If you spot someone over the age of 10 who has peed their pants this week, there’s a pretty good chance that he/she is a film buff who has just learned the news that Universal will soon be putting out a Blu-Ray set of 15 Alfred Hitchcock classics, 13 of which have never received the high-def treatment before.
The limited-edition set, entitled “Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection,” will be released on September 25. It will contain the exact same 15 films as the DVD set of the same name that was put out in 2005 — everything from the staples of Hitchcock’s career (“Rear Window,” “Psycho,” etc.) to lesser-discussed works (from 1966’s “Torn Curtain” to 1976’s “Family Plot”). That said, even if you already own the DVD editions, how could you not double-dip, especially if the restorations are as good as we have every right to assume they will be?
In addition to bonus features that accompany each film (detailed below), the set will include a 50-page collector’s booklet featuring “storyboards, costume sketches, correspondence, photographs, and much more.”
If you’re already ready to place your order, you’re in luck: Amazon has the set up for pre-purchase. It’s currently priced at a hefty $209.99, but when you think about it, that’s a mere $13.99 per film. And considering that most of these are among the best films ever made, $13.99 is a small price to pay to have them in glorious 1080p!
Here are full specs of what each disc will include:
Saboteur (1942)
- Saboteur: A Closer Look
- Storyboards: The Statue of Liberty Sequence
- Alfred Hitchcock’s Sketches
- Production Photographs
- Theatrical Trailer
Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
- Beyond Doubt: The Making of Hitchcock’s Favorite Film
- Production Drawings by Art Director Robert Boyle
- Production Photographs
- Theatrical Trailer
Rope (1948)
- Rope Unleashed
- Production Photographs
- Theatrical Trailer
Rear Window (1954)
- 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
- Masters of Cinema
- Feature Commentary with John Fawell, author of Hitchcock’s Rear Window: The Well-Made Film
- Production Photographs
- Theatrical Trailer
- Re-Release Trailer Narrated by James Stewart
- Blu-ray exclusives: BD Live, Pocket Blu
The Trouble with Harry (1955)
- The Trouble with Harry Isn’t Over
- Production Photographs
- Theatrical Trailer
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)
- The Making of The Man Who Knew Too Much
- Production Photographs
- Trailers
Vertigo (1958)
- Obsessed with Vertigo: New Life for Hitchcock’s Masterpiece
- Partners in Crime: Hitchcock’s Collaborators
- Hitchcock / Truffaut Interview Excerpts
- Foreign Censorship Ending
- The Vertigo Archives
- Feature Commentary with Associate Producer Herbert Coleman, Restoration Team Robert A. Harris and James C. Katz, and Other Vertigo Participants
- Feature Commentary with Director William Friedkin
- 100 Years of Universal: The Lew Wasserman Era
- Theatrical Trailer
- Restoration Theatrical Trailer
- BD Live, Pocket Blu (Blu-ray Exclusive)
North by Northwest (1959)
- Feature Commentary by screenwriter Ernest Lehman
- The Master’s Touch: Hitchcock’s Signature Style
- Cary Grant: A Class Apart
- North by Northwest: One for the Ages
- Destination Hitchcock: The Making of North by Northwest
- Music-only audio track
- Stills gallery
- Theatrical trailers and TV spot
Psycho (1960)
- The Making of Psycho
- Psycho Sound
- In The Master’s Shadow: Hitchcock’s Legacy
- Hitchcock-Truffaut Interview Excerpts
- Newsreel Footage: The Release of Psycho
- The Shower Scene: With and Without Music
- The Shower Scene: Storyboards by Saul Bass
- The Psycho Archives
- Posters and Psycho Ads
- Lobby Cards
- Behind-the-Scenes Photographs
- Production Photographs
- Theatrical Trailer
- Re-release Trailers
- Feature Commentary with Stephen Rebello (author of Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho)
The Birds (1963)
- Deleted Scene
- Original Ending
- The Birds: Hitchcock’s Monster Movie — New! (Blu-ray Exclusive)
- All About The Birds
- Storyboards
- Tippi Hedren’s Screen Test
- Hitchcock-Truffaut Interview Excerpts
- The Birds Is Coming (Universal International Newsreel)
- Suspense Story: National Press Club Hears Hitchcock (Universal International Newsreel)
- Production Photographs
- 100 Years of Universal: Restoring the Classics
- 100 Years of Universal: The Lot
- Theatrical Trailer
- BD Live, Pocket Blu (Blu-ray Exclusive)
Marnie (1964)
- The Trouble with Marnie
- The Marnie Archives
- Theatrical Trailer
Torn Curtain (1966)
- Torn Curtain Rising
- Scenes Scored by Bernard Herrmann
- Production Photographs
- Theatrical Trailer
Topaz (1969)
- Alternate Endings
- Topaz: An Appreciation by Film Historian and Critic Leonard Maltin
- Storyboards: The Mendozas
- Production Photographs
- Theatrical Trailer
Frenzy (1972)
- The Story of Frenzy
- Production Photographs
- Theatrical Trailer
Family Plot (1976)
- Plotting Family Plot
- Storyboards: The Chase Scene
- Production Photographs
- Theatrical Trailer
Hat-tip: Cinema Blend