Universal Studios Home Entertainment has announced the 5-disc Blu-ray release of
Alfred Hitchcock: The Essentials Collection, which features five classic Hitchcock films previously released as part of the 15-disc
Alfred Hitchcock Masterpiece Collection.
The Essentials Collection streets on June 4th.
Universally recognized as the Master of Suspense, the legendary Alfred Hitchcock directed some of cinema's most thrilling and unforgettable classics.
The Essentials Collection features five iconic films from the acclaimed director's long and illustrious career --
Rear Window (1954),
Vertigo (1958),
North by Northwest (1959),
Psycho (1960) and
The Birds (1963) -- each digitally restored from high resolution film elements. Starring Hollywood favorites such as James Stewart, Cary Grant, Grace Kelly, Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Tippi Hedren, Eva Marie Saint, Kim Novak and Rod Taylor, this essential collection captures the most memorable moments in the career of a true cinematic master.
The five "Essentials" bundled in Universal's new set have been previously reviewed in full and include:
- Rear Window, DTS-HD Master Audio Mono 2.0, Special Features:
- Rear Window Ethics: An Original Documentary
- A Conversation with Screenwriter John Michael Hayes
- Pure Cinema: Through the Eyes of the Master
- Breaking Barriers: The Sound of Hitchcock
- Hitchcock / Truffaut Interview Excerpts
- Masters of Cinema
- Feature Commentary with Author John Fawell
- Re-Release Trailer Narrated by James Stewart
- Vertigo, DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Special Features:
- Obsessed with Vertigo: New Life for Hitchcock's Masterpiece
- Partners in Crime: Hitchcock's Collaborators
- Hitchcock / Truffaut
- Foreign Censorship Ending
- The Vertigo Archives
- Feature Commentary with Film Director William Friedkin
- Restoration Theatrical Trailer
- 100 Years of Universal: The Lew Wasserman Era
- North by Northwest, Dolby TrueHD 5.1, Special Features:
- Destination Hitchcock: The Making of North by Northwest
- North by Northwest: One for the Ages
- The Master's Touch: Hitchcock's Signature Style
- Cary Grant: A Class Apart
- Feature Commentary by Screenwriter Ernest Lehman
- Stills Gallery
- Trailer Gallery
- Psycho, DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Special Features:
- The Making of Psycho
- Feature Commentary with Stephen Rebello
- Psycho Sound
- In The Master's Shadow: Hitchcock's Legacy
- Hitchcock / Truffaut Interview Excerpts
- Newsreel Footage: The Release of Psycho
- The Shower Scene: With and Without Music
- The Shower Scene: Storyboards by Saul Bass
- The Psycho Archives
- Lobby Cards
- Behind-the-Scenes Photographs
- Production Photographs
- Re-release Trailers
- The Birds, DTS-HD Master Audio Mono 2.0, Special Features:
- Deleted Scene
- The Original Ending
- The Birds: Hitchcock's Monster Movie
- All About The Birds
- Storyboard Sequence
- Tippi Hendren's Screen Test
- Hitchcock / Truffaut Interview Excerpts
- The Birds Is Coming (Universal International Newsreel)
- National Press Club Hears Hitchcock (International Newsreel)
- Production Photographs
- 100 Years of Universal: Restoring the Classics
- 100 Years of Universal: The Lot
Technical specifications and special features are identical to each disc's
Masterpiece Collection or individual release counterpart. (Click on the above links for complete overviews.) Packaging details and cover art for
The Essentials Collection are not yet available. Plans for individual releases of
Rear Window,
Vertigo and
The Birds have not been announced or detailed.