The Alfred Hitchcock Collection I

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
Alfred Hitchcock's 1929 remake of the 1916 U.K. drama The Manxman is no picnic: lives are destroyed, careers ruined, and hopes dashed. One of the director's harshest works, this silent film concerns two old school chums on the Isle of Man, Pete (Carl Brisson) and Phil (Malcolm Keen), who both love the same woman, Kate (Anny Ondra). Phil has been reared and educated to become an aristocrat--a successful lawyer and eventual judge. Pete, by contrast, is happy as a fisherman but cannot win Kate until he earns his fortune. (He also doesn't know how Phil really feels about his girl.) When word comes that Pete has died overseas, Phil and Kate consummate their passion, only to find that the news of their friend's demise has been greatly exaggerated. What follows is a doomed effort by the lovers to paper over what they've done: Pete marries Kate, all right, but Kate and Phil's deception not only doesn't go away, it just gets deeper. Hitchcock explores, though not too subtly, his developing preoccupation with shared guilt and secret selves, and he layers in strong hints of ever-deepening motivation behind so much self-destruction. (A suggestion that blue-blooded Phil is really using the barmaid Kate as a shield against his destiny is not only provocative but amplifies the tragedy.) Much of the film is set-bound, but there are also astonishing moments of Hitchcock working out early versions of visual ideas fulfilled up to 30 years later in such films as North by Northwest and Psycho. --Tom Keogh
Description
7 DVD SET INCLUDES:
The Secret Agent
The Skin Game
Number 17
The Ring
Jamaica Inn
Young and Innocent
The Cheney Vase
The Manxman
The 39 Steps
B&W/683 min.
Average customer rating:
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The Alfred Hitchcock Signature Collection (Strangers on a Train Two-Disc Edition / North by Northwest / Dial M for Murder / Foreign Correspondent / Suspicion / The Wrong Man / Stage Fright / I Confess / Mr. and Mrs. Smith)
Starring: Alfred Hitchcock Manufacturer: Warner Home Video ProductGroup: DVD Binding: DVD Similar Items:
ASIN: B0002HOES0 Release Date: 2004-09-07 |
Description
The Alfred Hitchcock Signature Collection contains the DVD debut of 8 Hitchcock classics including "Strangers on a Train Two-Disc Special Edition," and the following 7 new single-disc DVDs: "Dial M For Murder," "Foreign Correspondent" "Suspicion," "The Wrong Man," "Stage Fright," "I Confess" and "Mr. and Mrs. Smith." The previously released "North by Northwest" is also included in the 10-disc Signature Collection. Each of the 9 films in the collection shows why Hitchcock is regarded as one of Hollywood's most esteemed and important directors, and also brings legendary stars to the digital front including Cary Grant, Henry Fonda, Marlene Dietrich, Grace Kelly, Montgomery Clift and many others.Strangers on a Train - En route from Washington, D.C., champion tennis player Guy Haines (Farley Granger) meets pushy playboy Bruno Anthony (Robert Walker). What begins as a chance encounter turns into a series of morbid confrontations, as Bruno manipulates his way into Guy's life. Bruno is eager to kill his father and knows Guy wants to marry a senator's daughter (Ruth Roman) but can't get a divorce from his wife. So Bruno suggests the men swap murders, which would leave no traceable clues or possible motives. Though Guy refuses, it won't be easy to rid himself of the psychopathic Bruno. Hitchcock's daughter Patricia appears in this film. The extra features included on the DVD are: Alternate 'preview' version of the film; Commentary by director Peter Bogdanovich, Psycho screenwriter Joseph Stephano, Strangers on a Train author Patricia Highsmith and biographer Andrew Wilson; New making-of documentary Strangers on a Train: A Hitchcock Classic, with Farley Granger, film historian Richard Schickel, Patricia Hitchcock O'Connell and other Hitchcock family members and colleagues recalling the making of this suspense landmark; Three intriguing featurettes: The Hitchcocks on Hitch, Strangers on a Train: The Victim's P.O.V., Strangers on a Train by M. Night Shyamalan; Alfred Hitchcock's Historical Meeting, a vintage newsreel.
Each DVD will be presented in a format preserving the aspect ratio of its original theatrical exhibition and will include the original theatrical trailer, and subtitles in English, French and Spanish.
Customer Reviews:
Alfred Hitchcock Signature Movie Collection DVD set.......2007-04-12
Wonderful Collection.......2007-04-06
a must for a fan.......2007-03-08
Alfred Hitchcock Signature Collection.......2007-01-29
Alfred Hitchcock.......2007-01-16
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