Alfred Hitchcock on DVD

[wahlers]

I've been looking at Alfred Hitchcock films on DVD, and have noticed that Brentwood video is putting out a "10 Films on 5 Double-Sided DVDs" set for $20 in October. Now, they did a good job with their set of the 16 available public-domain Andy Griffith Show episodes on DVD (it's the best and most complete set available for that material). So, I'm thinking for $20, I can't do too bad.

Well, 18 of the 24 UK films that he did are available on DVD, but since most of them are public access, the quality really varies. But, I figure, along with the Brentwood version, I could purchase 5 of the Delta Entertainment versions, and have all 18 of the available films. (example can be found here: http://www.dvdempire.com/Exec/v4_ite...item_id=534944)

My question is if anybody out there has had any experience with these versions, where they could comment on the video/audio quality of them (keeping in mind that they are public access). If they are horrible, can anybody recommend better ones to get (aside from the 2 Criterions, which are obviously the best versions to get of those 2 films, of course)?

Or, if anybody has any websites they can recommend that are current and keep track of "Hitchcock on DVD". I've searched and most of them seem very very out-of-date.

Also, if anybody has any information on any of the other non-available releases. Especially the US films.


Currently Own
Is Available, but I do not own

BRITISH FILMS
Silent Films

1. The Pleasure Garden (German-language film)
2. The Mountain Eagle (German-language film)
3. The Lodger
4. The Ring
5. Downhill
6. Easy Virtue
7. The Farmer's Wife
8. Champagne

Talking Pictures
9. Blackmail
10. The Manxman
11. Murder!
12. Mary (according the imdb.com, this is basically a German-language remake of 'Murder!')
13. Juno and the Paycock
14. The Skin Game
15. Rich and Strange
16. Number Seventeen
17. Waltzes from Vienna
18. The Man Who Knew Too Much
19. The 39 Steps (available in the Criterion Collection)
20. Secret Agent
21. Sabotage
22. Young and Innocent
23. The Lady Vanishes (available in the Criterion Collection)
24. Jamaica Inn

AMERICAN FILMS
25. Rebecca
26. Foreign Correspondent
27. Mr. & Mrs. Smith
28. Suspicion
29. Saboteur
30. Shadow of a Doubt
31. Lifeboat
32. Bon Voyage
33. Aventure Malgache
34. Spellbound (available in the Criterion Collection)
35. Notorious
36. The Paradine Case (is OOP as far as I know)
37. Rope
38. Under Capricorn
39. Stage Fright
40. Strangers on a Train
41. I Confess
42. Dial 'M' for Murder
43. Rear Window
44. To Catch a Thief
45. The Trouble With Harry
46. The Man Who Knew Too Much
47. The Wrong Man
48. Vertigo
49. North by Northwest
50. Psycho
51. The Birds
52. Marnie
53. Torn Curtain
54. Topaz
55. Frenzy
56. Family Plot

P.S.
Dear Admins: I searched and searched and didn't find any threads that seem to cover "Hitchcock on DVD" extensively at all. So if I missed something, please point me in the right direction. Thanks.

[MurDiddlyUrdler]

I can't comment on the Delta Entertainment releases that you mentioned, but as another person trying to complete the Hitchcock collection, I'll try to add to the discussion. I have all of the Laserlight releases of the early Hitchcock films. Nothing great in quality on those releases, but they're all watchable and some of them actually look pretty good.

I'll try to comment on what's available for each of his films:

1. The Pleasure Garden (German-language film) - Who knows if we'll ever see a DVD release of this?
2. The Mountain Eagle (German-language film) - As far as I know, there is no existing print of this film. Likely that it will never be seen again.
3. The Lodger - Available on Laserlight DVD.
4. The Ring - Available on Laserlight DVD.
5. Downhill - Don't know if we'll ever see it on DVD.
6. Easy Virtue - Available on Laserlight DVD.
7. The Farmer's Wife - Available on Laserlight DVD.
8. Champagne - I believe this might be available on VHS.

Talking Pictures
9. Blackmail - Available on Laserlight DVD.
10. The Manxman - Available on Laserlight DVD.
11. Murder! - Available on Laserlight DVD.
12. Mary - I have no ideas on this.
13. Juno and the Paycock - I have this on a Whirlwind Media DVD. It's watchable.
14. The Skin Game - Available on Laserlight DVD.
15. Rich and Strange - Available on Laserlight DVD.
16. Number Seventeen - Available on Laserlight DVD.
17. Waltzes from Vienna - I've seen it on VHS.
18. The Man Who Knew Too Much - Available on Laserlight DVD.
19. The 39 Steps - Get the Criterion DVD. It's fantastic.
20. Secret Agent - Available on Laserlight DVD.
21. Sabotage - Available on Laserlight DVD.
22. Young and Innocent - Available on Laserlight DVD.
23. The Lady Vanishes - Not Criterion's best, but a nice DVD.
24. Jamaica Inn - Available on Laserlight DVD.

AMERICAN FILMS
25. Rebecca - One of Criterion's best DVDs.
26. Foreign Correspondent - Available on Warner Brothers laserdisc.
27. Mr. & Mrs. Smith - Available on Image Entertainment Laserdisc.
28. Suspicion - Available on Image Entertainment Laserdisc.
29. Saboteur - Part of Universal's fabulous Hitchcock DVD Collection.
30. Shadow of a Doubt - Part of Universal's fabulous Hitchcock DVD Collection.
31. Lifeboat - Available on CBS/Fox laserdisc as well as an Asian Region 0 DVD. I have both. The laserdisc is nicer.
32. Bon Voyage - Available on Image Entertainment DVD with Aventure Malgache. Not a bad DVD.
33. Aventure Malgache - Available on Image Entertainment DVD with Bon Voyage. Not a bad DVD.
34. Spellbound - Another one of Criterion's fantastic DVDs.
35. Notorious - Another one of Criterion's fantastic DVDs
36. The Paradine Case - Available on Anchor Bay DVD. May be out of print, but you can find it at Amazon.com for around $15.
37. Rope - Part of Universal's fabulous Hitchcock DVD Collection.
38. Under Capricorn - Available on a relatively new Image Entertainment DVD. Nice quality.
39. Stage Fright - Available on laserdisc.
40. Strangers on a Train - Available on Warner Brothers DVD. Nice DVD with two versions of the film.
41. I Confess - Available on Warner Brothers laserdisc as well as an Asian Region 0 DVD. I have both. The laserdisc is nicer.
42. Dial 'M' for Murder - Available on Asian Region 0 DVD. Pretty bad quality, but at least I have it.
43. Rear Window - Part of Universal's fabulous Hitchcock DVD Collection.
44. To Catch a Thief - A really nice Paramount DVD.
45. The Trouble With Harry - Part of Universal's fabulous Hitchcock DVD Collection.
46. The Man Who Knew Too Much - Part of Universal's fabulous Hitchcock DVD Collection.
47. The Wrong Man - Available on Warner Brothers laserdisc.
48. Vertigo - Part of Universal's fabulous Hitchcock DVD Collection.
49. North by Northwest - Absolutely fantastic Warner Brothers DVD. Also available in a nice Criterion laserdisc.
50. Psycho- Part of Universal's fabulous Hitchcock DVD Collection.
51. The Birds - Part of Universal's fabulous Hitchcock DVD Collection.
52. Marnie - Part of Universal's fabulous Hitchcock DVD Collection.
53. Torn Curtain - Part of Universal's fabulous Hitchcock DVD Collection.
54. Topaz - Part of Universal's fabulous Hitchcock DVD Collection.
55. Frenzy - Part of Universal's fabulous Hitchcock DVD Collection.
56. Family Plot - Part of Universal's fabulous Hitchcock DVD Collection.

I have all of the above listed films except The Pleasure Garden, The Mountain Eagle, Downhill, Mary, Waltzes From Vienna, and Stage Fright. Please feel free to ask me any questions about any of the releases I've mentioned. I'll try to answer if I can.

[wahlers]

I'm pretty sure the Delta versions are the same as the Laserlight ones. The company's the same.

So, you would say that if I can get all 18 of the available UK films for approximately $5 apiece, I won't be disappointed?

And, as far as the quality. Are any of them as bad as the Goodtimes 'Metropolis' DVD (or any of Goodtimes' DVDs)?

[MurDiddlyUrdler]

Originally Posted by wahlers

I'm pretty sure the Delta versions are the same as the Laserlight ones. The company's the same.

So, you would say that if I can get all 18 of the available UK films for approximately $5 apiece, I won't be disappointed?

And, as far as the quality. Are any of them as bad as the Goodtimes 'Metropolis' DVD (or any of Goodtimes' DVDs)?

You shouldn't be disappointed if you can get any Hitchcock film for $5. Just my opinion, but I think the quality on the Laserlight DVDs is pretty good for the price. Sure, there are some that are better than others, but I think in most cases that's a result of the source quality. They're all watchable. That's what really matters to me.

[wahlers]

That's cool.

I'm going to wait until the Brentwood 10-Movie pack comes out and start there.

It's going to have Juno and the Paycock in it, so maybe it would be a better copy than the only other one out there.

Plus 10 movies for $20 sounds like a no-miss opportunity to me...

[Soggy Bagel's Revenge!]

This new package sounds like a wonderful deal. Thanks for bringing it to attention, wahlers, and thanks for verifying that they are watchable, MurDiddlyUrdler!

I have a large amount of the british films on old VHS tapes, and they're pretty near unwatchable. "39 Steps" was a nightmare to see like that.

[frenchy]

... and don't forget, WB is supposed to have a big Hitchcock set rolling out next year. Hopefully they treat them all as well as they did North by Northwest.

[manicsounds]

why not resurrect this thread. Lifeboat is finally on its way from FOX

-.33:1 Academy Aspect
-Dolby 2.0 Stereo
-Commentary by Drew Casper
-'The Making Of Lifeboat' featurette
-Theatrical Trailer
-Still Gallery

out on 10/18 at $19.99

[Riddick]

I'll be all over Lifeboat wheb it gets here

[MooglePorn]

I collect directors more than anything else now-a-days, and Hitchcock is one of them. I'm not sure I'll ever own everything he's made, or if that's even possible, but I'll buy every decent release at some time or another.

[wahlers]

Anybody else get the new "Essential Alfred Hitchcock Collection" from Brentwood studios yesterday?

It's basically a companion set to their first release with 10 Hitchcock films (containing Young and Innocent, Blackmail, Juno & the Paycock, Rich & Strange, The Ring, Lodger, Secret Agent, The Lady Vanishes, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Sabotage, as well as the Alfred Hitchcock Presents episodes "The Sorceror's Apprentice" and "The Cheney Vase").

This one has no overlap from the first set and contains the other 9 public access British films (Champagne, Murder!, Number Seventeen, 39 Steps, The Skin Game, Jamaica Inn, Easy Virtue, The Manxman, and Farmer's Wife).

As far as I know, the few other British films that are not in these sets are not on DVD at all, and Champagne is pretty rare on DVD anywhere.

Bonuses on this set include the average 10-minute featurette "The Hitchcock Style", your standard scrolling text "Bio" and "Filmography".

But it also includes a Poster Gallery of mostly the later Hitchcock films as well as 19 Theatrical Trailers from later WB, Universal and Paramount Hitchcock films.

And it also includes the entire 40 minute Lux Radio Theatre adaptation of Hitchcock's "39 Steps" which was originally transmitted on December 13, 1937.

Not bad for $20, in my opinion.

Until somebody else releases substantially better prints of these films, I think having them all for $20 per set ($40 total) is pretty sweet. Especially considering the extras on the 2nd set...

[Welles and Ford Fan]

Foreign Correspondent is now on DVD. I was watching the "making of" feature the other day, and TCM's Robert Osborne is on hand commenting on the producer of the film and mentions that one of the films he produced was Algiers. He mentions the stars Charles Boyer and Hedy Lamarr, but I could swear Osborne said Hedly Lamarr.

[MooglePorn]

Question for actual film-buffs...

I own the Criterion Hitchcock box set, the Warner Bros. Hitchcock box set, the new Universal Hitchcock box set, and the Paramount release of To Catch a Thief.

What else is worth owning?

[Mikado]

I'm not an actual film buff but I'm a huge Hitchcock fan. To me any of his are worth owning. I plan on getting Lifeboat next week.

I think you should pick up Alfred Hitchcock Presents Season 1. To me that's a must own. While not a film it's great stuff and worth buying considering you like tv on dvd so much.

[Dilmo]

Originally Posted by Mikado

I think you should pick up Alfred Hitchcock Presents Season 1. To me that's a must own. While not a film it's great stuff and worth buying considering you like tv on dvd so much.

I second that. Great stuff.

[MooglePorn]

Originally Posted by Mikado

I think you should pick up Alfred Hitchcock Presents Season 1. To me that's a must own. While not a film it's great stuff and worth buying considering you like tv on dvd so much.

Yeah, the TV series is certainly on the "to get" list, but I'm speaking more to the movies. I think the main problem is I've never heard of any of them... Lifeboat for example, it rings no bells. Even though Torn Curtain and The Trouble With Harry are some of his lesser known films, I still knew them when I read the title... I don't know most of the ones I don't have, which makes me think they are obscure and... frankly... not that good. But maybe they are. Hence me asking.

[Dilmo]

You know how Hitchcock appears in his films. Well, people were wondering how could he appear in a film that takes place soley on a lifeboat. I'll just say it was ingenious.

[Mikado]

Originally Posted by Dilmo

You know how Hitchcock appears in his films. Well, people were wondering how could he appear in a film that takes place soley on a lifeboat. I'll just say it was ingenious.

haha are you serious? I can't wait.