Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection Blu-ray Announcement

Disc Announcements, News

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
Travis Leamons is one of the Inside Pulse Originals and currently holds the position of Managing Editor at Inside Pulse Movies. He's told that the position is his until he's dead or if "The Boss" can find somebody better. I expect the best and I give the best. Here's the beer. Here's the entertainment. Now have fun. That's an order!