Good deal for the money
Since the days of bargain-bin videotapes by labels like Goodtimes, I've always been wary of these "too good to be true" deals. Yet, as I am quite a fan of the films of Alfred Hitchcock, I couldn't pass this one up. And for the most part, I'm glad I gambled a few bucks.
As of this writing, the majority of these films are still in the public domain and thus, not available from companies willing to spend the time and money on a proper restoration. It's worth noting, though, that some of the best films here ARE available in near-pristine condition in the 3-disc The Alfred Hitchcock Box Set (The Ring / The Manxman / Murder! / The Skin Game / Rich and Strange). Two are available in Criterion Collections: The Lady Vanishes - Criterion Collection and The 39 Steps...
The origins of greatness
ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS - THE LEGEND BEGINS consists primarily of silent and sound films that Hitchcock directed before relocating from Britain to Hollywood in 1940. One feature that distingushes this collection from several similar budget-priced multi-packs is the near-hour's worth of movie trailers included as a bonus. There's also a couple of episodes from the murder/mystery anthology TV show that Hitchcock hosted a half century ago.
MILL CREEK box sets offer good-to-average-quality audio and video transfers of public domain material at a most reasonable price. Since their switch over from RAINTREE, the company ID appears for brief intervals in the lower right hand corner of the screen.
ALFRED HITCHCOCK - THE MASTERPIECE COLLECTION is an exquisite box set of many of Hitch's finest UNIVERSAL/MCA titles.
Parenthetical numbers preceding titles are 1 to 10 viewer poll ratings...
What a lot of fussing over a 5 buck item!
I picked this up at Wal-Mart in the five-dollar bin, desperate for a copy of The Thirty-Nine Steps and willing to risk all of a five-big-dollars-plus-tax for it. What I got was a terrific collection of the early Hitchcock films, including the silents, not remastered but seemingly all taken from surprisingly decent prints, and with good sound--the quality we used to see and be fine with on late night television. All my discs played perfectly including one I'd scratched accidentally. The discs are packed solid with material so if your DVD player is old or dirty you might have problems.
If I waited for Criterion to do up an equivalent package, and that doesn't seem to be happening, I'd probably end up paying over $200 for the whole shebang. This $5 deal leaves me with $195 to go out and get another DVD player, or even a new lawnmower. Not bad.
Batches of defective discs turn up all the time. It just happens. If a customer, immediately after purchase, swaps a bad...
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