Alfred Hitchcock Premiere Collection

Bonus Features: Disc 1: The Lifeboat

Disc 2: Young and Innocent **Commentary with film historians Stephen Rebello and Bill Krohn **Isolated Music and Effects Track **Peter Bogdanovich Interviews Hitchcock **Francois Truffant Interviews Hitchcock **Restoration Comparison **Trailers **Still Galleries

Disc 3: The Lodger **Commentary with film Historian Patrick McGilligan **Featurette The Sound of Silence: The making of The Lodger, Hitchcock 101 **1940 Radio Play Directed by Alfred Hitchcock **Peter Bogdanovich Interviews Hitchcock **Francois Truffaut Interviews Hitchcock **Restoration Comparison **Trailers **Still Gallery

Disc 4: Notorious Disc 5: Rebecca CE

Disc 6: Sabatoge **Commentary with film Historian Leonard Leff **Peter Bogdanovich Interviews Hitchcock **Restoration Comparison **Still Gallery **Trailer Farm

Disc 7: Spellbound

Disc 8: The Paradine Case **Commentary with film Historians Stephen Rebello and Bill Krohn **Isolated Music and Effects Track **1949 Radio Play starring Joseph Cotton **Peter Bogdanovich Interviews Hitchcock **Restoration Comparison **Theatrical Trailer **Still Gallery **Trailer Farm

Episode Description: Disc 1: The Lifeboat Disc 2: Young and Innocent Disc 3: The Lodger Disc 4: Notorious Disc 5: Rebecca CE Disc 6: Sabatoge Disc 7: Spellbound Disc 8: The Paradine Case

Horrible quality control!

I got the Hitchcock "Premiere" collection from Amazon, and experienced multiple problems with the discs--freezing, pixels, vibration, etc. I got a second replacement set from Amazon, and have experienced the same problems. "Paradine Case" is the worst, and the problem was in the exact same spot in the replacement. DO NOT PURCHASE THIS SET until a recall is made, or a second edition is available. I tried these discs on multiple machines and on my laptop. The problems are NOT caused by user error or bad machines. My equipment is excellent (I actually tried these discs in 6 different machines). Read all of the other reviews about this set, and you will see that these problems are widespread, and NOT isolated incidents! I hope that this situation gets resolved soon, and another issue of this set is released. I love these films, and would really like to have a quality set which works properly. The packaging needs improvement also, to better protect the discs. It is impossible to remove and replace them from the cardboard slots without scuffing or scratching. This is probably the worst packaging I've seen for a boxed set. However, the packaging is a relatively minor concern compared to the quality control issues with the discs. November 17, 2008

great films - ridiculous packaging

I guess I'm one of the lucky ones. All of the discs in my set played just fine. Of course as soon as I received this I saw that the packaging was ridiculous and I immediately removed the discs and put them in replacement dvd slim cases. One has to wonder what they are thinking when they produce a package like this. It's clearly one of the most elaborate and expensive boxes for any dvd set that I've purchased, but it is totally useless. It fails to do the one thing that a dvd case is supposed to do which is safely hold the dvds. And to top it all off it doesn't even fit on anyone's shelf and that includes the shelves of retailers. I've long had a bug up my **** regarding product designers who seem to have no idea about how a product is actually used and this is a classic example of that.

I wish I could have stretched the viewing of these films out a bit instead of having to race through the set to make sure there were no defects, but I have to say that I've enjoyed watching them immensely. I'm a big Hitchcock fan, but I haven't seen any of these films in some years and this was the first time I've seen "The Lodger" and "The Paradine Case" (which turned out to be better than I had anticipated). Not all these films are top drawer Hitchcock, but they are all worth seeing. "Notorious" is unquestionably the best movie here. After that I think everyone probably has a different ranking. For me "Sabotage" is the other great film in the set. It was also a great pleasure to see "Young and Innocent" again. Everyone comments on the amazing tracking shot in the hotel, but the shot that has always grabbed my attention is in the cave when the young man is trying to save the girl from falling into the pit and their hands are reaching for each other. It's almost identical to the shot in "North by Northwest" when Cary Grant is trying to save Eva Marie Saint. November 3, 2008

Defective Discs

Tried two sets, and both featured defective discs that wouldn't play. Amazon has been great about handling the issue, but MGM is going to have to step up and redo this set and pull the defective ones off the shelves. November 3, 2008

Almost perfect set...

I've just spent the last two days watching every disc in this set. The transfers are excellent ("Rebecca," "Notorious" and "Spellbound" are as good as the Criterion editions) as are the supplements. The British films are easily the best editions ever released in the United States, and superior to the Region 2 editions I've seen from the UK. Each one of the discs played perfectly. I removed each disc VERY carefully and don't plan to put them back in the album. I'll store them in plastic sleeves for safekeeping.

However, one of the discs ("Young and Innocent") had some surface scratches, apparently from being put IN the album at the factory. But it plays perfectly.

It would be interesting to hear from others who have received a functioning set!

October 31, 2008

3 of 8 Discs Were Defective!

This problem may be varying from set to set and disc to disc, but the discs for "The Lodger", "Rebeecca" and "Spellbound" all made noise as they ran in the disc player. The other five were fine and all 8 of the discs have good visual quality. But for the first time in the years that I've ordered DVDs from Amazon I am returning a set, and I'm not seeking a replacement because it sounds like too many of the sets out there are defective. What a disappointment -- I've been waiting for the 3 British films in the set to come out in good transfers. Fox needs to do a recall and reissue this at a later date when the problems have been resolved. October 31, 2008

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