NoirFan

Figured this deserved it's own thread. Info from DVDTimes, link here:

Universal Studios Home Video have announced the Region 1 DVD release of new Two-Disc Special Editions of Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, Rear Window and Vertigo on 7th October 2008. Priced at $26.98 SRP each, these two-disc sets are released under the Universal Legacy Series banner and offer the following features…

Vertigo
Disc 1: Main Feature

* 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
* English DD5.1 Surround and DD2.0 Mono
* English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles
* 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
* Foreign Censorship Ending
* The Vertigo Archives
* Production Notes
* Original Theatrical Trailer
* Restoration Theatrical Trailer


Disc 2: Extra Features

* Obsessed with Vertigo: New Life for Hitchcock's Masterpiece
* Partners in Crime: Hitchcock's Collaborators
* Hitchcock / Truffaut Interview Excerpts
* Alfred Hitchcock Presents "The Case of Mr. Pelham"

MTRodaba2468

Damn, I'm going to be broke Oct. 7th after buying all the Hitchcock Legacy releases!

Geofferson

October is shaping up to be a promising month!

mike7162

Hitchcock is my favorite director hands down, but all this Hitchcock at once is becoming, if you will, obsessive. Sadly, I'll be purchasing every single title.

kefrank

i'm glad they preserved some of the original poster art for the cover, but that huge jimmy stewart is a little obnoxious. nevertheless, i'm pumped for this release as i still have the original non-anamorphic version (and i'm praying it gets a Blu-ray release next year).

Luther Heggs

Blu-ray, or it didn't happen.

JuryDuty

Geez, isn't this like the third release for Vertigo? I have the CE which has many of these features, but the commentaries are nice extras. Though I do prefer the old movie poster artwork:

AGameWithStones

The commentaries are dissapointing. Isn't the crew commentary the same commentary from the previous release?

I don't think I even need to address Friedkin's commentary.

pvdfan

It looks like only the Friedkin commentary and the TV episode are new over the last release in the Masterpiece collection. If that is true, pass for me.

clckworang

It's nice to see this get an anamorphic release outside of that old Hitchcock set. But I'm dying for this to come out on Blu-ray! It'll be hard, but I think I'm going to try to hold out.

And I MUCH prefer the original DVD cover art. As someone else said, that huge James Stewart pic is pretty obnoxious.

mzupeman2

You know, if these are pretty much the same transfers as the Alfred Hitchcock Masterpiece box set... I'm buying that box set. I can get it for like 90 bucks and there's 14 films there. That's a pretty damn good deal considering how much buying them all in October will be.

NitroJMS

I have the Masterpiece set, but I'd gladly get Vertigo on Blu-Ray if Universal decides to release it.

Cornelius1047

I didn't know Bela Lugosi was in Vertigo.

K

cranberries fan

Wow James Stewart does look like Bela Lugosi on that cover good-call there.

slop101

ditto.

I have a giant poster of that hanging above my TV.

ReduxGuy

That is very true, except replace a little with a lotta.

DVD Polizei

Probably a subconscious thing by the artists who are looking at the MSRPs for all of these titles.

NoirFan

DVDTalk review. It's a pity this release doesn't include a scholarly commentary track instead of or in addition to the Friedkin track, this film cries out for academic analysis.

ctyankee

It's a sad day when a triple-dip on a SD release is chosen as a 'DVD Talk Collectors Series.' I can still remember when that used to mean something.

And a review that compares the 2001 to the new 2008 edition glossing over the 2005 release ... wtf?

Vertigo and Rear Window are top 10 films of all time on my personal list but I've never triple dipped and the days of double dipping a SD release are GONE.

I'll wait for the inevitable Blu-ray release after they're done fishing for sucker money.

NoirFan

My sentiments exactly. Even though I don't even have a Blu-ray player yet, it's time to start planning for the future. Any double or triple dips from the major studios in my wish list have been excised in anticipation of eventual Blu releases. Does Netflix always only stock earlier editions of films? I'd certainly want to give all of the upcoming Hitchcock re-releases and Touch of Evil a spin, for the extras.

IronWaffle

Same boat here.

mzupeman2

I haven't had the opportunity to check out this release yet but, there was no '2005 release'. The 2005 release you speak of, is from the Alfred Hitchcock Masterpiece Collection, and as far as I know, those remasters never had a seperate release. For people, like myself, who never wanted to bother paying the money for so many extra movies in that boxed set, these are the first releases since the 2001 DVD.

Triple dipping does not mean that a title can't be worthy of a collectors series rating. Something can be release a couple of times with no features, and then come out in some fantastic set with loads of features, and be worthy of it. Rear Window is also a classic that can stand up to many repeat viewings.

ctyankee

I'm pretty sure that's just a bad choice of words on your part but I don't consider any films by Alfred Hitchcock as "extra movies."

If a DVD is released, it's a release whether or not you choose to own it.

That sort of thinking is exactly my point. Reviewers rewarding DVD producers for finally getting it right ... what nonsense.

DVD reviewers would offer far more worth by talking about the value equation. When a DVD comes out off of the same master with minor tweaking of the image and a couple of new extras it should get a 'Rent It' whereas you guys give it your highest rating ... what a joke.

Apparently all Universal needed to do was give an individual release to a release only initially available as a box set and add a commentary ... both things they should have done from the get-go. Now with Blu-ray around the corner for many of us ... please.

kefrank

I disagree completely. Each release should be rated strictly on its own merits. The review text can give comparisons and recommendations to people that already own another version, but the overall rating should be independent of that. Not everyone owns earlier releases of the same film and the overall rating should not assume so.

beebs

The Masterpiece Box Set is an incredible deal. 15 movies. Yesterday that set was 62.99 shipped from Amazon. Unbeatable. Unfortunately, it's a big box set with the list price of $120.

This is a individual release with a street price of $20. The last individual release was 7 years ago and included a few extras. This release is a 2-disc set with a nice compliment of extras and dramatically improved picture quality. You know what -- this is a DVD Collector's Series disc. If you had the original release, or one of the original box sets... this would be an excellent replacement of those.

The only quip against this set would be the pang of not having the extra features here if you owned the Masterpiece box set. Every self-respecting fan of cinema would likely own that box set, true. But, you have to realize many people never look into big box sets and only want to cherry pick the big diamonds off a crown like this.

-beebs