4-Film Collection: Alfred Hitchcock [Blu-ray]

Four great Hitchcock films from the 50s, all of them in pristine image and sound. If you have a Blu-ray machine that allows for 3D, you'll get to enjoy Dial M in that format also. If you love Hitchcock films, it is worth having.

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Alfred Hitchcock seemed incapable of making a truly bad movie, at least once he started making talkies. But some of his many worthy films have been overshadowed by the greatness of Notorious, Rebecca, Vertigo and North by Northwest. So, this box set is a great way to discover the pleasures of four lesser-known classics. Is Cary Grant trying to poison his wife in Suspicion? Is that glass he’s giving her really glowing? Should Montgomery Clift tell the police about a murderer or would he be betraying his oath as a priest in I, Confess? Which is more thrilling Dial M for Murder in 2D or 3D? Why did Henry Fonda only make one movie with Hitchcock?You’ll find answers in these four films (The Wrong Man is the movie with Fonda, a true crime drama that is all the scarier because it’s true). And you’ll find about eight hours of pure entertainment that holds up today.

Warner Archive presents Suspicion, I Confess, Dial M For Murder, and The Wrong Man in high definition. While all four evince Hitchcock's sparkle, Dial M For Murder makes THE greatest film of all time. No picture packs as powerful a punch.

Warner Archive releases 4 of famed director Alfred Hitchcock's films on Blu-ray, all looking fine in HD, upgrades from the 2004 DVDs, porting over those extras, though nothing new was added. The films are:"Suspicion" (1941) - Cary Grant, Joan Fontaine(Best Actress Academy Award winner)"I, Confess" (1953) - Montgomery Clift, Anne Baxter, Karl Malden"Dial M For Murder" (1954) - Ray Milland, Grace Kelly, Robert Cummings, John Williams"The Wrong Man" (1957) Henry Fonda, Vera MilesAll four films were previously available individually on Blu-ray, but make for a most affordable package in this set.

Alfred Hitchcock was a master of his craft these 4 films are a few of many of his great films

Alfred Hitchcock has so many movies that I try to stick to just box sets and multi-packs, so this was a great addition to my collection (see photo). But it would’ve been nice if Strangers on a Train and Stage Fright were included! I’m hoping WB releases another 4 film collection, seeing as how they have the rights to more Hitchcock movies than this.

The Dial M For Murder disk had the sound cut out intermittently starting just seconds before the intermission and continuing for at least several minutes but I have no idea how much longer because I pressed EJECT.I sought a replacement of the set from Amazon. While we waited a few days for the replacement to arrive, we decided to watch/review the other three titles, despite the fact we had seen them recently. They were OK, at least on that set.The replacement set arrived, and we decided to watch Dial M For Murder, as that was the Hitchcock we hadn't seen in a while, and didn't get to finish.Unfortunately, the exact same sound problem occurred on the second copy as on the first, complete loss of sound periodically. So I pulled out a copy I dubbed off of TCM back in 2009 and finished watching it on the DVD+D recorded 14 years ago without a hitch.There is clearly a pressing problem with the Dial M For Murder disk in these sets. To have sound cut out in exactly the same place is more than a coincidence.If you want the other three titles, and don't care if "Dial" is a dud, it will have a good chance of being OK, but I would recommend watching the others promptly and before the return window closes because I could have gotten, ahh, lucky??, on the other three. It probably isn't worth buying for just the other three because street prices on the other three are not $10 a piece.The transfers on the other three titles look very good, so quite watchable. The video quality on the "Dial" Blu-Ray is far better than the DVD, which just makes it more disappointing. Ironically, the video on my dubbed DVD off TCM using Fios is better than the prerecorded studio issued DVD we have (but not better than the LD), so we were looking forward to the Blu-Ray print.I have had excellent luck with Blu-Ray disk reliability until recently. Even titles that didn't receive a full restoration of the original print and sound are generally a worthwhile step up from the DVD. However, problems with a couple titles recently have given me the concern that I better check disks thoroughly soon after I get them. It also makes me wonder about Blu-Rays that I bought years ago that we haven't gotten around to watching. Now I wonder if any of those have sound or video issues that don't show up with fast forward scans.I never had to really worry about that with Laser Disks, but it was a horrible problem with early DVDs, and is still a big problem with DVD box sets, even from major studios. Don't even get me started on the cheap third party TV show sets. Many of them are either very low grade definition transfers, or don't play well. But even the studio issued sets can have bad disks or episodes on disks. I even had several episodes that won't play on a DVD disk set produced by ACORN, and those are high quality pressings.I had issues with another WB Blu-Ray where the disk wouldn't play through a section. This was on a fast forward check that I do when I receive a new disk, even if we aren't wanting to watch it right now. This was on a recent pressing, so I wonder if there is a problem brewing with Blu-Ray disks now. Probably not, but I wouldn't have discovered the sound dropouts on the Dial M For Murder disk if we hadn't wanted to watch it as soon as I bought the disk. Dead sound doesn't show up on a fast forward scan.So now I feel compelled to have to play through all Blu-Rays and DVD's when I buy them, even though we have no intention of watching them for some time.