Alfred Hitchcock

Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Season Four
$39.98
I was very happy to see Alfred Hitchcock Presents come back after missing last year for a DVD release. I was hoping they would release a couple of seasons a year, but I guess it will take another 6 years to get the entire series. This release will feature John Williams last appearance in the series. He has always been a favorite of mine since I saw him in To Catch a Thief and Dial M for Murder. Also, we get the other Steve Mcqueen episode in this set. Another reviewer was asking about the release of Thriller. There are plans to release the entire set next year. No date has been announced yet, but at least it's coming.

Alfred Hitchcock Presents - Season Three
$39.98
It seems like a lot of people have written very eloquent and thoughtful reviews of Hitchcock's half-hour segmented anthology series, so I'm not sure that there is anything I can add here that hasn't been covered already.

Frankly I'm amazed and pleased that Universal Studios is offering this series at such a reasonable price. It's clear from the enjoyment that Alfred Hitchcock takes in setting up a morbid little joke or comment at the start of each episode that he truly loves being in front of the camera as much as he loves being behind it directing. I think I may have actually gotten more enjoyment from Alfred's introductions and exits than I did from watching some of the half-hour dramas.

Oh, many of the dramas are excellent, borne up to the best examples of television production ever created on the wings of great actors and great cinematographers. There is a certain gripping noir presence to a drama series that makes exquisite use of black and white film. It's a lost art today, but when done to perfection as in this series, I almost prefer to watch black and white rather than color episodes of other more modern shows. There is a great feel to it that simply can not be matched in more contemporary styles. And it especially lends itself very well to the presentation of mysteries.

Are there some episodes that don't quite satisfy? Sure. There are just a few. But they are short and easy to tolerate. The less than excellent episodes, in my opinion are only two in this series..., "Miss Bracegirdle Does Her Duty" and.., "On The Nose". I simply found them as dull as dishwater. Not worthy of the Hitchcock title. In one, a very proper older lady , traveling on her own in France, ( obviously out of her element..) suddenly finds herself accidentally trapped in the wrong hotel room with a sleeping man. ( the door handle snaps off from the inside when she tries to leave.) I hate it when my door handles snap off, don't you? Well... ( yawn...) Turns out the man in the bed is dead, and was a notorious killer. It was so poorly done that it was almost laughable. Almost. As for the other one, a woman with a gambling addiction ( she bets on horses...) finds herself in a series of comical miscues as she tries to score enough money to pay off her bookie so that the guy doesn't tell her husband, who threatened to leave her if she was back to her old gambling habits. Man oh man. I have never seen a nicer , kinder, gentler meek little bookie who attempted to scare a woman into giving him his owed money. There was nothing there. BIG BORE from start to finish in that one. The other episodes in the season I found all well worth the price of the purchase. It was enjoyable seeing some of the earliest television work of actors like William Shatner, Jack Klugman, Vincent Price.., and so on.

- Mike S.

Alfred Hitchcock - The Masterpiece Collection
$119.98
This is a nice collection presentation. I would recommend it to your friends who enjoy the classics from this masterful director.

Alfred Hitchcock Presents - Season One
$39.98
I especially love the double sided DVD's, I'm sorry that Universal went back to single sided DVD's for the second season. But, this is good TV, I recommend it.