ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS: THE LEGACY COLLECTION (1955-1962) 34-Disc DVD Set
Region Code: A
Rating; Unrated
Duration: 6947 Minutes
Audio: English Dolby Digital
Video: 420p SD Fullscreen (1.33:1)
Directors: Robert Stevens, Paul Henreid, Herschel Daugherty, Norman Lloyd, Alfred Hitchcock, Arthur Hiller, James Neilson, Justus Addiss, John Brahm, Robert Altman, Ida Lupino, Stuart Rosenberg, Robert Stevenson, David Swift, William Friedkin
Cast: Robert Redford, Clint Eastwood, Steve McQueen, Joan Fontaine, Claude Rains, Walter Matthau, Thelma Ritter, Joseph Cotton, Peter Falk, Teresa Wright, Leslie Nielsen
Alfred Hitchcock Presents: The Legacy Collection DVD set from Universal collects 263 episodes of the Master of Suspense Alfred Hitchcock's anthology series that originally from 1955-1962. I caught these on re-run on TV back in '80s as a kid well before I knew Hitchcock was the director of film ike Psycho and Vertigo. I don't even think as a young kid I was particularly into mystery and suspense outside of Scooby Do Where Are You?, but I was drawn in by that "Funeral March of the Marionette" theme song, that line-drawing caricature of Hitchcock's figure, and those quirky, deadpan "Good evening..." introductions starring Hitchcock. The series featured loads of contemporary and future Hollywood stars including Robert Redford, Clint Eastwood, Steve McQueen, Claude Rains, Walter Matthau, Thelma Ritter, Joseph Cotton, Peter Falk, and Leslie Nielsen, and included some future directing superstars as well, among them Robert Altman (Nashville), Ida Lupino (The Hitch-Hiker) and William Friedkin (The Exorcist), with Hitchcock himself directing over a dozen episodes of the series, including the series opener "Revenge" with Ralph Meeker (Without Warning) and Vera Miles (Psycho). Favorites of mine include
Alfred Hitchcock Presents: The Legacy Collection DVD set from Universal collects 263 episodes of the Master of Suspense Alfred Hitchcock's anthology series that originally from 1955-1962. I caught these on re-run on TV back in '80s as a kid well before I knew Hitchcock was the director of film ike Psycho and Vertigo. I don't even think as a young kid I was particularly into mystery and suspense outside of Scooby Do Where Are You?, but I was drawn in by that "Funeral March of the Marionette" theme song, that line-drawing caricature of Hitchcock's figure, and those quirky, deadpan "Good evening..." introductions starring Hitchcock. The series featured loads of contemporary and future Hollywood stars including Robert Redford, Clint Eastwood, Steve McQueen, Claude Rains, Walter Matthau, Thelma Ritter, Joseph Cotton, Peter Falk, and Leslie Nielsen, and included some future directing superstars as well, among them Robert Altman (Nashville), Ida Lupino (The Hitch-Hiker) and William Friedkin (The Exorcist), with Hitchcock himself directing over a dozen episodes of the series, including the series opener "Revenge" with Ralph Meeker (Without Warning) and Vera Miles (Psycho). Favorites of mine include
"And So Died Riabouchinska", a creepy psychological thriller starring Claide Rains (The Invisible Man) as a man obsessed with a ventriloquist dummy, which was based on a Ray Bradbury short story, or "The Man from the South" starring screen icon Steve McQueen and Peter Lorre from a story by Roald Dahl, a dark gambler tale that is probably best knows these days because it was adapted by Quentin Tarantino for his segment from Four Rooms. Another nailbiter is the "Bang!, You're Dead" wherein in a young kid who dreams of being a cowboy gets his hands on real gun and runs around town, we as viewers know it's real while no one else does, we are just waiting for what seems inevitable to finally happen, and its a terrific sluice of suspense. I'd me remiss not to mention the seasonal seven final episode written by Robert Bloch (Psycho), about a magician and his sawing a woman in half trick going horribly wrong, which as a kid I found terrifying, apparently it was never actually aired on TV as the censors also found it too disturbing for TV, but it ended up airing in syndication nonetheless. Another banger of a thriller is "The Glass Eye" starring Jessica Tandy (Driving Miss Daisy), as a woman who becomes infatuated with a ventriloquist, the episode is problematic it's agist and ableist, but that was common for the era and it still packs a punch.
Just as a fan of '50-70s television and film the star-spotting entertainment value found here is top-tier, familiar faces pop-up by way of Vic Morrow (Twilight Zone: The Movie), William Shatner (Star Trek), E.G. Marshall (Creepshow), Jack Klugman (Quincy M.D.), Vincent Price (The House on Haunted Hill), Cloris Leachman (Young Frankenstein), Pat Hingle (Batman), Joseph Cotten (Lady Frankenstein), Denholm Elliot (Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom), Keenan Wynn (Piranha), James Coburn (In Like Flint), Walter Matthau (Charley Varrick), Scatman Crothers (The Shining), Dick York and Elizabeth Montgomery from Bewitched, Clu Gulager (The Return of the Living Dead), James Franciscus (Tenebrae), Dick Van Dyke (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang), Harry Dean Stanton (Repo Man), Stella Stevens (The Manitou), Robert Loggia (Innocent Blood), Burt Reynolds (Boogie Nights), Robert Alda (M*A*S*H), Fay Wary (King Kong) and so many more!
Notably this is not a complete series set, there are five episodes that have not been cleared for release due to right issues, including "Lamb to the Slaughter" which was directed by Hitchcock that was based on a short story by Roald Dahl (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory). I don't know all the details, but there five episodes that have never been released on DVD to this day because of licensing issues. It does also not contain the follow-up series The Alfred Hitchcock Hour which ran from '62-65.
This 34-disc set arrives in a side-loading slipbox, inside are seven individual keepcases housing each season, there are no stacked discs, which is awesome, with each disc on it's own dedicated hub on a flipper tray, each season featuring 36-390 episodes spread across 4-6 DVD discs. The reverse side of the wrap feature an episode guide, which I appreciated.
How's it look? Exactly like the previous DVD editions, these have not been remastered, though I know these were shot n film and hold out hope that it will one day soon get the proper restorations for an HD release with all of the episodes included, but for now, I love having these all on one set!
Special Features:
- Alfred Hitchcock Presents: A Look Back
- Fasten Your Seatbelt: The Thrilling Art of Alfred Hitchcock
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