Hitchcock: The Man Who Knew Too Much/Sabotage

Starring:Leslie Banks, Edna Best, Peter Lorre, Frank Vosper, Hugh Wakefield, Nova Pilbeam, Pierre Fresnay, Cicely Oates, D.A. Clarke-Smith, George Curzon, Jack Vyvian, S.J. Warmington, Frederick Piper, Joan Harrison, Henry Oscar, H.G. Stoker, Frank Atkinson, Charles Paton, Percy Walsh, Hal Walters
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Studio: Madacy Records
Product Type: DVD

Alfred Hitchcock: The Collection (The Lady Vanishes / The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) / Blackmail / The Farmer's Wife / Murder! / Sabotage / The Lodger / Easy Virtue / Rich and Strange / The Sorcer's Apprentice [TV Episode])

Average customer rating:

A very young promise in progress!
Strictly for the Film Historians
Wrong running time
Imperdible...
A Hitchcock Film In Name Only That Goes On For Ever

Alfred Hitchcock: The Collection (The Lady Vanishes / The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) / Blackmail / The Farmer's Wife / Murder! / Sabotage / The Lodger / Easy Virtue / Rich and Strange / The Sorcer's Apprentice [TV Episode])
Starring: Alfred Hitchcock
Manufacturer: Delta
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Alfred Hitchcock: The Collection (The 39 Steps / Jamaica Inn / Young and Innocent / The Manxman / The Secret Agent / Number 17 / The Ring / The Skin Game / The Cheney Vase)
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)
Alfred Hitchcock - The Masterpiece Collection (Psycho / Vertigo / Rear Window / The Birds / Shadow of a Doubt / Family Plot / Frenzy / The Man Who Knew Too Much / Marnie / Rope / Saboteur / Topaz / Torn Curtain / The Trouble with Harry)
Alfred Hitchcock's Bon Voyage & Aventure Malgache
Under Capricorn

ASIN: B00000JQSQ
Release Date: 1999-07-24

Amazon.com

Essentially a one-joke story line based on Eden Philpotts's comic play, the 1928 silent film The Farmer's Wife makes up for its lack of substantive material with a noticeable leap in Alfred Hitchcock's cinematic skills. Jameson Thomas stars as a rustic farmer named Sweetland whose recently deceased wife has left a hole in his home and life. The subsequent marriage of his daughter inspires Sweetland to contemplate the altar again, and he enlists the aid of his lovely housekeeper, Minta (Lillian Hall-Davies), to draw up a list of available if ill-considered candidates. One by one, Sweetland proposes to the ladies and is rebuffed, then huffs his way home to a warm reception by the woman he should obviously be with: Minta. In almost anyone else's hands, this slight and silly tale would instantly evaporate, but Hitchcock takes it as an opportunity to make a lively, good-looking film full of delightful transitions (this is the kind of movie where a wordless exchanged glance leads us from one world and into another), at least one early experiment with a rapid dolly shot (all roads lead to Vertigo, don't you know), and a remarkable amount of suggestively grim humor. One paving stone on the path to Hitchcock's full, brilliant career, The Farmer's Wife reveals a great talent still growing. Tom Keogh

Description

7 DVD SET INCLUDES:
Sabotage
The Lodger
Blackmail
Easy Virtue
Rich and Strange
The Sorcerer's Apprentice
The Farmer's Wife
Murder!
The Man Who Knew Too Much
The Lady Vanishes

B&W/826 min.

Customer Reviews:

A very young promise in progress!.......2007-03-09

Believe or not, this is a slapstick comedy, in spite of the fact we are talking about an early Hitchcock. The dramatis personae turns round a humble farmer who seeks desperately a bride after his wife has died. He doesn't seem to realize his housekeeper is in love with him since a long time. A very interesting proposal of a director in progress by then.

Strictly for the Film Historians.......2006-08-30

OK, let's get this over with; none of us would even consider watching this movie if it weren't for the fact that it was directed by a young Alfred Hitchcock. Indeed, it's doubtful that the movie would have even survived into the 21st Century if it weren't for the director who was to go on to much greater heights. Yet Hitchcock WAS the director and we KNOW he was a masterful director so he must have done a GREAT job, right? Well, not really. I found myself interested somewhat in "The Farmer's Wife" because there is a fair amount of humor in it. I don't know if I laughed out loud but I smiled a few times. I considered asking my wife to waych it and see if she thought I'd end up the same way. However, the one real problem with this movie is that it is TOO long. Frankly, I breathed a sigh of relief when I thought the movie was over. "Maybe it wasn't all that long afterall" I told myself. Yet when the film actually did end about 10 minutes after I thought it would, I had to admit, a lot of it belong on the film editor's floor. For the record, this is a silent movie (Hitchcock directed England's first "talkie" shortly after he made "The Farmer's Wife"). Silent movies need good expressive acting to succeed and I felt that this movie had that. It was proably it's stregth (along with the humor). It's the story of a widower who decides he'll take another wife and how he is angered when his choice of spouse isn't receptive to the idea. He goes through several disappointments all seemingly in the same day before he discovers the obvious choice.

I got this movie as part of an "Early Hitchcock" set. In that sense, I have no qualms that I bought the DVD. I would have been disappointed to have bought this by itself. I liked it well enough but I doubt (due to its' length) that I'll ever watch it again.

Wrong running time.......2001-01-22

Even though the film originally ran about 97 minutes, and even though Amazon's info shows the running time to be 93 minutes, this Laserlight's DVD version of THE FARMER'S WIFE runs 129 minutes. Apparently, the wrong film speed was used in transferring the film to DVD, stretching the film by an additional half hour. The film's tempo is therefore slowed down a great deal, and the pacing and timing of the various comedy scenes are very much ruined. The DVD does have decent picture and sound (mono) quality.

This dated and predictable film was nevertheless well-acted by Jameson Thomas as the farmer and Lillian Hall-Davis as his housekeeper. Hall-Davis also starred in another Hitchcock's silent comedy "The Ring" (a much better film), also available as a Laserlight DVD.

Imperdible..........2000-09-25

En esta era de la tecnología y el gusto por lograr las mejores imágenes y los mejores efectos, esta colección nos lleva a darnos cuenta que las grandes obras de arte se deben edificar a partir de eso, "El Arte". Y esto es precisamente lo que demuestra este box set. El arte de la cinematografía puesta en las manos del genial Hitchcock. Ni que hablar de la producción: Siete discos, cada uno en su propio estuche, excelente sonido, y todo el material subtitulado (includo extras, introducción y trailers), además de que los discos son multizona. Cabe destacar que esto no fue obra de una gran empresa sino de LaserLight Video, pero es algo que los grandes estudios deberían tomar como ejemplo, hartos ya de ver películas con extras sin subtítulos. Si a eso le sumamos el costo del set, nos encontramos con una joya que no podemos desperdiciar. Muy recomendable.

A Hitchcock Film In Name Only That Goes On For Ever.......2000-06-26

I have nothing against silent films. In fact Clara Bow's 'It', Lon Chaney's 'The Phantom of The Opera' and Louise Brooks's 'Pandora's Box' are amongst my all-time favourites. But with the exception of 'The Lodger', Hitchcock never really got going in silent films. 'The Farmer's Wife' certainly had the potential for an easy going, enjoyable comedy, but NOT when it lasts over 2 hours. I challenge anyone to watch this film in one sitting without their eyelids feeling increasingly heavy. On the plus points, Laserlight has dispensed with one of those embarrassing Tony Curtis introductions, and has provided us with a newly recorded (and very good) score. The picture quality is also very good. If you're tempted to buy this DVD because it's a Hitchcock film, I'd say don't. It is only worth a look to anyone with an interest in silent films or a genuine Hitchcock enthusiast.

Alfred Hitchcock Collector's Edition 2 DVD Set - Thirty Nine Steps / The Lady Vanishes / The Man Who Knew Too Much / Sabotage

Average customer rating:

Alfred Hitchcock Collector's Edition 2 DVD Set - Thirty Nine Steps / The Lady Vanishes / The Man Who Knew Too Much / Sabotage
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Manufacturer: Diamond Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video
ASIN: B000LGC5Y2

Product Description

The Alfred Hitchcock Collector's Edition contains four of his most celebrated motion pictures. Shot in the nineteen thirties, they are a great part of the famous British thriller series. In these films, his directorial greatness shines through, as audiences are kept in the dark and on the edge of their seats throughout. Contains: Thirty Nine Steps / The Lady Vanishes / The Man Who Knew Too Much / Sabotage

The Alfred Hitchcock Collection (Murder, Number 17, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Sabotage, Secret Agent)

Average customer rating:

Yes, but ....
Poor Quality DVDs
Madacy - worst DVD producer ever
DVDs won't play
Technical Difficulties

The Alfred Hitchcock Collection (Murder, Number 17, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Sabotage, Secret Agent)
Starring: Alfred Hitchcock
Manufacturer: Madacy Records
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Amazon.com

This set of five titles from the British phase of Alfred Hitchcock's early career serves as an outstanding reflection on the great director's evolving preoccupations and pet themes in the 1930s. The earliest inclusion is the 1930 Murder, starring Herbert Marshall as a famous stage actor who takes it upon himself to investigate a murder for which a young actress has been wrongly convicted. Clever and witty, the film finds Hitch exploring the blurry dualisms of reality and illusion, guilt and innocence, and watching and doing. The 1932 Number 17 is Hitchcock in a particularly playful vein. A bit bored by the "old dark house" Gothic tone of the story, he uses the film as an opportunity to push the limits of camera mobility, the emotional underpinnings of shots, and the sheer fun of using model trains and other vehicles to create climactic chases. In the 1934 version of The Man Who Knew Too Much, the director matches a sophisticated tone with a gut-wrenching tale of a child kidnapped by spies. A fascinating study in contrast with Hitch's 1956 edition of the story (the one starring James Stewart and Doris Day), this film highlights both his interest in the burden of secrecy as well as his youthful efforts at visual experimentation. The 1936 Sabotage is a stunning story of a naive woman's revenge-killing of her husband, a German spy, and the subsequent cover-up of her deed both by fate and by a police detective who chooses to keep quiet about her guilt. Finally, the 1936 Secret Agent, starring John Gielgud, Robert Young, Madeleine Carroll, and Peter Lorre in an espionage story of concealed identities and assassination, is dense with ideas about lies and the brutality of the hidden. A few features later, Alfred Hitchcock belonged to Hollywood, and the American cinema took a giant leap forward. But in this boxed set can be seen the blueprint of his genius. The prints of the films used in this set are serviceable and probably comparable to average 16mm classroom or museum presentations. The DVDs also include Hitchcock filmographies, trivia questions, a director biography, and scene access. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

Yes, but ...........2000-03-28

I love Hitchcock, but .... The big disappointment in this set is that all of the movies look like they were copied from old videotapes -- they're out of focus and have an amazing number of dropouts, flashes, and flickers. Save your money. Tape them from late night cable.

Poor Quality DVDs.......2000-02-21

The contrast on the films can be poor. Limited special features not necessarily related to the film on the disk. No way to display the time or what chapter you are watching. It seemed that no effort was taken to ensure a good print was used to master from. Gosh, I wish I had the money I had spent on these discs so I could get decent copies of these movies.

Madacy - worst DVD producer ever.......2000-02-19

The editorial review from Amazon.com states, "The prints of the films used in this box set are serviceable and probably comparable to average 16mm classroom or museum presentations." All I can think is that Mr. Keogh is lying or didn't actually watch the discs. The transfers are among the worst ever on DVD, which is typical of all Madacy titles. The films on the discs are unfortunately great - too bad they're unwatchable. Avoid this collection like the plague, and wait for re-releases from reputable distributors.

DVDs won't play.......2000-01-23

Like the other reviewer, I could not get any of the disks in the set to play. I returned the set to the store (OK, I confess, I didn't buy them from Amazon) and they were able to play one on their machine. They refunded me anyhow. I emailed Madacy and they said they would send me another set, but nothing has shown up after three weeks. I'll avoid this distributor in the future.

Technical Difficulties.......2000-01-07

The warnings given by other reviewers cannot be amplified enough -- I could not play any one of the five disks and had to return the package. For all I know, Madacy just stuck a bunch of blank disks in the package.

Hitchcock: The Man Who Knew Too Much/Sabotage

Average customer rating:

Poor quality picture of a good film.

Hitchcock: The Man Who Knew Too Much/Sabotage
Starring: Leslie Banks , Edna Best , Peter Lorre , Frank Vosper , and Hugh Wakefield
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Manufacturer: Madacy Records
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Suspense | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Mystery | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Classics | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

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All Deals | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( H ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
ASIN: B00000IC7R
Release Date: 1999-11-09

Customer Reviews:

Poor quality picture of a good film........2000-12-04

This Laserlight version of this very good film is terrible with a very poor picture and sound.I would recommend buying the Carlton(the silver collection)version of "The Man Who Knew Too Much"(1934)from Amazon UK.This British DVD version(region 2) has a very good picture and sound and this Hitchcock fan was very happy to buy it.

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