The Alfred Hitchcock Classics Collection 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

The Alfred Hitchcock Classics Collection 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman September 15, 2020

Universal has released four of Alfred Hitchcock's best and most popular films -- 'Rear Window,' 'Vertigo,' 'Psycho,' and 'The Birds' -- to the UHD format, all exclusive to this package with the exception of 'Psycho,' which is available separately in collectible SteelBook packaging. Find below links to individual reviews as well as a few words and thoughts on, and photographs of, this collection's packaging.

For full film reviews, please click through the following links; note that each of these points to the original Blu-ray releases.

• Rear Window
• Vertigo
• Psycho
• The Birds

The Alfred Hitchcock Classics Collection 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

For full UHD video reviews, please click through the following links.

• Rear Window
• Vertigo
• Psycho
• The Birds

The Alfred Hitchcock Classics Collection 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

For full audio reviews, please click through the following links; note that because Rear Window and The Birds include the original Blu-ray audio, those film links point to their respective original Blu-ray releases.

• Rear Window
• Vertigo
• Psycho
• The Birds

The Alfred Hitchcock Classics Collection 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The collection ships in attractive DigiBook packaging which comes nestled inside an embossed slip box which, on the front, replicates the artwork on the DigiBook and on the rear displays the usual assortment of content, including a blurb, artwork for each film, bonus feature listings, digital content info, legalese, and the like. The box's bottom includes microscopic tech specs for each film. The DigiBook features the same artwork front and back -- still images from each film on the four corners with Hitchcock in profile facing left in the middle, the only difference being he's in silhouette on the front and in full color view on the rear. Unlike the outer slip box, there is no embossing work on the DigiBook proper. Inside, the first two pages are dedicated to a busy but interesting montage featuring original poster artwork for each film around the edges. Hitchcock sits in a director's chair just left of center while a popular quote appears to his right towards the top. Moving forward, each movie fills two pages. On the left is full poster artwork and the year the film was released, running vertically towards the top, and on the right is a key still from the film bottom left or right. Top center is a quote from the film and below is a bonus feature listing. The rear panel includes more poster artwork, a Hitchcock quote on the left, and an image of the director holding a Psycho clapperboard. The digital copy code can also be found here.

The discs are housed inside the sleeves, with the UHDs always on the left and the Blu-rays always on the right (UHD and Blu-ray banners run across the top for easy identification). They fit tightly and require fingerprinting the bottom of the disc to remove. Those fingerprints on the discs caused malfunctions on Vertigo during film playback and on the Psycho menu screen; details can be found in each of those film's respective UHD reviews. The packaging looks great, but it's impractical and prone to interrupting a watch, if not perhaps even doing irreversible damage to the discs. Why studios insist on difficult packaging that necessitates touching the discs where they shouldn't be touched remains an unsolved mystery.

For full breakdowns of the included supplemental content, please click through the links below; note that these links point to the original Blu-ray releases. Each UHD disc includes most or all of the extras, but on a couple of occasions one or two extras remain exclusive to the bundled Blu-ray discs.

• Rear Window
• Vertigo
• Psycho
• The Birds

The Alfred Hitchcock Classics Collection 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Alfred Hitchcock Classics Collection is a treat. The UHD video presentations are excellent, some better than others (ranking them from best to worst: Vertigo, Psycho, Rear Window, The Birds). Audio is great, whether newly mixed DTS:X (Vertigo, Psycho) or returning 2.0 channel lossless (Rear Window, The Birds). No new extras are included, but there's plenty of excellent carryover content. Despite a few technical hiccups here and there and packaging that is attractive but potentially detrimental to disc playback, this set comes very highly recommended.