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