Universal: Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection
- denti alligator
- Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 9:36 pm
- Location: "born in heaven, raised in hell"
- Person
- Joined: Sat May 19, 2007 3:00 pm
Knowing Universal, they will probably bring out all of their Hitch titles in Blu-Ray, though perhaps in two waves - two boxed sets with no individual titles! I have the velvet box and I'd only replace Rear Window, Vertigo, Psycho, The Birds and perhaps Marnie. And no, I'm not sullying Shadow of a Doubt - it's masterpiece, but I have yet to see a Blu-Ray transfer of a black and white movie from the 40s, so I'm not sure how much better films of that period will look in full HD. Ah, it's early days. Only in the coming months will we begin to see if Blu-Ray is all its cracked up to be when it comes to classic movies.denti alligator wrote:Those are the ones we'd like to see, for sure. Though I'd like to have Marnie and The Birds, too.Person wrote:The old editions of Psycho, Rear Window and Vertigo are now on moratorium. How great it would be if we saw Blu-Ray editions this year.
- denti alligator
- Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 9:36 pm
- Location: "born in heaven, raised in hell"
I finally watched the HD DVD of Casablanca the other day and--to follow Person's doubts about HD presentations of pre-1950s films--was not all that impressed. Half of it looked no better than its SD counterpart. Admittedly, the other half was pretty stunning, but still...
Last edited by denti alligator on Sun Mar 02, 2008 5:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
- Person
- Joined: Sat May 19, 2007 3:00 pm
Heh heh! Funnily enough, the very second after I posted that comment, I checked for a review of the HD Casablanca, and it turns out that Beaver has a comparison. The HD brings out the finer detail better, but I would imagine that viewing the film in HD at a distance on a mid-sized set wouldn't be a noticeably superior experience. What I have noticed thus far with Blu-Ray is that it is the colours that are instantly recognisably superior to SD, often by a jaw-dropping margin. The detail, too, of course. But what I suspect is that with Eastmancolor films of the 50s and 60s, as well as black and white 1.37:1 films, the benefits of Blu-Ray won't be as great as with a vintage, lushly photographed film that has been well-preserved/restored and certainly not as good as a film from the last 10 years. But it would be with films from 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s that are not on SD DVD that were to be released on Blu-Ray that would over-rule this creed. For instance, I'd spend $150 on a Blu-Ray set of the 330-minute version of Gance's Napoleon in a heartbeat. But I wouldn't spend $20 on a bare-bones Blu-Ray of Mamoulian's Jekyll and Hide to replace my SD double-pack set, if that makes sense.
- denti alligator
- Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 9:36 pm
- Location: "born in heaven, raised in hell"
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- Joined: Wed Mar 12, 2008 12:22 am
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I just nabbed this set yesterday. So far I am very impressed with the Discs. The picture looks better on Psycho and Vertigo and that was easily worth the cost. I traded in a bunch of old Anime and my old Kubrick boxset and it came out about even for me.
Edit: I am still working through my Universal Hitchcock boxset. That anamorhic Vertigo was very nice. I know its not perfect but it beat the single disc release I use to have.
Edit: I am still working through my Universal Hitchcock boxset. That anamorhic Vertigo was very nice. I know its not perfect but it beat the single disc release I use to have.
- Person
- Joined: Sat May 19, 2007 3:00 pm
Comparisons of 1998 non anamorphic vs 2005 anamorphic vs. HDTV presentations of some Universal Hitchcock films.
A considerable improvement. The Birds, especially looks far more detailed than before. Hopefully, we'll see Blu-Ray titles soon.
A considerable improvement. The Birds, especially looks far more detailed than before. Hopefully, we'll see Blu-Ray titles soon.
- sevenarts
- Joined: Tue May 09, 2006 7:22 pm
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Review of Torn Curtain. Pretty lackluster effort from Hitchcock, overall. There are a few scenes, almost all of them in the first half, that are quite good and distinctively Hitchcockian: the farmhouse murder, the chase scene through the eerily empty matte-painted museum with its seemingly impossible perspectives, the interrogation sequence. Otherwise, complete dullsville, especially that endless bus ride towards the end and the really pointless introduction of the Polish Countess. So horrible.
- domino harvey
- Dot Com Dom
- Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm
I'm quite fond of Torn Curtain and how it shows Hitchcock grasping at the last strands of the classical Hollywood style-- the rear-projection bus chase is terrific in its own curtain call fashion and the pacing is fascinating-- that first thirty minutes or so of complete audience identification confusion is genius. I'd wait to throw around negative hyperbole for Topaz, which truly is an indefensible piece of shit.
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- Joined: Wed Jun 25, 2008 9:31 am
- Location: San Diego
I'm with domino on the bus ride in Torn Curtain. I've always loved that sequence. Actually, I think all the set pieces in that movie are quite good, but a lot of the connecting stuff drags. Admittedly, that's a pretty big knock against what should have been a better movie.
Topaz has a couple of good set pieces as well--I really like the opening sequence, and the famous business with the dress is also good. But overall, it's a mess. It's Hitchcock's longest movie, yet most of it either doesn't work at all or just isn't very interesting.
Topaz has a couple of good set pieces as well--I really like the opening sequence, and the famous business with the dress is also good. But overall, it's a mess. It's Hitchcock's longest movie, yet most of it either doesn't work at all or just isn't very interesting.
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- Svevan
- Joined: Mon Nov 22, 2004 7:49 pm
- Location: Portland, OR
Worst thing about Topaz is that Universal admits on the DVD that they fucked up the ending, and that they have the elements for both endings (actually three, but the third doesn't count), but they only attach one of these to the film. The duel ending test-marketed poorly, but Hitch preferred it: it's a no brainer to include both endings as an option.
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I don't think any of those alternate endings would have changed things all that much. It's either for Topaz or Torn Curtain--don't remember which one offhand--where in the DVD featurette, they show a few reaction cards from a preview screening, and in one of them, the question of "Which scenes, if any, should be cut?" (or something like that) led to a response of "The entire movie!!" LOL.
- domino harvey
- Dot Com Dom
- Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm
- Svevan
- Joined: Mon Nov 22, 2004 7:49 pm
- Location: Portland, OR
Varying levels of dreadful: the duel is much better than the hero and the villain glimpsing each other on a plane, and waving as if "ha ha, none of it mattered!"
I don't know why I'm set on defending the duel ending though - perhaps I felt so cheated by the rest of the film, knowing that there was a slightly better ending that wasn't presented as part of the existing film was just the twist of the knife.
I don't know why I'm set on defending the duel ending though - perhaps I felt so cheated by the rest of the film, knowing that there was a slightly better ending that wasn't presented as part of the existing film was just the twist of the knife.
- Joe Buck
- Joined: Mon Dec 05, 2005 6:59 pm
- Location: New York
The sequence in the hotel with Roscoe Lee Browne is the only part of the movie I give a fig about. When I first saw it I was hoping the film was going to get good with his arrival, but sadly he came, he went, and the film sent me back into my slumber.
I like Torn Curtain. Always have. Not a fan of Marnie, though.
I like Torn Curtain. Always have. Not a fan of Marnie, though.
- domino harvey
- Dot Com Dom
- Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm
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- Joined: Wed Jun 25, 2008 9:31 am
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A lot of academics seem to be huge fans of Marnie. I have one anthology of Hitchcock essays that includes a transcript of Jay Presson Allen speaking at a conference of Hitchcock scholars, and they all trip over themselves to praise it to her. Not just Wood, but also Slavoj Zizek and other people of that prominence.
My own take is that the first half of Marnie is excellent, but the second half is bogged down by all that psychobabble, to the point that the melodrama becomes more tiresome than thrilling.
My own take is that the first half of Marnie is excellent, but the second half is bogged down by all that psychobabble, to the point that the melodrama becomes more tiresome than thrilling.
- domino harvey
- Dot Com Dom
- Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm
- domino harvey
- Dot Com Dom
- Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm
The same dismissive party line always gets repeated on films like To Catch a Thief, Family Plot, Mr and Mrs Smith, Suspicion &c-- no one really needs another fifty pages on Psycho.
Chabrol and Rohmer found Under Capricorn to be Hitchcock's best film-- and they also hated Lifeboat and considered the Trouble With Harry to be proof of Hitchcock's genius! Their book is beyond worthless and I hope it just lost something in translation, as there are numerous errors about the films under discussion and nonsensical arguments, even for Cahiers critics!
Chabrol and Rohmer found Under Capricorn to be Hitchcock's best film-- and they also hated Lifeboat and considered the Trouble With Harry to be proof of Hitchcock's genius! Their book is beyond worthless and I hope it just lost something in translation, as there are numerous errors about the films under discussion and nonsensical arguments, even for Cahiers critics!
- sevenarts
- Joined: Tue May 09, 2006 7:22 pm
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I don't know what the Cahiers critics said about it, but I have no problem saying that The Trouble With Harry is one of Hitchcock's best films. It's definitely brilliant and as far as under-discussed Hitch goes, I'd love to see more attention lavished on that one in particular. Proof of his genius, indeed. And at the risk of agreeing with Cahiers too much, I'll say that Lifeboat is one of my least favorite Hitchcocks -- too stagy, too obvious, too much hammy acting. It's not terrible, and it has its moments, but it's definitely a lower tier for him.
I'd also agree that To Catch a Thief is a much better film than it's given credit for. It's a lot of fun, and it's great to see everyone involved in such an obviously relaxed, laidback mood, enjoying the atmosphere, the gorgeous scenery, and the glamorous games of dress-up. The famous fireworks/kiss sequence is one of Hitch's best romantic scenes, as well as a fine visual joke. It's a pure celebration of elegance and style.
I'd also agree that To Catch a Thief is a much better film than it's given credit for. It's a lot of fun, and it's great to see everyone involved in such an obviously relaxed, laidback mood, enjoying the atmosphere, the gorgeous scenery, and the glamorous games of dress-up. The famous fireworks/kiss sequence is one of Hitch's best romantic scenes, as well as a fine visual joke. It's a pure celebration of elegance and style.