts, with one of Hitch’s most beloved films, a gem of timing, tension, and setting. Not just one of Hitchcock’s most well-liked films but one of the most referenced movies in film history, “Rear Window” has held up well enough that it could be released as-is and still be a box office hit (just ask the producers of “Disturbia.”) Constantly playing in art houses around the country, it’s stunning to watch “Rear Window” and think that it’s over a half-century old. The Blu-ray features one of the best remastered transfers in the set and has held up as well as any movie from the ’50s. It also includes some of the most interesting special features in the collection. “Vertigo” will always be my favorite but if there’s a second place prize in this collection in terms of film, transfer, and features, it probably goes to “Rear Window.”
Special Features:
o Rear Window Ethics: An Original Documentary
o A Conversation with Screenwriter John Michael Hayes
o Pure Cinema: Through the Eyes of the Master
o Breaking Barriers: The Sound of Hitchcock
o Hitchcock/Truffaut Interview Excerpts
o Masters of Cinema
o Feature Commentary with John Fawell
o Production Photographs
o Theatrical Trailer
o Re-Release Trailer Narrated by James Stewart
“The Trouble with Harry” (1955)
Most often skipped in the memory banks when one considers the masterpiece period of Hitchcock in the ’50s and ’60s, this unique flick exemplifies Hitchcock’s dark sense of humor. To be fair, I’d rather have “Notorious,” “Spellbound,” or about a dozen other films missing from this set in its place but “Harry” makes for an interesting diversion among the more intense films in the master’s collection.
Special Features:
o The Trouble With Harry Isn’t Over
o Production Photographs
o Theatrical Trailer
“The Man Who Knew Too Much” (1956)
True Hitchcock historians will get into heated debates about which version of “The Man Who Knew Too Much” is superior (and the 1934 version is soon to be released in a Criterion Blu-ray and DVD which we will likely review here) but I’ve always preferred the Stewart/Day version, a fascinating product of its time. With this version, Hitch wonderfully holds up a funhouse mirror to the family bliss so often presented in ’50s cinema, turning the modern family upside down across one of his more bizarre adventures. The twisted sensibility that would inform his next few films is really starting to come through here in a movie that could have been a relatively straightforward thriller but is anything but, especially in HD.
Special Features:
o The Making of The Man Who Knew Too Much
o Production Photographs
o Theatrical Trailer
“Vertigo” (1958)
The best movie ever made. I’ve been saying it for years and the recent Sight & Sound poll agreed, picking the film as the best in movie history. I watch “Vertigo” once every year or two and I get more out of it every time. And as cliched as this sounds, I never got quite as much out of it as I did the first time I got to see it in HD in this set. It’s a fascinating film thematically but HD really brings out the visual experience of “Vertigo,” particularly Hitch’s use of color — that green dress, blonde hair, blue water — and shadow. I adore “Vertigo” and its HD upgrade alone makes this one of the best Blu-ray sets of the year. The special features are also some of the best of the set. Check out the foreign censorship ending that determined that the original conclusion was too dark and tacked on a ridiculous coda.
Special Features:
o Obsessed with Vertigo: New Life For Hitchcock’s Masterpiece
o Partners in Crime: Hitchcock’s Collaborators
o Hitchcock/Truffaut Interview Excerpts
o Foreign Censorship Ending
o The Vertigo Archives
o Feature Commentary with Director William Friedkin
o 100 Years of Universal: The Lew Wasserman Era
o Theatrical Trailer
o Restoration Theatrical Trailer
“North by Northwest” (1959)
When someone says the name Alfred Hitchcock, people generally think of one of his most timeless set pieces — the shower in “Psycho” probably comes to mind more often than any other but the crop duster scene in “NxNW” is probably a close second. And Mt. Rushmore isn’t far behind. “North by Northwest” is one of only two releases in this set to already have a Blu-ray edition and it was a beautiful one but those of you who already own this great flick in HD can be happy to know that this is certainly not a downgrade from the stand-alone edition.
Special Features:
o Destination Hitchcock: The Making of North by Northwest
o North by Northwest: One For the Ages
o The Master’s Touch: Hitchcock’s Signature Style
o Cary Grant: A Class Apart
o Feature Commentary by Screenwriter Ernest Lehman
o Stills Gallery
o Trailer Gallery
“Psycho” (1960)
“We all go a little mad sometimes.” So many books have been written about “Psycho” that someone is probably reading one right now while you read this. It’s been dissected so many times that it has transcended mere celluloid. It is more than just a movie. It is a cultural milestone. The risks that Hitch took here would make most producers shut down a production fifty years later. Any conversation about the most influential films ever made that doesn’t include “Psycho” is incomplete. The stand-alone Blu-ray version of “Psycho” is one of the best of the last few years but, once again, you can feel confident in replacing it with this set.
Special Features:
o The Making of Psycho
o Psycho Sound
o In the Master’s Shadow: Hitchcock’s Legacy
o Hitchcock/Truffaut Interview Excerpts
o Newsreel Footage: The Release of Psycho
o The Shower Scene: With and Without Music
o The Shower Scene: Storyboard by Saul Bass
o The Psycho Archives
o Feature Commentary with Stephen Rebello
o Lobby Cards
o Behind the Scenes Photographs
o Production Photographs
o Theatrical Trailer
o Re-release Trailer
“The Birds” (1963)
If you’ve seen HBO’s “The Girl,” you know that this is about the point where Hitchcock’s career started to devolve to the point where his bizarre psychosexual behavior began to have its prints on the films themselves. It’s impossible to watch “The Birds” and not think about the way Alfred reportedly abused Tippi Hedren. Part of the reason is that some would argue that “The Birds” was the beginning of the end of Hitchcock’s master period as none of the final five films in this set (the final five in his career) have nearly the current reputation as movies like “Psycho” or “Rear Window.” Consequently, I’ve always looked at “The Birds” as the turning point in Hitch’s career, which makes it too easy to dismiss the fact that it’s just a solid little thriller. It’s not one of his best but it’s far from his worst. And the Blu-ray is one of the best of the collection with a pristine transfer and fascinating special features. It’s the disc in this set that you may spend the most time with in the end, even if it’s not the best movie.
Special Features:
o Deleted Scene
o The Original Ending
o The Birds: Hitchcock’s Monster Movie
o All About The Birds
o Storyboard Sequence
o Tippi Hedren’s Screen Test
o Hitchcock/Truffaut Interview Excerpts
o Universal International Newsreels: The Birds is Coming
o Universal International Newsreels: Suspense Story: National Press Covers Hitchcock
o Production Photographs
o 100 Years of Universal: Restoring the Classics
o 100 Years of Universal: The Lot
o Theatrical Trailer
“Marnie” (1964)
The final five discs/movies in this set comprise the controversial “what was Hitchcock’s last great movie” debate. Most people, for years, have gone with “Marnie,” although some would argue that even this doesn’t qualify (making it “The Birds,” I suppose) while others favor “Frenzy” or even “Torn Curtain.” (No one likes “Family Plot” for good reason). All five of these movies have worthwhile qualities and look particularly good in HD (it’s easier to remaster ’60s and ’70s movies for Blu-ray than ’40s and ’50s). It’s also nice that Universal didn’t skimp on special features too much, leaving none of the films bare-bones. Having said that, the meat of this collection was on the previous two pages of this review. Watch all of those, devour those special features, and then take a look at how Hitchcock’s career ended and decide for yourself his last great flick (for me, it’s “Marnie.”)
Special Features:
o The Trouble with Marnie
o The Marnie Archives
o Theatrical Trailer
“Torn Curtain” (1966)
Special Features:
o Torn Curtain Rising
o Scenes Scored by Bernard Herrmann
o Production Photographs
o Theatrical Trailer
“Topaz” (1969)
Special Features:
o Alternate Endings
o Topaz: An Appreciation by Film Historian and Critic Leonard Maltin
o Storyboard: The Mendozas
o Production Photographs
o Theatrical Trailer
“Frenzy” (1972)
Special Features:
o The Story of Frenzy
o Production Photographs
o Theatrical Trailer
“Family Plot” (1976)
Special Features:
o Plotting Family Plot
o Storyboard: The Chase Scene
o Production Photographs
o Theatrical Trailer
[18] | By BRIAN TALLERICO [19] |
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