The Ultimate Hitchcock DVD & Blu-Ray Thread

[Guest 53019]

Right after I posted I went to amazon.uk and found it and ordered it.

[Guest 65490]

Originally Posted by tips4tnt

I managed to compare the first 50 minutes of the original part 1 with the 2009 version. SV is correct -- the 2009 version adds footage of various actresses doing test shots for the role of the 2nd Mrs de Winter and includes extra interview footage with Marcella Rabwin (Selznick's secretary).

The other major change is in the section regarding "Rope". The original broadcast used footage from the film, whereas the 2009 version uses still photographs.

The other segments that have been removed from the 2009 version seem to have been done purely to bring the running time down to 50 minutes rather than for film footage rights (as footage from those films appears elsewhere in the 2009 version).

1) ~100 seconds removed: John Russell Taylor, Alexander Walker and Hume Cronyn talking about Hitchcock's childhood and his mother Emma (inc. footage from Notorious)

2) ~50 seconds removed: Alexander Walker talking about the "police cell" story (inc. footage from Blackmail)

3) ~35 seconds removed: Drew Casper talking about Russian montage theory (inc. footage from Sabotage)

4) ~200 seconds removed: Linden Travers, Roy Ward Baker, Ronald Neame and Hugh Stewart talking about Hitchcock's directing style

5) the stock footage of Hollywood is different

6) section about Rebecca (with John Russell Taylor, Drew Casper and David Thompson) replaced with Marcella Rabwin and Rebecca test footage

7) Rope section reedited to use still photographs instead of film footage

So quite a bit of alterations made to the broadcast.

Thanks tips4tnt for comparing and posting your finds.

[Guest 68151]

Alfred Hitchcock Presents is scheduled for release in Poland on April 14, 2009. In contrast to the UK and US release, the series will not be sold in season sets, but rather as individual discs available for purchase at newsstands every other week, with 64 issues in total. It appears that the episoded are not going to be released in the original airdate order (reportedly, the first issue will feature episodes from seasons 1, 6 and 7), however I believe this will be the first complete release of the show... Or at least the first one to be announced, since this particular collection will end sometime in 2011.

As for now, the only bit of official information available online is this banner. You can see the Universal logo on the cover.

[Livius]

What I want to see is Universal announcing a release date for season 4.

[Guest 65490]

I was disappointed with the Psycho 2 Disc SE,disc 2 had 2 edited documentaries.

[Raigmore]

Originally Posted by Silent Voice

I was disappointed with the Psycho 2 Disc SE,disc 2 had 2 edited documentaries.

Also, the transfer is nothing to write home about. There are too many scenes with excessive grain.

[the_daddy]

Ok, having seen "The Birds" & "Psycho" have just watched "The Man Who Knew To Much" & "Dial M For Murder" really enjoyed both of these and would like to carry on the Hitchcock theme. Anybody give me some titles that are worth a watch?

Do his films get shown much on Sky/TCM ?

Cheers.

[Guest 27807]

You've just missed a season on Sky. Some were even in HD, if you have that. They may even still be showing, but broken up into individual films, as opposed to a season.

Two more for you to definitely catch are Strangers On A Train and Rear Window. Two of my personal favourites.

[the_daddy]

Typical, just had Sky movies switched back on now that the footy's over, will keep an eye out on the epg. Have been looking forward to Rear Window for a while now, might have to pick it up cheap somewhere. Cheers Chibouk.

[Richie]

Add Shadow of a Doubt to the list too (if you've not seen it), it's just awesome!

[JoelCairo]

Originally Posted by the_daddy

Ok, having seen "The Birds" & "Psycho" have just watched "The Man Who Knew To Much" & "Dial M For Murder" really enjoyed both of these and would like to carry on the Hitchcock theme. Anybody give me some titles that are worth a watch?

North By Northwest, sir. North By Northwest. Infallible entertainment. One of the great masterworks of cinema, closer to perfection than almost any other movie.

[the_daddy]

Rear Window, Frenzy and a few others are being shown on Sky Classics this week.

[Guest 16217]

North by Northwest - bluray - nov 16

North By Northwest [Blu-ray] [1959]

Can't wait!

[JoelCairo]

Originally Posted by am1001aa

North by Northwest - bluray - nov 16

North By Northwest [Blu-ray] [1959]

Can't wait!

I'm a slow and cautious purchaser of Blu-ray discs - currently I have a grand total of eight - but this one interests me greatly. If the transfer is appropriately superb, I'll buy it.

[Guest 47807]

Originally Posted by am1001aa

North by Northwest - bluray - nov 16

North By Northwest [Blu-ray] [1959]

Can't wait!

Amazon had it priced at £9.69 yesterday!

[new]

Bump

just noticed this:
Juno and the Paycock:

Star Review

Few know of the early work of Alfred Hitchcock when he was a gun for hire ready to take on all genres. Barney Kelley tells us about this 1930 collaboration with playwright Sean O'Casey.


Alfred Hitchcock was always a more versatile filmmaker than his popular reputation as the 'Master of Suspense' would suggest. Indeed, in his early career, he tackled everything from melodrama to musicals. Juno and the Paycock is a fine example of the movies he made before dedicating himself to ticking bombs and breathless intrigue.

Juno (Allgood) is the matriarch of an impoverished family, whose hard work subsidises the drinking of her feckless hubby, 'Captain' Boyle (Chapman). A refined British solicitor brings news that the 'Captain' has been bequeathed a substantial inheritance from a distant relative and their lives are transformed – but not in the way they hope.

Sean O'Casey's play is one of the greatest classics of the Irish stage, a scathing portrait of his native land, ruthlessly chastising not just the baleful legacy of the British but the failure of the Irish to live up to the ideals of their revolution.

Hitchcock, of course, was British but here he is respectful of O'Casey and his intentions; the cast is drawn from the actors who created these roles at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin (many of whom went on to Hollywood where they earned a profitable living as scene-stealing character actors). But Hitchcock is a little more forgiving than O'Casey and tempers his film with some well placed humour.

For Hitch fans, familiar with his later work, this might seem an uncharacteristic film. And yet it's possible to recognise his undoubted cinematic mastery throughout – in a striking crane shot or a dynamic composition. This wasn't the last time Hitchcock would apply himself to a play; the lessons he learned here would stand him in good stead for his adventures on Rope and Dial M For Murder.

Hitchcock got on well with O'Casey; they planned another film together. But Hitchcock's career took a different turn (their collaboration became O'Casey's play Within The Gates). In later years Hitch would disparage those films he made outside his favourite genre but Juno and the Paycock suggests he was wrong to do so; it shows he was a master of more than just suspense.

Film Description
Derived from Sean O'Casey’s acclaimed play, Alfred Hitchcock's adaptation of Juno and the Paycock is one of the Master’s most unjustly neglected films.

Down in the Dublin slums, Captain Boyle is a shiftless layabout, scrounging off his hard-working wife Juno. When he learns he has inherited a great deal of money, their lives change forever.

Starring members of the cast of the original Abbey Theatre production, this powerful drama shows there was more to Hitchcock than just suspense. His skill with actors and rare ability to bridge theatre and cinema make this one of the most satisfying adaptations of a great play.

A huge success on first release, Juno and the Paycock is ripe for rediscovery.

One to keep an eye on.

[Alan b]

Moving to DVD & Blu-Ray Forum

[Guest 2241]

Originally Posted by Douglas R

Amazon had it priced at £9.69 yesterday!

£9 now

[Guest 65490]

From this list below (taken from the OP ) Can anyone list the definitive releases so far that are available on DVD (ie OAR,extras etc etc ) and titles to avoid because they are in the wrong OAR and the prints prints used are not good ?

Here is the list.

Number 13 1922
Always Tell Your Wife 1923
Pleasure Garden, The 1925
Mountian Eagle, The 1926
Lodger, The 1926
Ring, The 1927
Downhill 1927
Easy Virtue 1927
Farmer’s Wife, The 1928
Champagne 1928
Blackmail 1929
Manxman, The 1929
Sound Test for Blackmail 1929
Murder! 1930
Mary 1930
Juno and the Paycock 1930
Elstree Calling 1930
Elastic Affair, An 1930
Skin Game, The 1931
Rich and Strange 1932
Number Seventeen 1932
Waltzes from Vienna 1933
Man Who Knew Too Much, The 1934
39 Steps, The 1935
Secret Agent 1936
Sabotage 1936
Young and Innocent 1937
Lady Vanishes, The 1938
Jamaica Inn 1939
Rebecca 1940
Foreign Correspondant 1940
Mr. and Mrs. Smith 1941
Suspicion 1941
Saboteur 1942
Shadow of a Doubt 1943
Lifeboat 1944
Bon Voyage 1944
Aventure Malgache 1944
Spellbound 1945
Notorious 1946
Paradine Case, The 1947
Rope 1948
Under Capricorn 1949
Stage Fright 1950
Strangers on a Train 1951
I Confess 1953
Dial M for Murder 1954
Rear Window 1954
To Catch a Thief 1955
Trouble with Harry, The 1955
Man Who Knew Too Much, The 1956
Wrong Man, The 1956
Suspicion (TV) 1957
Vertigo 1958
North By Northwest 1959
Pyscho 1960
Birds, The 1963
Marnie 1964
Torn Curtain 1966
Topaz 1969
Downhill 1972
Easy Virtue 1972
Frenzy 1972
Family Plot 1976

Thanks.

[Guest 52145]

One of my fave Hitchcocks is coming to Blu! Finally! From the Bits:

Paramount has announced another classic film Blu-ray for release on 3/6: Alfred Hitchcock's To Catch a Thief! Extras will include audio commentary by Hitchcock film historian Dr. Drew Casper, 8 featurettes (A Night with the Hitchcocks, Unacceptable Under the Code: Film Censorship in America, Writing and Casting To Catch a Thief, The Making of To Catch a Thief, Behind the Gates: Cary Grant and Grace Kelly, Alfred Hitchcock and To Catch a Thief: An Appreciation, Edith Head The Paramount Years and If You Love To Catch a Thief, You'll Love this Interactive Travelogue), galleries and the theatrical trailer.

With the MGM titles coming in January, Universal hopefully releasing some of his titles on Blu as part of their "100th Anniversary" celebration, and WB reportedly working on Dial M for Murder, 2012 could be a good year for Hitchcock fans.