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Hitchcock 14 Disc Box Set - Vertigo/ The Birds/ Rear Window/ Marnie/ Frenzy/ Topaz/ The Trouble With Harry/ Torn Curtain/ Psycho/ Family Plot/ Saboteur/ Shadow Of A Doubt/ Man Who Knew Too Much/ Rope

Childrens Toy Shop > DVD > Alfred Hitchcock
by: Alfred Hitchcock

November 21, 2005
14 Alfred Hitchcock films for this low price is an absolute bargain.
The films look and sound great and all have extra features.

Highly recommended.

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North By Northwest [1959]

Childrens Toy Shop > DVD > Alfred Hitchcock
starring: Cary Grant, James Mason, Eva Marie Saint, Leo G. Carroll, Martin Landau
directed by: Alfred Hitchcock

June 01, 2006
I could rave for hours about this film, but suffice to say it's the perfect thriller, the template for countless other films and everyone should have it. This edition (the Warner from 2006) is a simply stunning transfer with that true Technicolor feel and all for a fiver. Incredible.

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Rebecca [1940]

Childrens Toy Shop > DVD > Alfred Hitchcock
starring: Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, George Sanders, Judith Anderson, Nigel Bruce
directed by: Alfred Hitchcock

November 26, 2007
The one that got the Best Picture Oscar...even if it was David O Selznick who picked it up as producer. It remains one of his most popular features, especially with women by all accounts, although Germaine Greer isn't a fan.

This was Hitch's first Hollywood film and is a brooding atmospheric film that takes a great novel (which was normally something Hitchcock would avoid like the plague, arguing that if a novel was too good, how could he possibly improve on it) and makes it into a film that is just as good, if not better.

Joan Fontaine makes a compelling "Second Mrs De.Winter" and whilst Laurence Oliver can't quite drop his "luvvy" acting style to make the role as Maxim De Winter equally as compelling, it's fair to say ... Read More:

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The 39 Steps [1935]

Childrens Toy Shop > DVD > Alfred Hitchcock
starring: Robert Donat, Madeleine Carroll, Lucie Mannheim, Godfrey Tearle, Peggy Ashcroft
directed by: Alfred Hitchcock

August 13, 2001
Hitchcock always used to say that he saw no point in adapting an excellent book for one of his films because if a novel was so good, what could he do to improve upon it?

As a result, in the 80 years since it's release there must have been a lot of disappointed people who have bought John Buchan's book on the strength of this film. For all intents and puposes, Hitchcock's version has become the one that all the others are judged on.

Robert Donat is superb as Richard Hannay, a man who ends up on the run when a spy, whom he had only met that evening, ends up dead in his flat. Hannay ends up fleeing to Scotland, determined to pass on the message about the 39 steps.

Along the way he picks up Pamela, another superb ... Read More:

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Hitchcock DVD Collection - Dial M For Murder / I Confess / Stage Fright / The Wrong Man / Strangers On A Train / North By Northwest

Childrens Toy Shop > DVD > Alfred Hitchcock
starring: Ray Milland, Montgomery Clift, Marlene Dietrich, Henry Fonda, Farley Granger
directed by: Alfred Hitchcock

November 08, 2004
North by Northwest is one of Hitchcock's great thrillers. Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint star. The mistaken identity plot plays well to Grants strengths as the man confused by the insistence of others that he is George Kaplan, the mysterious spy. The balance between thriller and comedy is very well judged. The look of this movie is the key to its success along with the many set pieces. The frantic struggle of Grant against the hood's attempts to pour a bottle of scotch down his throat conveys real violence and panic.

I Confess is better remembered for its star, Montgomery Clift, than as one of Hitchcock's great movies but it is still powerful stuff. The theme is a strong one that has been copied and adapted elsewhere. Clift's character has to wrestle ... Read More:

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Rear Window [1954]

Childrens Toy Shop > DVD > Alfred Hitchcock
starring: James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Georgine Darcy, Wendell Corey, Thelma Ritter
directed by: Alfred Hitchcock

October 17, 2005
I don't really have anyhting to say about this film but, having just rewatched it, I do feel like adding to the praise. It's such a good film.

Mesmerising. The complex set is ingenious. James Stweart is wonderful. Grace Kelly is gorgeous. The mystery reels you in and the suspense is built very skillfully, leading to a truly nail-biting climax. I like the clever way the neighbours' lives reflect the lives of Jeff and Lisa. Beautiful (very colourful) restoration, too.

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Vertigo [1958]

Childrens Toy Shop > DVD > Alfred Hitchcock
starring: James Stewart, Roland Got, Jack Richardson, Konstantin Shayne, Kim Novak
directed by: Alfred Hitchcock

October 17, 2005
Vertigo is a well chosen word for the atmosphere of this film. San Francisco detective Scottie (James Stewart) chases a suspect on the rooftops of the buildings, he slips and barely holds on the rain gutter of one building. Another policeman comes to his rescue but he slips and gets killed after falling down. Scottie is deeply affected from this experience and he resigns from the force to open up his own detective agency. One friend of his hires him to guard his wife. What from? Evil spirits that engulf her! Funny enough Scottie does not believe in heresy but once he focuses on the case he is deeply moved with the situation. The wife of his friend spends hours at a certain museum staring at the same portrait of an aristocrat woman who died a century ago. She imitates her life, even her ... Read More:

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Psycho (2 Disc Special Edition) [1960]

Childrens Toy Shop > DVD > Alfred Hitchcock
starring: Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Martin Balsam, Vera Miles, John Gavin
directed by: Alfred Hitchcock

October 17, 2005
Psycho may well remain one of Hitchcock's most famous movies, nearly 50 years after it first hit our screens; it also remains one of his best. It's difficult to comprehend, in the 21st century, just how shocking it must have seemed at the time given that, after all, it's de rigueur these days to kill off major names in movies and show horrific murders on the screen. But it's also true to say that for all the "anything goes" attitude that prevails with modern films, few have managed this kind of story as well as Hitchcock does here.

If anything this is two films in one. The first concerns Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) who decides to steal $40,000 from her boss so that she and her lover can escape from drudgery. She takes off in her car in the direction of her lover and it must have ... Read More:

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The Lady Vanishes [1938]

Childrens Toy Shop > DVD > Alfred Hitchcock
starring: Margaret Lockwood, Googie Withers, Michael Redgrave, Paul Lukas, May Whitty
directed by: Alfred Hitchcock

August 18, 2008

One of the greatest movies from the 1930s!

Margaret Lockwood stars as a passenger on a train who is befriended by an elderly lady (Dame May Whitty) after receiving a bang on the head. The plot thickens when Miss Froy (Whitty) goes missing, but no one on the train will admit to ever having seen her.

Lots of suspense in this, and not a boring moment! This can be watched over and over and still remains as fresh as the day it was made! This classic suspense movie will keep you on the edge of your seat the whole time! Includes a galaxy of stars, with some outstanding performances - particularly those of Catherine Lacey (the nun), Linden Travers, Dame May Whtty and of course Lockwood herself.

Also stars a young Googie Withers.

Fabulous!

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James Stewart Collection - Harvey/Mr Smith Goes To Washington/Rear Window/It's A Wonderful Life

Childrens Toy Shop > DVD > Alfred Hitchcock
starring: James Stewart, Josephine Hull, Victoria Horne, Claude Rains, Jean Arthur
directed by: Henry Koster, Frank Capra, Alfred Hitchcock

March 13, 2008
Excellent collection .ALL of the 4 DVDs are of good quality. My Wife and I fell into tears after watching "it is a wonderful life". The "Rear Window" is simply amazing .. good suspense Hitchcock style. "Mr Smith goes to Washington" gives an authentic view of how politicians scheme and conspire.