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Hitchcock DVD Collection - Dial M For Murder / I Confess / Stage Fright / The Wrong Man / Strangers On A Train / North By Northwest


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Excellent Hitchcock
Review date: 2007-11-13 Rating: 10 out of 10

North by Northwest is one of Hitchcock's great thrillers. Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint star. The mistaken identity plot plays well to Grants strengths as the man confused by the insistence of others that he is George Kaplan, the mysterious spy. The balance between thriller and comedy is very well judged. The look of this movie is the key to its success along with the many set pieces. The frantic struggle of Grant against the hood's attempts to pour a bottle of scotch down his throat conveys real violence and panic.

I Confess is better remembered for its star, Montgomery Clift, than as one of Hitchcock's great movies but it is still powerful stuff. The theme is a strong one that has been copied and adapted elsewhere. Clift's character has to wrestle with his conscience after a murderer reveals his crimes in the confessional. This could, in less experienced hands turn this into more of a melodrama

The Wrong Man - is based on the book The True Story of Christopher Emmanuel Balestrero by Maxwell Anderson. Henry Fonda is fantastic alongside and excellent Vera Miles never stooping to melodrama this is powerful stuff. Fonda clam insistence on his innocence with a certain lack of emotion, the bulk of which is focussed on Miles, is compelling.

I am a fan of Stage Fright for its atmosphere and tensions. It explores the common Hitchockian theme of the wanted man trying to prove his innocence. Eve Gill (Jane Wyman), an aspiring young actress, shelters a fellow acting student, Jonathan Cooper (Richard Todd), from the police. He is suspected of murdering the husband of his mistress, Charlotte Inwood (Marlene Dietrich who plays the dangerous seductress that she so often played), he claims that he became implicated only when he tried to help Charlotte destroy the evidence. This movie has lots of classic Hitchcock's twists and turns and the level of suspense and tension is kept high throughout.

Dial M for Murder - Grace Kelly, Ray Milland and Robert Cummings. Filmed pretty much on the single set with a few, dialogue free shots, outside the apartment and the dinner scene where the alibi is being established. This is a neat adaptation the stage play of the same title by Frederick Knot. The play premiered in 1952 as a BBC television play before being performed on the stage in the same year. Hitchcock knew and awful lot about claustrophobic sets, as also used in The Rope, and he makes a virtue out of the confined set as the key to the police understanding of the death is the limitations on access to the apartment. Milland is inspired casting as usual for Hitchcock who only experienced difficulties with "stars" later in his career with the difficulty Torn Curtain (which Andrews and Newman spoiled) and on one other occasion where he miscast Doris Day in his remake of The Man Who Knew Too Much

Strangers on a Train - Tennis player Guy Haines (Farley Granger) wants to divorce his unfaithful wife, Miriam (Rogers), in order to marry, Anne Morton (Ruth Roman). Guy meets the unstable and psychopathic Bruno Antony (Robert Walker) on a train and Bruno tells Guy about his idea to exchange murders: Bruno would kill Miriam if Guy kills Bruno's father. Guy does not take Bruno seriously Bruno murders Miriam. This plays, again, on one of Hitchcock's favorite themes of the innocent man who unwittingly gets caught up on a murder and can not go to the police without further implicating himself. Patricia Hitchcock (Alfred's daughter) plays Anne Morton's sister superbly acting as both some comedic counterpoint to the tense drama and as the stimulus to the veil of normality being briefly lifted from Bruno's public persona. The fact that she wears glasses and therefore looks similar to the murdered Miriam draws her to Bruno's attention triggering an iconic scene in the movie. The glasses play a part in another iconic scene during the murder itself and Bruno's desperate attempts to retrieve Guy's cigarette lighter from a drain is compelling. Leo G Carroll is brilliant as Anne's father. He appeared in several other Hitchcock movies, including Spellbound and North By Northwest. His great strength is the relaxed authority that he brings to the role which is required here as he is playing a senator. My only gripe with this movie is the ending. I know they grappled with how to end it and still hadn't resolved this until well into shooting the movie but to contemporary eyes a policeman carelessly shooting into a carousel with women and children onboard seems wrong. No thought is given to the poor carousel operator who is shot.


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Reviews


You can't beat the Master
Review date: 2005-05-14 Rating: 10 out of 10

Without a doupt one of the best boxsets I have ever bought. It features:
"North by Northwest" which is still recognised as Hitchcock's greatest thriller. Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint star. The picture quality on the DVD is amazingly perfect, when you consider the film is over 40 years old. It is presented in 1.85:1 widescreen (colour) and has a new remastered surround soundtrack. Special features include a fantastic 40 minute documentary on the making of "North by Northwest" as well as an audio commentary by Ernest Lehman (who wrote the screen play), a music-only audio track, production stills, a trailer and a TV advert. Overall this is the perfect DVD! 10/10
"I Confess" is not one of Hitchcocks most well remembered movies but it is still watchable. Montgomery Clift and Anne Baxter star. The picture quality (black and white) is above adverage and is presented in full frame with a mono soundtrack. As for the special features there is a 20 minute making of as well as a trailer and footage of the Gala Canadian Premiere for "I Confess". This is my least favorite Hitchcock film in the boxset. 6/10
"The Wrong Man" again is not one of Hitch's most remembered movies but I loved every minute of this thriller based on a true story. Henry Fonda and a fantasic Vera Miles star. Picture quality (black and white) is very good and is 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen with a mono soundtrack. However the DVD is quite skimpy on special features with only a trailer and a 20 minute making of. Dispite a lack of special features I enjoyed this film but it's not to everyones taste. 8/10
"Stage Fright" is a good movie. There is nothing amazing about it but then its not a terrible film either. However the I found the film slighty more amusing than other Hitchcock movies. Marlene Dietrich and Jane Wyman star with Micheal Wilding and Richard Todd. Full frame (black and white) and a adverage picture quality with a mono soundtrack. Yet again a DVD thats extras dont match up to the rest with just a 20 minute making of and a standard trailer. More amusing than suspenseful but I enjoyed the film but it's not greatness (watch out at the end for Ballard Berkley in a small role). 7/10
"Dial M for Murder" is classic Hitchcock. Grace Kelly, Ray Milland and Robert Cummings star is a suspenseful masterpeice. Picture quality (colour) is amazing and is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen with a mono soundtrack. Added extras are very good with the trailer 20 minute making of and a featurette giving a breif history on the 3D process (Dial M was first released in the cinema in 3D). Great film 8/10
"Strangers on a Train" is presented here on 2 disc special edition DVD, with both versions of the film intact, these are the Final release version and the Preview (or British) version. Farley Granger, Ruth Roman, Robert Walker and Patrica Hitchcock star in this wonderful Hitchcock thriller. Again the picture quality is great (black and white) and is full frame with a mono soundtrack. Disc 1 special features include an Audio Commentary on the Final release version and the trailer. While Disc 2 contains the Preview (British) version as well as a whole host of added extras that include, a 40 minute making of, "The Hitchcocks on Hitch" featurette, "The Victims P.O.V" featurette, "An appreciation by M. Night Shyamalan" director of Signs and The Village, and silent newsreel footage of Hitchcock himself. This is another of my favorites. 9/10
Overall this is a brilliant boxset full with the Master of Suspenses greatest work and I would advise anyone to buy this amazing package.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Farley Granger
Montgomery Clift
Marlene Dietrich
Henry Fonda
Ray Milland

Creators:
Ray Milland (Primary Contributor)
Montgomery Clift (Primary Contributor)

Director(s):

Recording label: Warner Home Video
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
EAN: 7321900587969
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 7
Format: PAL,
Release date: 2004-11-08
Audience rating: Parental Guidance
Region code: 2
Running time: 626 minutes
Language: English (Original Language)

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