Universal: Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection

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Gordon
Joined: Thu Nov 11, 2004 8:03 am

#26 Post by Gordon » Fri Jul 15, 2005 10:05 am

The R4/R2 disc of Man Who Knew too Much, Psycho, Trouble with Harry and Vertigo are vertically-stretched 'fake-anamorphic' transfers from the letterboxed D1 masters. Vertigo's colours werely wrongly altered for them, too. This info comes from Robert Harris, who restored Vertigo, etc.

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hearthesilence
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#27 Post by hearthesilence » Mon Jul 18, 2005 8:14 pm

kieslowski_67 wrote:
TechNoir wrote:The June 11 edition of Video Business says that Psycho will include such new bonuses as making of footage, behind the scenes photos and storyboards. The bonus disc will include AFI's Salute to Alfred Hitchcock.
That's great. Ingrid Bergman was really the host of that show and I want to see Hitch's response when Ingrid gave the key (used in 'notorious') back to him as a gift.
Didn't Truffaut mention this in his book? It's been a long time since I read it, but I remember him saying it was dreadful because of Hitch's age (and possibly a mention that some judicious editing salvaged it for TV). He mentioned some earlier celebration from roughly the same period that was supposedly better, with Hitch apparently in much better health/spirits.

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manicsounds
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#28 Post by manicsounds » Fri Jul 22, 2005 6:18 am

Just to get this straight, since this is OFFICIALLY on the universal site:
(In my own words though)

ALL films are going to be DIGITALLY REMASTERED,
and ANAMORPHIC where applicable.
PSYCHO and VERTIGO will indeed be 16x9!

Also,
VERTIGO will include the remixed 5.1 from the 1996 restoration,
and the ORIGINAL MONO soundtrack (for the first time on DVD)

Seems like Universal is getting the idea how important mono is.
(Like the new JAWS release)

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Gordon
Joined: Thu Nov 11, 2004 8:03 am

#29 Post by Gordon » Fri Jul 22, 2005 6:44 am

The 2.0 mono listing could be for the audio commentary, which was indeed 2.0 mono on the current/previous Vertigo DVD. I hope I'm wrong and it is the original mono, but we'll wait and see.

Narshty
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#30 Post by Narshty » Wed Aug 03, 2005 5:38 pm

Both Psycho and The Birds are both having their feature-length making-of documentaries transferred to the bonus disc, presumably to free up extra bit rates for the new transfers. Sounds like Universal are really on the ball with this release.

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Godot
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#31 Post by Godot » Wed Aug 03, 2005 7:38 pm

With SRP of $119.98, Amazon currently has it listed at 30% off ($83.99), which is $6.00 per film. Since only 11 of them are letterboxed, that means $7.64 per anamorphic enhancement. If you can wait for the expected 20% off DDD sale, the set would be $69.12, or $4.94 per film, or $6.28 per anamorphic enhancement.

Just testing the new batteries in my slide rule.

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justeleblanc
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#32 Post by justeleblanc » Thu Aug 04, 2005 2:45 am

Will these films be available separately? It looks like that's a no, but I want to make sure.

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dx23
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#33 Post by dx23 » Sun Aug 14, 2005 12:23 pm

From dvdtimes.co.uk:
Universal Studios Home Video have announced the Region 1 DVD release of Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection for 4th October 2005 priced at $119.98 SRP. This 15 Disc collection brings together 14 Hitchcock classics plus a bonus disc in a special gift set collection. Released on the same day is Alfred Hitchcock Presents Season 1.

All 14 films are digitally re-mastered for the best quality ever with all bonus features from the existing releases carried across. The films are: Saboteur, Shadow of a Doubth, Rope, Rear Window, The Trouble With Harry, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Vertigo, Psycho, The Birds, Marnie, Torn Curtain, Topaz, Frenzy and Family Plot.

The all-new bonus disc showcases Hitchcock's films, career and legacy through a series of documentaries, while the set is presented in ultra-premium velvet packaging which includes a 36-page collectible book.

Individual disc specs follow...

Disc 1: Saboteur
English DD2.0 Mono
English, French and Spanish subtitles
Saboteur: A Closer Look
Storyboards
Alfred Hitchcock's Sketches
Production Photographs
Theatrical Trailer
Production Notes

Disc 2: Shadow of a Doubt
1.33:1 Full Frame
English and Spanish DD2.0 Mono
English and Spanish subtitles
Beyond Doubt: The Making of Hitchcock's Favorite Film
Production Drawings
Production Photographs
Theatrical Trailer
Production Notes

Disc 3: Rope
1.33:1 Full Frame
English, French and Spanish DD2.0 Mono
English subtitles
Rope Unleashed
Production Photographs
Theatrical Trailer
Production Notes

Disc 4: Rear Window
1.66:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
English and French DD2.0 Mono
English and Spanish subtitles
Rear Window Ethics: An Original Documentary
A Conversation with Screenwriter John Michael Hayes
Production Photographs
Theatrical Trailer
Re-Release Trailer Narrated by James Stewart
Production Notes

Disc 5: The Trouble with Harry
1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
English and Spanish DD2.0 Mono
English and French subtitles
The Trouble With Harry Isn't Over
Production Photographs
Theatrical Trailer
Production Notes

Disc 6: The Man Who Knew Too Much
1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
English and French DD2.0 Mono
English and Spanish subtitles
The Making of The Man Who Knew Too Much
Production Photographs
Theatrical Trailer
Production Notes

Disc 7: Vertigo
1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
English DD2.0 Mono
English DD5.1 Surround
English, French and Spanish subtitles
Obsessed with Vertigo
Feature Commentary with Associate Producer Herbert Coleman, Restoration Team Robert A. Harris and James C. Katz and Other Vertigo Participants
Original Theatrical Trailer
Restoration Theatrical Trailer
Hitchcock's Foreign Censorship Ending
The Vertigo Archive
Production Notes

Disc 8: Psycho
1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
English and French DD2.0 Mono
English and Spanish subtitles
The Making of Psycho
Production Notes
Cast and Filmmakers
Theatrical Trailer
Re-Release Trailers
Newsreel Footage: The Release of "Psycho"
The Shower Scene: With and Without Music
Archives
Production Photographs
Behind-the-Scenes Photographs
The Shower Scene: Storyboards by Saul Bass
Lobby Cards
Posters and "Psycho" Ads

Disc 9: The Birds
1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
English and French DD2.0 Mono
English subtitles
All About The Birds Featurette
Deleted Scenes
The Original Ending
Storyboards
Tippi Hedren's Screen Test
The Birds Is Coming (Universal International Newsreel)
Suspense Story: National Press Club Hears Hitchcock (Universal International Newsreel)
Production Photographs
Production Notes
Theatrical Trailer

Disc 10: Marnie
1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
English and French DD2.0 Mono
English subtitles
The Trouble with Marnie
Archives
Theatrical Trailer
Production Notes

Disc 11: Torn Curtain
1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
English and French DD2.0 Mono
English and Spanish subtitles
Torn Curtain Rising
Scenes Scored by Bernard Herrmann
Production Photographs
Theatrical Trailer

Disc 12: Topaz
1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
English DD2.0 Mono
English, French and Spanish subtitles
Topaz: An Appreciation by Film Historian and Critic Leonard Maltin
Alternate Endings
Storyboards: The Mendozas
Production Photographs
Theatrical Trailer
Production Notes

Disc 13: Frenzy
2.00:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
English and French DD2.0 Mono
English and Spanish subtitles
The Story of Frenzy
Production Photographs
Theatrical Trailer
Production Notes

Disc 14: Family Plot
1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
English and French DD2.0 Mono
English and Spanish subtitles
Plotting Family Plot
Storyboards: The Chase Scene
Production Photographs
Theatrical Trailers
Production Notes

Disc 15: Bonus Documentaries
AFI Salute to Alfred Hitchcock - AFI Lifetime Achievement Award in 1979 featuring speeches from Henry Fonda, Ingrid Bergman, James Stewart and more
Masters of Cinema - Interview with Alfred Hitchcock conducted by Pia Lindstrom, Ingrid Bergman's daughter
The Making of Psycho
All About the Birds
http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/content.php?contentid=57539

unclehulot
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#34 Post by unclehulot » Sun Aug 14, 2005 2:09 pm

Aw, c'mon, mono track on Vertigo? They're just toying with us, so we buy the whole set for the mono track and it turns out to be a Bogdonovich AND Richard Shickel discussing the "restored" soundtrack.

If it's true, that would also be just fine.

Oh, and I'm STILL pissed that the isolated score track for Psycho from the late LD release, still isn't on board.

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FilmFanSea
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#35 Post by FilmFanSea » Tue Sep 27, 2005 2:46 pm

DVD Beaver has posted an excellent review of this box set that compares uncompressed screen captures of the old vs. new releases.

While there appear to be subtle improvements in picture quality for a number of the films, they don't appear to be dramatic (I can't help but think that if Warner had produced this set, it would've resulted in night-and-day improvements). Hard to believe that Universal didn't pour its heart and soul into this franchise, but given their past performance, I'm not too surprised.

Currently, I'm glad I held off preordering this set. While I own 18 Hitchcock films on DVD, I'm not a completist, and I'm not sure that I need Torn Curtain, Topaz, and Family Plot (among others) competing for space in my nearly-jammed bookcase storage.

I'll be curious to hear opinions of those who've preordered the set.

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denti alligator
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#36 Post by denti alligator » Tue Sep 27, 2005 4:23 pm

Do what I did: sell all your Universal DVDs on amazon or ebay. With even only 8 or 9 sold you can pay for the whole new set.

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FilmFanSea
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Location: Portland, OR

#37 Post by FilmFanSea » Tue Sep 27, 2005 5:45 pm

I haven't ruled it out, denti--I'm just a little underwhelmed by the final product (though the price is certainly fair).

It also irks me that Universal was misleading in its press release about the bonus disc: only 15 minutes of excerpts are included from the 100-minute AFI Salute to Hitchcock (which reminds me of the famous 15-minute "bonus" disc in Universal's Marx Brothers Silver Screen Collection). These guys are cheapskates to the core. :)

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mbalson
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#38 Post by mbalson » Tue Sep 27, 2005 8:31 pm

I cashed in my older releases locally a few weeks ago and got more for them than the new set costs. Just having 16X9 versions of Psycho and Vertigo makes it work the trouble.

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otis
Joined: Mon Aug 08, 2005 11:43 am

#39 Post by otis » Wed Sep 28, 2005 8:50 pm

New region 2 Psycho @

http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/content.php?contentid=58596

Perhaps the horriblest cover ever.

l'avventurist
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#40 Post by l'avventurist » Tue Oct 04, 2005 7:54 pm

Just wanted to hear from others if the double dip is truly worth it and hear some subjective impressions of the new transfers.
thanks

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bjeggert82
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#41 Post by bjeggert82 » Wed Oct 05, 2005 12:22 am

This set is COMPLETELY worth it. I got it in the mail yesterday. The newly remastered transfer on Vertigo alone is worth the $80 for the set. The previous Vertigo disc's transfer was nearly unbearable, but this new one is crisp and clean... I've never seen the film look so good. For me, as I've only seen the movie on poorly transfered DVDs and VHSs, Vertigo was like a whole new film. I was extremely impressed.

I also looked over a few scenes on Psycho, The Man Who Knew Too Much, and Sabotuer (scenes I knew to be bad from the previously released discs)... these new transfers are all very noticable, vast improvements on the other discs.

If you've even had an incling of buying this set, buy it... It's worth every penny.

Doug Cummings
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#42 Post by Doug Cummings » Thu Oct 06, 2005 3:25 pm

Dave Kehr in the NYTimes:

"But the real disappointments are "Rear Window" and "Vertigo" - two of
Hitchcock's supreme masterpieces, both of which were subjected to
dismal "restorations" for theatrical release a few years back, and
both of which are now essentially unwatchable. Of all the prints I've
seen of these films - and that makes for quite a few over the years -
I've never seen a single one with the color values they've been given
here.

"Rear Window" is yellowish and grainy, and "Vertigo" has mysteriously
shifted to a reddish purple. But the biggest problem is the
completely factitious surround soundtrack that has been grafted to
"Vertigo," a spectacular betrayal of Hitchcock's intentions that I've
come to think of as the "Rambo" soundtrack. With its ear-splitting
gunshots and pounding footfalls, it sounds like a hastily dubbed
Italian action film of the 1960's rather than the muffled, dreamlike
soundscape that Hitchcock created for the film.

Buried under the "language" option is a choice to use a mono mix that
at least is closer to Hitchcock's intentions, but sounds as if it
were lifted from a 16-millimeter television print played through a
transistor radio. These are not trivial alterations to a work of art
as meticulously planned and executed as "Vertigo" - they alter the
film's meaning and impact, as surely as if someone had touched up
"Guernica" with a can of red spray paint."

unclehulot
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Location: here and there

#43 Post by unclehulot » Thu Oct 06, 2005 5:00 pm

Doug Cummings wrote:Dave Kehr in the NYTimes:

"But the real disappointments are "Rear Window" and "Vertigo" - two of
Hitchcock's supreme masterpieces, both of which were subjected to
dismal "restorations" for theatrical release a few years back, and
both of which are now essentially unwatchable. Of all the prints I've
seen of these films - and that makes for quite a few over the years -
I've never seen a single one with the color values they've been given
here.

"Rear Window" is yellowish and grainy, and "Vertigo" has mysteriously
shifted to a reddish purple. But the biggest problem is the
completely factitious surround soundtrack that has been grafted to
"Vertigo," a spectacular betrayal of Hitchcock's intentions that I've
come to think of as the "Rambo" soundtrack. With its ear-splitting
gunshots and pounding footfalls, it sounds like a hastily dubbed
Italian action film of the 1960's rather than the muffled, dreamlike
soundscape that Hitchcock created for the film.

Buried under the "language" option is a choice to use a mono mix that
at least is closer to Hitchcock's intentions, but sounds as if it
were lifted from a 16-millimeter television print played through a
transistor radio. These are not trivial alterations to a work of art
as meticulously planned and executed as "Vertigo" - they alter the
film's meaning and impact, as surely as if someone had touched up
"Guernica" with a can of red spray paint."
Someone who writes about film for a living is just NOW discovering the 10 or so year old Vertigo sound re-do?? The NY Times continues to have complete morons write about video. They used to ignore the quality issue ....now I'm wishing they would go back to that stance.

NO, the mono track to Vertigo is not THAT bad.....and if it can't be better at this point, I'd STILL be thrilled to have it.

Rear Window and Vertigo unwatchable? What is this guy on?

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zedz
Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2004 7:24 pm

#44 Post by zedz » Thu Oct 06, 2005 6:12 pm

I first saw Vertigo in its 80s rerelease, and found it evocative and mysterious. When I saw it again in its 'restored' form, I was much less impressed, finding it far more ordinary and patchy (though still admirable in parts), lacking the subtlety and mystery that had been its dominant characteristics when I'd first seen it.

I assumed that the film was simply over-rated and that my taste had changed, since that first viewing had largely pre-dated my encounter with much European cinema, but since then the scary possibility has arisen that my reaction was occasioned by the deficiencies of the restoration. A brasher soundtrack would certainly destroy much of the dream-like mood I had expected to rediscover.

I think flixy has pinpointed the dangerous difference between "restoration" (returning a film to its original condition) and "renovation" (trying to make a film conform to contemporary presentation norms). Big studios continue in their idiotic assumption that there is a mass audience for old films so long as you can trick the stupider members of that audience that the film was made in the last ten years. I'd hoped that the advent of DVD had assisted the demise of some of the more egregious examples of this (such as colorisation), but it looks like it's just getting more insidious. Frankly, I don't see the need for beefed-up, remixed soundtracks, even as an option, but when it becomes the 'official' version (and the original film is allowed to fall into disrepair), that's appalling.

Titus
Joined: Sun Apr 10, 2005 4:40 pm

#45 Post by Titus » Thu Oct 06, 2005 8:12 pm

Whoa there UncleHulot. Dave Kehr is one of the best film critics in America. His reaction might be a bit overstated but that could probably be attributed to the fact that he's one of the biggest champions of Hitchcock around (I believe he stated Vertigo was one of the greatest achievements of 20th century art). You're not going to provoke much of a stance against this sort of thing unless you can heap on some old-fashioned hyperbole.
Last edited by Titus on Fri Oct 07, 2005 4:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.

unclehulot
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Location: here and there

#46 Post by unclehulot » Fri Oct 07, 2005 12:04 am

Titus wrote:Whoa there UncleHulot. Dave Kehr is one of the best film critics in America. His reaction might be a bit overstated but that could probably be attributed to the fact that he's one of the biggest champions of Hitchcock around (I believe he stated Vertigo was one of the greatest achievements of 20th century art). You're not going to going to provoke much of a stance against this sort of thing unless you can heap on some old-fashioned hyperbole.
It's not his standing as a critic I call into question, but the legwork, which is almost never done by the Times critics to critique VIDEO quality issues with any reasonable standard....comparing to previous versions, etc. They're just making up the vast majority of it. I shouldn't have just picked on him, however, and indeed, he does write well about FILMS.

Doug Cummings
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#47 Post by Doug Cummings » Fri Oct 07, 2005 1:45 am

I think Kehr in particular is making an effort to educate himself about the technology--he even quoted DVDBeaver in one of his columns recently. For an established critic, that's impressive. And although I haven't seen the new reissues, I don't doubt that he's exactly right about them. Does anyone want to claim his criticism of these transfers is wrong?

unclehulot
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Location: here and there

#48 Post by unclehulot » Fri Oct 07, 2005 3:04 am

Oh well, guess this just caught me in a peevish mood. For all of MY criticism of the output of Universal, I just would not have called those 2 transfers "essentially unwatchable", for all their problems, and was surprised that if he was familiar with the "Veritgo" theatrical prints of a decade ago, that he only now seems to hear what they did to the sound. But I'll try and keep my own hyperbole down to a dull roar, and apologize for trashing someone who obviously has their priorities straight.......which is to keep nailing those lazy video companies asses to the wall for substandard work.

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ola t
They call us neo-cinephiles
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#49 Post by ola t » Fri Oct 07, 2005 3:46 am

unclehulot wrote:was surprised that if he was familiar with the "Veritgo" theatrical prints of a decade ago, that he only now seems to hear what they did to the sound
The fact that he doesn't explicitly say he was aware of it before doesn't mean he wasn't.

There was a great series of lectures and screenings on film restoration at the Copenhagen Cinematek last year. Robert Gitt (UCLA), Michael Pogorzelski (Academy Film Archives) and Grover Crisp (Sony Pictures) were asked in a Q&A session if they could think of any famous restorations that didn't deserve to be called restorations. They all just looked at each other at first, clearly not sure they wanted to say anything bad about a colleague's work -- but after some hesitation Robert Gitt mentioned Vertigo and they all seemed to agree that what had been done to its soundtrack was unacceptable.

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Fletch F. Fletch
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#50 Post by Fletch F. Fletch » Fri Oct 07, 2005 9:25 am

Doug Cummings wrote:Dave Kehr in the NYTimes:

"But the real disappointments are "Rear Window" and "Vertigo" - two of
Hitchcock's supreme masterpieces, both of which were subjected to
dismal "restorations" for theatrical release a few years back, and
both of which are now essentially unwatchable. Of all the prints I've
seen of these films - and that makes for quite a few over the years -
I've never seen a single one with the color values they've been given
here.

"Rear Window" is yellowish and grainy, and "Vertigo" has mysteriously
shifted to a reddish purple. But the biggest problem is the
completely factitious surround soundtrack that has been grafted to
"Vertigo," a spectacular betrayal of Hitchcock's intentions that I've
come to think of as the "Rambo" soundtrack. With its ear-splitting
gunshots and pounding footfalls, it sounds like a hastily dubbed
Italian action film of the 1960's rather than the muffled, dreamlike
soundscape that Hitchcock created for the film.

Buried under the "language" option is a choice to use a mono mix that
at least is closer to Hitchcock's intentions, but sounds as if it
were lifted from a 16-millimeter television print played through a
transistor radio. These are not trivial alterations to a work of art
as meticulously planned and executed as "Vertigo" - they alter the
film's meaning and impact, as surely as if someone had touched up
"Guernica" with a can of red spray paint."
Robert Harris counters on the Home Theater Forum:
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htforum ... ost2814884
Although Mr. Kehr is a fine journalilst, he apparently has no idea what he's viewing, from whence it came, why it needed to come from wherever it did, and what it would look and sound like...

had it not.

An bit of education can go a long way, and is offered.

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