Product Details

• Actors: Leon M. Lion, Anne Grey, John Stuart, Sara Allgood, Edward Chapman
• Directors: Alfred Hitchcock
• Writers: Alfred Hitchcock, Alma Reville, Joseph Jefferson Farjeon, Rodney Ackland, Sean O'Casey
• Producers: Leon M. Lion, John Maxwell
• Format: Black & White, EP, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 2
• Studio: Madacy Records
• VHS Release Date: June 2, 1998
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6303945112
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #500,309 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

This set of five titles from the British phase of Alfred Hitchcock's early career serves as an outstanding reflection on the great director's evolving preoccupations and pet themes in the 1930s. The earliest inclusion is the 1930 Murder, starring Herbert Marshall as a famous stage actor who takes it upon himself to investigate a murder for which a young actress has been wrongly convicted. Clever and witty, the film finds Hitch exploring the blurry dualisms of reality and illusion, guilt and innocence, and watching and doing. The 1932 Number 17 is Hitchcock in a particularly playful vein. A bit bored by the "old dark house" Gothic tone of the story, he uses the film as an opportunity to push the limits of camera mobility, the emotional underpinnings of shots, and the sheer fun of using model trains and other vehicles to create climactic chases. In the 1934 version of The Man Who Knew Too Much, the director matches a sophisticated tone with a gut-wrenching tale of a child kidnapped by spies. A fascinating study in contrast with Hitch's 1956 edition of the story (the one starring James Stewart and Doris Day), this film highlights both his interest in the burden of secrecy as well as his youthful efforts at visual experimentation. The 1936 Sabotage is a stunning story of a naive woman's revenge-killing of her husband, a German spy, and the subsequent cover-up of her deed both by fate and by a police detective who chooses to keep quiet about her guilt. Finally, the 1936 Secret Agent, starring John Gielgud, Robert Young, Madeleine Carroll, and Peter Lorre in an espionage story of concealed identities and assassination, is dense with ideas about lies and the brutality of the hidden. A few features later, Alfred Hitchcock belonged to Hollywood, and the American cinema took a giant leap forward. But in this boxed set can be seen the blueprint of his genius. The prints of the films used in this set are serviceable and probably comparable to average 16mm classroom or museum presentations. The DVDs also include Hitchcock filmographies, trivia questions, a director biography, and scene access. --Tom Keogh

From the Director

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS 1) Works on any Windows or Macintosh computer with DVD-ROM Drives 2) iTunes 6.01 or above must be installed on your computer. 3) Your iPod Video must be configured to manually manage songs & playlists. (This is for first time set-up only.) Select "Manually manage songs and playlists" in the tab labeled iPod in your iTunes Preferences. WINDOWS COMPUTERS: Open iTunes --> Edit Menu --> Preferences --> iPod Tab --> check the "Manually manage songs and playlists" check box --> close Preferences MACINTOSH COMPUTERS: Open iTunes --> iTunes Menu --> Preferences --> select iPod --> select the "Manually manage songs and playlists" radio button --> close Preferences 4) Drag and drop any video from the iPod Ready Disc onto your iPod icon that appears

within iTunes. 5) An "Updating Songs" progress bar should appear at the top of your iTunes window after you drop the file to your iPod. (Be Patient! These are large files and they will take time to load.) 6) Now you are ready to go! Find the file in your list of iTunes elements (on your iPod),

double-click and play! NOTE: This method does NOT add iPod ready videos to your iTunes library on your computer's hard drive, it moves them directly to your iPod, thus saving valuable space! Just make sure you have the "Manually manage songs and playlist" option selected in your preferences and you can drag and drop from the iPod Ready Disc directly to your iPod as it appears within iTunes.

iPOD AND iTUNES ARE REGISTERED TRADEMARKS OF APPLE COMPUTERS INC. Drop the included iPOD ready disc into any computer with a DVD-ROM drive and iTunes 6.01 software installed on it, and simply drag and drop any of the video programs from it directly on your Video iPOD! * Save valuable hard-drive space * Save time, no ripping, just drag & drop * Easy & Convenient * Perfect for Traveling Just drop this iPOD ready disc into any computer with a DVD-ROM drive and iTunes software, and simply drag & drop any of the video programs from it directly on your Video iPOD. Now adding content to your iPOD is a breeze!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars More Madacy Entertainment trash..., December 7, 1999

By 

Joseph Cossette (Fort Lauderdale, FL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Alfred Hitchcock Collection (Murder, Number 17, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Sabotage, Secret Agent) (DVD)

Madacy appears to have quite a history of producing low quality transfers from film to DVD. All one needs to do is look at other Amazon reviews (look at some of the Charlie Chaplin DVD reviews). I was extemely disappointed with this DVD set and wished I could get back my money. It was a complete waste of money. We're lucky that Amazon has the ability to review these so others don't waste their hard-earned money also. Also fortunate that Amazon has technical info so we can see who has produced the DVD's.

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars DON'T ORDER THIS TERRIBLE PACKAGE OF GREAT MOVIES!, November 5, 1999

By 

Brian (Sherman Oaks, CA, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Alfred Hitchcock Collection (Murder, Number 17, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Sabotage, Secret Agent) (DVD)

Having seen all these superb Hitchcock films before, I was expecting to enjoy the wonder of DVD viewing to enhance the next times around. No go -- owing to poor encoding problems and horrible packaging from the producers (resulting in ALL of the discs coming off their spindles and perhaps being the culprit behing tiny surface scratches), only one of the pictures was even viewable. A gigantic waste of money. Go ahead and order if you must, but be prepared for the hassle of sending it right back to Amazon.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Madacy - worst DVD producer ever, February 18, 2000

By 

R. M. Kohary (Bothell, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Alfred Hitchcock Collection (Murder, Number 17, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Sabotage, Secret Agent) (DVD)

The editorial review from Amazon.com states, "The prints of the films used in this box set are serviceable and probably comparable to average 16mm classroom or museum presentations." All I can think is that Mr. Keogh is lying or didn't actually watch the discs. The transfers are among the worst ever on DVD, which is typical of all Madacy titles. The films on the discs are unfortunately great - too bad they're unwatchable. Avoid this collection like the plague, and wait for re-releases from reputable distributors.