dVd reviews:Alfred Hitchcock Collection V1

Published on September 15, 2007

Alfred Hitchcock Collection V1

Unfortunately, this first  volume doesn't include his famous chillers "Psycho", "Vertigo" or "North by Northwest", but don't despair, they will be released in upcoming collections.

 Volume 1 kicks off with Hitchcock's first colour production, "Rope", and ends with the thriller "Frenzy". The films have all been remastered and the picture quality is excellent. Unfortunately no special features are included although some of the films come with a few bonus clips.

The cover price is a very reasonable Bt999 and the collection is selling for between Bt790 and Bt920.

Rope (1948)

Based on the famous Leopold and Loeb murder case, the film opens with two young men (Farley Granger and John Dall) strangling a friend just to prove they're intellectually capable of committing the perfect crime. They hide the body in a trunk that will serve as the dinner table for a party honouring the deceased. An adaptation of a stage play by Patrick Hamilton, the entire film is shot on one stage set.

Frenzy (1972)

"Frenzy" is Alfred Hitchcock's next-to-last film and the first he'd made in England for 20 years. London is terrorised by a vicious sex killer known as the necktie murderer. Following the brutal slaying of a woman, her ex-husband, the down-on-his-luck Richard Blaney, is suspected by the police of being the killer. He goes on the run, determined to prove his innocence.

Topaz (1969)

One of his Cold War-theme movies depicting the Soviet-American power balance, "Topaz" tells the story of American CIA agent Michael Nordstrom (John Forsythe), who is instrumental in uncovering Russian plans to place missiles in Cuba. For confirmation he turns to French agent Andre Devereaux (Frederick Stafford), who travels to Cuba to gather information. In the process, he discovers evidence of a shocking betrayal.

The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)

A remake of Hitchcock's 1934 movie of the same name but with a bigger budget. Dr Ben McKenna (Jimmy Stewart), his wife Jo and their son Hank are on a touring holiday of Africa when they meet the mysterious Louis Bernard on a bus. The next day Bernard is murdered in the local marketplace, but before he dies he manages to reveal details of an assassination about to take place in London. Fearing that their plot will be revealed, the assassins kidnap Hank in order to keep the McKenna's silent.

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