Even before Universal announced that it would be releasing Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection on Blu-ray, September 25th was already shaping up to be one of the biggest release dates of the year. Also arriving that day is the billion-dollar hit Marvel’s The Avengers, Blu-ray debuts for David Fincher’s The Game from Criterion, The American President and Dave from Warner Bros., and Bond 50, a new Blu-ray set that collects all twenty-six James Bond films.

Whew.

Now add this new 15-film release from Universal to that list. Pretty impressive, huh.

This limited edition box set compiles fifteen titles from the filmmaker’s career, thirteen of which make their U.S. Blu-ray debut through this package.

The films include (* denotes new-to-Blu-ray):

Saboteur (1942)*, Shadow of a Doubt (1943)*, Rope (1948)*, Rear Window (1954)*, The Trouble with Harry (1955)*, The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)*, Vertigo (1958)*, North by Northwest (1959), Psycho (1960), The Birds (1963)*, Marnie (1964)*, Torn Curtain (1966)*, Topaz (1969)*, Frenzy (1972)*, Family Plot (1976)*

Looking at these fifteen titles it’s interesting to note the inclusion of Warner Bros. North by Northwest. Apparently the studio didn’t want to allow Universal to include Strangers on a Train, which WB will release in October along with a Blu-ray 3D release of Dial M for Murder. It would have been nice if Paramount would have allowed To Catch a Thief to be added to the package as well, but you can’t always get the most comprehensive of box sets.

In addition to these fifteen films, the set includes a collectible 50-page book featuring storyboards, costume sketches, correspondence, photographs, and much more. Plus a treasure trove of over 15 hours of documentaries, filmmaker commentaries, interviews, screen tests, trailers and a new documentary “The Birds, Hitchcock’s Monster Movie.”

Saboteur

• Saboteur: A Closer Look behind-the-scenes featurette
• Storyboards for the “Statue of Liberty” setpiece
• Alfred Hitchcock’s sketches
• Production photographs
• Theatrical trailer

Shadow of a Doubt

• Beyond Doubt: The Making of Hitchcock’s Favorite Film behind-the-scenes featurette
• Production drawings by art director Robert Boyle
• Production photographs
• Theatrical trailer

Rope

• Rope Unleashed behind-the-scenes featurette
• Production photographs
• Theatrical trailer

Rear Window

• Commentary with Hitchcock’s Rear Window: The Well-Made Film author John Fawell
• Behind-the-scenes featurettes:
  • Masters of Cinema
  • Rear Window Ethics: An Original Documentary
  • A Conversation with Screenwriter John Michael Hayes
  • Pure Cinema: Through the Eyes of The Master
  • Breaking Barriers: The Sound of Hitchcock
• Hitchcock-Truffaut interview excerpts
• Production photographs
• Theatrical trailers
• Re-release trailer narrated by James Stewart
• Blu-ray exclusive BD Live and Pocket Blu functionalities

The Trouble with Harry

• The Trouble with Harry Isn’t Over behind-the-scenes featurette
• Production photographs
• Theatrical trailers

The Man Who Knew Too Much

• The Making of The Man Who Knew Too Much behind-the-scenes featurette
• Production photographs
• Trailers

Vertigo

• Two audio commentaries:
  • Associate producer Herbert Coleman, restoration team Robert A. Harris and James C. Katz, and other Vertigo participants
  • Filmmaker William Friedkin
• Behind-the-scenes featurettes:
  • Obsessed with Vertigo: New Life for Hitchcock’s Masterpiece
  • Partners in Crime: Hitchcock’s Collaborators
• The Vertigo Archives feature
• Hitchcock-Truffaut interview excerpts
• Foreign censorship Ending
• 100 Years of Universal featurette: The Lew Wasserman Era
• Theatrical trailer
• Restoration theatrical trailer
• Blu-ray exclusive BD Live and Pocket Blu functionalities

North by Northwest

• Commentary by screenwriter Ernest Lehman
• Behind-the-scenes featurettes:
  • Destination Hitchcock: The Making of North by Northwest
  • North by Northwest: One for the Ages
  • The Master’s Touch: Hitchcock’s Signature Style
  • Cary Grant: A Class Apart
• Music-only audio track
• Stills gallery
• Theatrical trailers and TV spot

Psycho

• Commentary with Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho author Stephen Rebello
• Behind-the-scenes featurettes:
  • The Making of Psycho
  • Psycho Sound
  • In The Master’s Shadow: Hitchcock’s Legacy
• Breakdowns of the “Shower Scene” setpiece:
  • With and without music
  • Storyboards by Saul Bass
• The Psycho Archives feature
• Vintage newsreel: The Release of Psycho
• Hitchcock-Truffaut interview excerpts
• Posters and Psycho ads
• Lobby cards
• Behind-the-scenes photographs
• Production photographs
• Theatrical trailer
• Re-release trailers

The Birds

• Behind-the-scenes featurettes:
  • Blu-ray exclusive The Birds: Hitchcock’s Monster Movie
  • All About The Birds
• Vintage Universal International newsreels:
  • The Birds Is Coming
  • Suspense Story: National Press Club Hears Hitchcock
• Tippi Hedren’s screen test
• Hitchcock-Truffaut interview excerpts
• Deleted scene
• Original ending
• Storyboards
• Production photographs
• 100 Years of Universalfeaturettes:
  • Restoring the Classics
  • The Lot
• Theatrical trailer
• Blu-ray exclusive BD Live and Pocket Blu functionalities

Marnie

• The Trouble with Marnie behind-the-scenes featurette
• The Marnie Archives feature
• Theatrical trailer

Torn Curtain

• Torn Curtain Rising behind-the-scenes featurette
• Selected scenes scored by Bernard Herrmann
• Production photographs
• Theatrical trailer

Topaz -

• Alternate endings
• Topaz: An Appreciation with film historian and critic Leonard Maltin
• Storyboards for “The Mendozas” setpiece
• Production photographs
• Theatrical trailer

Frenzy

• The Story of Frenzy behind-the-scenes featurette
• Production photographs
• Theatrical trailer

Family Plot

• Plotting Family Plot behind-the-scenes featurette
• Storyboards for the chase scene
• Production photographs
• Theatrical trailer

Tags: alfred hitchcock, Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection, Universal Studios Home Entertainment