More Hithcock that we know what to do with

[wpqx]

In September Warner Bros. is releasing a 9 film set of his films with the usual special trimmings. Included are:
Strangers on a Train
North by Northwest
Mr. and Mrs. Smith
Stage Fright
I Confess
Dial M for Murder
The Wrong Man
Foreign Correspondant
Suspicion
There is also going to be a boxed set from MGM coming in November. Unfortunately most of these films were already released (with plenty of extras) by Criterion. No word yet if they will be available separately though.
The Lady Vanishes
Notorious
The Paradine Case
Rebecca
Sabotage
Spellbound
The Thirty-Nine Steps
Young and Innocent
That would also explain why the Criterion set is now out of print. His collection is going to look a hell of a lot more complete by year's end.

[SinjinSB]

Where's Lifeboat?! Oh well, I'll just have to stick with my Laserdisc for awhile longer.

[wpqx]

Lifeboat is owned by 20th Century Fox, and they are close to Disney in their evil practices. I agree the film needs to be released, and it is one of my personal favorites. I could certainly do without the re-releasing of the five films Criterion already put out.

[cinemabon]

I picked up and looked at the set today... they all look like barebones releases just put in a box. How simply horrifying! Hitch is rolling in his tremendously large grave!

[wpqx]

Warner Bros. did a similar thing with the Scorsese boxed set making one DVD really special (Goodfellas) and the rest just adequate. North by Northwest is unfortunately the exact same release they already had, which makes me wish the kept it out. I am excited to see the preview cut of Strangers on a Train, and that DVD seems to be the pick of the litter, at least it is the best film in the series. If the docs are as good as the Universal ones, then I should be more than pleased. Perhaps I'll get back here when I actually watch a couple of them.

[oscar jubis]

Originally posted by wpqx
I am excited to see the preview cut of Strangers on a Train, and that DVD seems to be the pick of the litter, at least it is the best film in the series.

I'll take that to mean that Strangers on a Train is your favorite from the Warner Bros. box set, since we are discussing cinema and not some exact science. I'll also assume you've seen all nine films since you don't indicate otherwise. I'm sure some share your opinion. But I'll venture to say that North by Northwest would be the most popular pick, based on the largest sample I could find (IMDb voters, who give North by Northwest higher ratings than any of the other 8 films in the set). I favor The Wrong Man, starring Henry Fonda, which has never been released on any home video format, to my knowledge.

Raymond Chandler is given top billing in the writing credits of Strangers, but in actuality Chandler is responsible only for the first draft. The final result is a screenplay "by committee" (Chandler, Whitfield Cook, Czenzi Ormonde, and possibly others). Chandler is reported to have said that he found Hitch's idea of character "primitive". As you probably know, the film is based on Patricia Highsmith's first novel of the same title. Ms. Highsmith was dumbfounded by the director's decision not to have Guy kill Bruno's dad, which is essential to the plot (why wouldn't Guy tell the truth to the cops after Bruno strangles his wife Miriam? After all Guy hasn't done anything illegal at this point). Hitch "cops out"! His explanation to Highsmith was that he "couldn't find a writer who could bring off the second murder" (source of this quote and Chandler's is Neil Sinyard's The Films of Alfred Hitchcock), so he simply left it out. It turns the narrative into a plain regular-guy-accosted-by-psycho, an excuse for some nifty, elaborate set pieces. There are other problems, albeit minor, such as the decision to have a cop fire a shot into a crowd of kids and parents, killing a carnival worker. Technically brilliant, the scene's mechanics are recreated in an attraction at one of the theme parks in Orlando (was it Universal?).

[SinjinSB]

Just FYI, The Wrong Man has been released on VHS and Laserdisc (the VHS is still available). But I am looking forward to getting these DVDs (The should be coming in the mail any time).

I wish they wouldn't put in previously available DVDs in new box sets. I'd venture to guess, that just about everyone who would buy this set already has NbNW. No worries though, it'll be a gift for someone. And at $60+ shipped, it's still highly reasonable.

[oscar jubis]

You're right re:The Wrong Man on vhs. The box set we are discussing is called "The Signature Collection". Can you tell us where it can be had for "$60+ shipped"? I plan to look for reviews of the extra features included on each disc, as these might justify purchase of films I already own in this format.

[SinjinSB]

I ordered it from dvdsoon.com (note: their prices on their site are listed in Canadian Dollars)...The exact amount I paid was $67.80 USD (and shipping is free).

It was the second cheapest place listed on dvdpricesearch.com, but I'd never ordered from playcentric.com (which was the cheapest).

[oscar jubis]

Thanks, Andrew. I've ordered from playcentric before and I've been satisfied. Normally deepdiscountdvd has the best prices (dvdplanet for Criterions). But at $62.64 (shipping included), playcentric is the place to get the Hitchcock box.

[wpqx]

I admire North by Northwest a lot, but I found the film far too irrelevant. Hitchcock takes a simple misunderstanding way too far. I had a similar complaint with nearly every other Hithcock film I saw at first as well. I found Rebecca to be the first film of his not in the same vein, which is why I consider it his second best, behind Psycho which I'm pretty sure I previously established was my favorite film of his. Strangers has my favorite plot line of any Hicthcock film. I just think the whole theoretical plan for murder is ingenius, even if it wasn't his originally. Then again, Family Plot has my second favorite plot line, so maybe you shouldn't look at my taste in Hitchcock to represent the masses.
As for the Signature collection, I wonder how Mr. and Mrs. Smith was included. Not to say that it is a bad film, or I disliked it, but hardly typical Hitchcock, and therefore tremendously out of place in a "Signature collection". Then again Topaz and Torn Curtain were in Universal's Best of Alfred Hitchcock set. Perhaps they should just call it an Alfred Hitchcock collection. The precise titles are typically out of place.

[oscar jubis]

Originally posted by wpqx
I admire North by Northwest a lot, but I found the film far too irrelevant. Strangers has my favorite plot line of any Hicthcock film. I just think the whole theoretical plan for murder is ingenius, even if it wasn't his originally. Then again, Family Plot has my second favorite plot line, so maybe you shouldn't look at my taste in Hitchcock to represent the masses.

I don't know whether North by Northwest is any less irrelevant than Family Plot. The latter was met with bening condescension upon release, but I enjoy how the seemingly disconnected twin narratives suddenly collide towards the end. Although, to be honest, I generally find plot/narrative the least interesting aspect of films. I particularly pay attention to more purely cinematic components. And that's were Hitchcock excels. I cannot come up with a single feature of his that's NOT derived from somebody else's play, short story or novel. His genius lies in visualizing an existing text.
One last comment about Family Plot: Barbara Harris's performance as Bruce Dern's psychic girlfriend is way too broad, kookier than necessary. She would've fit right in with those Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. If you've seen the popular Almodovar film you know what I'm talking about.

[wpqx]

My only complaint with Family Plot was the overdone comedy involving Bruce Dern and Barbara Harris driving down a mountain with cut breaks. Just a little too over the top for me. I agree that some films make plot irrelevant, but a great plot can make a great movie.