Alfred Hitchcock Boxset Review

So many box sets are coming out and re-releases of older movies. In most cases they are really cheesy and lame so its a nice treat to see a new box set that reflects the quality of the original films. The new boxset comes in a really nice felt box, with a collectors booklet.

Alfred Hitchcock fans will truly appreciate this box set since it has all 14 movies in a really nice set. It is also a great way for people who are new to hitchcock to really get knee deep into the works of Alfred. You can watch all 14 of his movies, and really see why he is such an icon in the movie industry. The collectors bookley that comes with the set isnt outstanding but the artwork and promotional materials from the original films is in the booklet and is quite cool.

As mentioned this boxset contains, 14 of the universally acclaimed Master of Suspense's finest works come together here for the first time in one collection. These captivating landmark films boast three decades of Hollywood legends, including James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Anthony Perkins, Sean Connery and Doris Day. The premium packaging and collectible book make Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection the must-own, definitive anthology of gripping works by a true genius.

Here is a list of the films your getting in the package and the details on the disc features. It's 14 Hitchcock Feature films!

Saboteur  
This riveting wartime thriller stars Robert Cummings as Barry Kane, a Los Angeles aircraft factory worker who witnesses a Nazi agent firebombing his plant.  However, it is Barry who is accused of the fiery sabotage, and to clear his name he sets off on a desperate, action-packed cross-country chase that takes him from Boulder dam to New York’s Radio City Music Hall to the top of the Statue of Liberty.  Hitchcock’s first film with an all-American cast moves with breakneck speed towards its final heart-pounding confrontation, and remains a suspense classic.

Shadow of a Doubt
Hitchcock collaborated with renowned playwright Thornton Wilder (Our Town) to create this psychological tale of family drama, suspicion… and murder.  Joseph Cotton shines as Uncle Charlie, a seemingly charming man visiting his relatives in their small and peaceful hometown.  But when his namesake niece, "Young Charlie" (Teresa Wright), suspects that he may in fact be the psychopathic Merry Widow killer, Uncle Charlie must plot the death of his favorite relation in order to remain one step ahead of the law in this murderous game of cat-and-mouse.

Rope
James Stewart, Farley Granger and John Dall star in this macabre spellbinder, which was inspired by a real-life case of murder.  Two thrill-seeking friends (Granger and Dall) strangle a classmate and then hold a party for their victim’s family and friends, serving refreshments on a buffet table fashioned from a trunk containing the lifeless body.  When dinner conversation revolves around talk of the "perfect murder," their former teacher (Stewart) becomes increasingly suspicious that his protégés have turned his intellectual theories into brutal reality.       

Rear Window
It only takes a witness to spoil the perfect crime in one of the most acclaimed suspense films of all time.  The legendary James Stewart stars as professional photographer L.B. "Jeff" Jeffries, who becomes obsessed with watching the private dramas of his neighbors while confined to a wheelchair with a broken leg.  When he suspects that a salesman may have murdered his nagging, invalid wife, Jeffries enlists the help of his stunning socialite girlfriend (Grace Kelly) to investigate the suspicious chain of events.  Rear Window is the gripping thriller that has kept generations of fans enthralled with one of the most nail-biting, edge-of-your-seat endings in all of film history.

The Trouble with Harry
Academy Award® winner* Edmund Gwenn, John Forsythe, Mildred Natwick and Jerry Mathers star in this charming comedy mystery.  The trouble with Harry is that he’s dead, and while no one really minds, everyone feels responsible.  Oscar® winner** Shirley MacLaine makes her screen debut in this New England romp that includes romance, humor… and several unearthings of the corpse.  In The Trouble with Harry, the Master of Suspense proves the range of his genius with a decidedly different work.

The Man Who Knew Too Much
Hollywood icons James Stewart and Doris Day are Ben and Jo MacKenna, an innocent American couple vacationing in Morocco with their young son.  But their simple plans turn into a nightmare after a French spy dies in Ben’s arms in a Marrakech market, and their son is kidnapped and taken to another country.  The classic "Que Sera, Sera," from the film’s chilling climax in London’s Royal Albert Hall, won the Academy Award® for Best Song.  See Doris Day in a rare dramatic role and James Stewart as The Man Who Knew Too Much in this thrilling tale of international espionage, assassinations and terror. 

Vertigo
James Stewart and Kim Novak light up the screen in this spellbinding classic of deception and betrayal.  Scottie Ferguson (Stewart), a recently retired detective, is hired to shadow a friend’s tragically suicidal wife, Madeleine Elster (Novak).  After he saves her from drowning in the San Francisco Bay, Scottie’s interest in the beautiful but icy blonde shifts from business to romance.  But when tragedy strikes again, Scottie must overcome the vertigo that haunts his dreams in order to unravel the secrets of the past and find the key to his future.

Psycho
Anthony Perkins stars as Norman Bates, the troubled son who believes "a boy’s best friend is his mother" in Hitchcock’s landmark masterpiece.  Janet Leigh is Marian Crane, the ill-fated traveler who checks into the eerie Bates Motel wanting only a hot shower and a warm bed.  Her journey ends sooner than she planned in the shocking scene that has haunted generations of movie-watchers.  The tension and horror mount when a private detective and Marian’s sister search for her, and the identity of the mysterious Psycho. 

The Birds
Tippi Hedren plays Melanie Daniels, a beautiful blonde who arrives in Bodega Bay in pursuit of the handsome and eligible Mitch Brenner, played by Rod Taylor.  But love is not the only thing in the air when thousands of birds descend upon the town, attacking and terrorizing its residents.  Soon Melanie and Mitch are fighting for their lives against a deadly, unexplainable force in this spine-tingling portrait of nature at its most powerful and ruthless.  

Marnie
Tippi Hedren is Marnie, a compulsive thief who attempts to rob her boss Mark Rutland (Sean Connery) but instead ends up marrying him. Her obsessive behavior continues, but when she is pushed to the edge after a terrible accident, Marnie’s groom urges her to confront the past in the shattering conclusion of this psychological thriller.        

Torn Curtain
Paul Newman and Julie Andrews star in this edge-of-your-seat Cold War thriller set behind the Iron Curtain.  Newman plays Michael Armstrong, a renowned scientist attending an international physics conference in Copenhagen with Sarah Sherman (Andrews), his fiancée/assistant.  The heart-pounding action begins when Sarah picks up a message intended for Michael, and discovers that he is defecting to East Germany… or is he?      

Topaz
The best-selling spy novel bursts onto the screen in this riveting story of adventure and international intrigue.  John Forsythe stars as an American CIA agent who hires a French operative (Frederick Stafford) to travel to Cuba and investigate rumors of Russian missiles and Topaz, a NATO spy.  The inquiry soon spins into a life-threatening escapade of espionage, betrayal and murder.

Frenzy
Jon Finch, Alec McCowen and Barry Foster star in this morbid blend of horror and wit—the first Hitchcock film to earn an "R" rating.  The Necktie Murderer has the London Police on red alert and, an innocent man is on a desperate quest to find the real sex criminal and clear his name.  Alternating heart-pounding tension with distinctive Hitchcock humor, Frenzy marked the Master of Suspense’s return to his native England after almost twenty years.

Family Plot
In his final picture, Hitchcock weaves together suspense and humor in this tongue-in-cheek thriller about a wealthy woman who innocently hires a phony psychic to find her missing heir.  The unforgettable all-star cast, including Bruce Dern, Barbara Harris, William Devane and Karen Black, contributes to an enthralling merry-go-round of mayhem, mystery and murder.

Bonus Features:
Disc 1: Saboteur

· Saboteur: A Closer Look
· Storyboards
· Alfred Hitchcock's Sketches
· Production Photographs
· Theatrical Trailer
· Production Notes

Disc 2: Shadow of a Doubt

· Beyond Doubt: The Making of Hitchcock's Favorite Film
· Production Drawings
· Production Photographs
· Theatrical Trailer
· Production Notes

Disc 3: Rope

· Rope Unleashed
· Production Photographs
· Theatrical Trailer
· Production Notes

Disc 4: Rear Window

· Rear Window Ethics: An Original Documentary
· A Conversation with Screenwriter John Michael Hayes
· Production Photographs
· Theatrical Trailer
· Re-Release Trailer Narrated by James Stewart
· Production Notes

Disc 5: The Trouble with Harry

· The Trouble with Harry Isn't Over
· Production Photographs
· Theatrical Trailer
· Production Notes

Disc 6: The Man Who Knew Too Much

· The Making of The Man Who Knew Too Much
· Production Photographs
· Theatrical Trailer
· Production Notes

Disc 7: Vertigo

· Obsessed with Vertigo
· Feature Commentary with Associate Producer Herbert Coleman, Restoration Team Robert A. Harris and James C. Katz and Other Vertigo Participants
· Original Theatrical Trailer
· Restoration Theatrical Trailer
· Hitchcock’s Foreign Censorship Ending
· The Vertigo Archive
· Production Notes

Disc 8: Psycho

· Theatrical Trailer
· Re-Release Trailers
· Newsreel Footage: The Release of "Psycho"
· The Shower Scene: With and Without Music
· Archives
· Production Photographs
· Behind-the-Scenes Photographs
· The Shower Scene: Storyboards by Saul Bass
· Lobby Cards

Disc 9: The Birds

· Deleted Scene
· The Original Ending
· Storyboards
· Tippi Hedron’s Screen Test
· the Birds Is Coming (Universal International Newsreel)
· Suspense Story: National Press Club Hears Hitchcock (Universal International Newsreel)
· Production Photographs
· Production Notes
· Theatrical Trailer

Disc 10: Marnie

· The Trouble with Marnie
· Archives
· Theatrical Trailer
· Production Notes

Disc 11: Torn Curtain

· Torn Curtain Rising
· Scenes Scored by Bernard Herrmann
· Production Photographs
· Theatrical Trailer
· Production Notes

Disc 12: Topaz

· Topaz: An Appreciation by Film Historian and Critic Leonard Maltin
· Alternate Endings
· Storyboards: The Mendoza’s
· Production Photographs
· Theatrical Trailer
· Production Notes

Disc 13: Frenzy

· The Story of Frenzy
· Production Photographs
· Theatrical Trailer
· Production Notes

Disc 14: Family Plot

· Plotting Family Plot
· Storyboards: The Chase Scene
· Production Photographs
· Theatrical Trailers
· Production Notes

Disc 15: Bonus Disc

· AFI Salute to Alfred Hitchcock
· Masters of Cinema
· The Making of Psycho
· All About the Birds