Alfred Hitchcock - The Masterpiece Collection [Blu-ray] [1942]

Great selection of suspence films by Hitchcok. Forever green movied. Great packaging

Starting with the Box. A very tough outer box containing cleverly separated discs all with their own info and securely packaged. I did, however find not all the films to be perfect BluRay (another revoewer has helpfully noted this in detail for which I am grateful), but in general the picture sound and subtitles are all good. It's the extras that will give that extra pleasure. I am not a fan, but I did watch several and do recomend giving the menus a thorough check, there is some good stuff there. Whilst I think Hitch was a bit of a genius I don't think ALL his films rate the "classic" score. Here, of course, views become strictly personal, and can prove quite annoying. Over the years I have watched "VERTIGO at least 5 times, and I have never really got it. Come on! It is almost boring in places and the plot?? Do watch one of the extras about the ending, and I thought Novak was great!. I also find "HARRY" and REAR WINDOW" to be less than masterpieces, and "FAMILY PLOT to be a real failure. Angry mail to follow I am sure. In the end though this is still a fabulous, well presented collection and is a must for Fans and lovers of good cinema everywhere (Negative thoughts can safely be ignored.)

The best collection Blu-ray of Hitchock!!!

Hitchcock’s work is ground breaking cinematic art. All the movies in this collection are excellent, even the later movies Topaz and Family plot are superb. The quality of the Blu Ray transfers are excellent: Marnie has some grain here and there, but this adds to the feel of the experience in a similar sense to classic black and white movie grain. I watched these movies three times as I worked through the collection: the first viewings had me on the edge of my seat; the second and third contributed to my admiration of the structure, plot, direction and acting. Totally superb. Each movie is accompanied by a documentary providing insight into the challenges involved in their production. At this price it’s a bit of a give away. Hitchcock’s work have staying power: one can experience them numerous times and enjoy their quality. Hitchcock was a genius. I got the box set with Dial M fur murder, North by Northwest and Strangers on a train and was similarly blown away.

The price of this collection is fluctuating heavily; I bought it for £25.00, which makes it a very good value, even if you own already one or two of the discs.It is a "book" with pages of cardboard slipcases for the blurays. The slipcases are quite tight, and it's almost impossible to remove the discs without fingerprint. Repeated removing/inserting might scratch the discs.The transfers are identical to the indivually available editions, so they are of mixed quality, but "as good as it gets" for now.The collection is called "The Masterpiece Collection", but as Hitchcock had a long career with (naturally) highs and lows, it's not all "masterpieces".Let me group the movies (purely personal):*) The real "masterpieces": They may not be perfect, there are sometimes huge plot holes and other inconsitencies, plus they might have "aged" (which is inevitable after 50 years and more) or motifs might have been reused ad nauseum by following directors, but they nevertheless show examples of almost impeccable craftmanship in filmmaking from one of the most talented directors. These movies are simply a must-see for both film lovers ("amateurs") and movie buffs ("professionals"). [Unfortunately, "North By Northwest", a real classic, is missing here because of licensing issues in Europe.]"Rope", "The Man Who Knew Too Much", "Rear Window", "Vertigo", "Psycho"*) "Mixed bags", which are still Hitchcock-ish, so they are still interesting, but flawed:"Shadow Of A Doubt": Promising opening scene, but followed by not much suspense, a weak plot execution, and lacking a "center" (not a single outstanding character)."Marnie": Kudos for the unconventional topic, contains a lot of tension, Hedren is great, but Connery's character does not make much sense (and he was seriously miscast, anyway). Too long and sometimes boring."Topaz": Could (probably) have become a classic, some elements are great, but it looks like Hitch lost interest in the movie somewhere in the middle of the project, and the result as a whole it is just falling apart. The ending (better: all three variants) is laughably stupid and bad.*) Did not care much (or much less than expected) for the rest:"Saboteur": A WW2 propaganda movie with ridiculous plot, cartoon-like (but not funny) characters and a generally uncomfortable felling behind (because it is so obviously propaganda material). Maybe interesting as a historical document, but not as a movie."The Trouble With Harry": Unfunny, boring, unsympathetic and uninteresting leads, half the movie was shot in a cheap-looking studio forest (yes, I read that they had problems with the weather), and - before I forget - absolutely unfunny."Torn Curtain": Looks cheap (most of the budget was wasted for Newman and Andrews), main characters do not work (neither likeable nor interesting, no "chemistry"), completely fails in the reconstruction of character and atmosphere of the "DDR"."The Birds": This is sometimes really getting close to "Sharknado" B-Movie territoy especially with the "not-so-sensible actions" of some characters. Naturally, it suffers from the technically limited effects (better no effects than bad ones). It was just to early for such a type of movie. But there is still some truly fantastic stuff like the "having a smoke" under the ever-repeating child chorus while the birds aggregate silently in the background."Frenzy": Hitch goes 70s, which means: dirt instead of elegance, brutality instead of suspense, nudity instead of style. Mediocre as a early-70s shocker, but a real let-down for a Hitchcock."Family Plot": Meant as a "caper comedy", but neither funny nor thrilling. Hitch was old, so have mercy and simply forget about this movie.

As a total Hitchcock fan this was a must , i just got my first Blu-ray player and i had Amazon vouchers burning my hand , so a no brainer really . Of course i already had the DVD box set ,so it was all about the frame sizes of The Birds and Marnie and the extras .Both of those films and Psycho are now full frame and not 4/3 , the extras are much the same plus more then the dvds , the best bits are the Truffaut interviews that correspond with that movie , wonderful .But really the stand out is Psycho , its so much better than ive seen it before the sound and picture are superb and the extras are almost another film on their own , you get too see Alfred Hictcock Presents episode Lamb too the Slaughter , which Hitch himself filmed just before, i think , he shot Psycho , they both end with the starring eyes of the killer , i Hichcock obsession at the time.Really this should be Psycho on Blu-ray and some other great films thrown in for free .