Hitchcock [2 Discs] [iPod Ready]

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: All
• Number of Discs: 2
• Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo
• Screen: Black and White

AWARDS

• New York Film Critics Circle

•     Won Best Director - 1938 (Alfred Hitchcock)

• Telluride Film Festival

•     Film Presented - 2004

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Robert Donat - Richard Hannay
       Margaret Lockwood - Iris Henderson
       Herbert Marshall - Sir John Menier
       Anny Ondra - Alice White
       Sylvia Sidney - Sylvia Verloc
       Sara Allgood - Mrs. White
       Norah Baring - Diana Baring
       Madeleine Carroll - Pamela
       Oscar Homolka - Karl Verloc
       Darren McGavin
       Michael Redgrave - Gilbert Redman
       Phyllis Konstam - Dulcie Markham
       Paul Lukas - Dr. Hartz
       Charles Paton - Mr. White
       Godfrey Tearle - Prof. Jordan
       Desmond Tester - Sylvia's Brother Steve
       Peggy Ashcroft - Margaret
       Donald Calthrop - Tracy
       Edward Chapman - Ted Markham
       John Loder - Ted Spencer, the police officer
       Dame May Whitty - Miss Froy
       Joyce Barbour - Renee
       R.E. Jeffrey - Foreman of the Jury
       John Longden - Frank Webber
       Miles Mander - Gordon Druce
       Lucie Mannheim - Miss Smith/Annabella
       Cecil Parker - Eric Todhunter

• Director:

  Alfred Hitchcock, Robert Stevens

• Producer:

  Michael Balcon, Edward Black, John Maxwell, Ivor Montagu

• Book Author:

  John Buchan, Joseph Conrad, Ethel Lina White

• Play Author:

  Clemence Dane, Helen Simpson

• Screen Story:

  Clemence Dane

• Screenwriter:

  Charles Bennett, Robert Blees, Campbell Dixon, E.V.H. Emmett, Sidney Gilliat, Ian Hay, Alfred Hitchcock, Jesse Lasky, Jr., Frank Launder, Benn Wolfe Levy, Walter Mycroft, Michael Powell, Alma Reville, Helen Simpson, Eliot Stannard

• Cinematographer:

  Jack Cox, Bernard Knowles, Claude MacDonnell

• Composer (Music Score):

  John Hubert Bath, Louis Levy, John Reynders, Henry Stafford

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  Louis Levy

• Editor:

  R.E. Dearing, Emile de Ruelle, Charles Frend, Rene Harrison, Ivor Montagu, Alfred Roome, Derek N. Twist

• Production Designer:

  Albert Jullion, Otto Werndorff

• Art Director:

  John Mead, Alexander Vetchinsky

• Associate Producer:

  Ivor Montagu

REVIEWS:

• {#Blackmail} is {$Alfred Hitchcock}'s first talkie, and not a bad effort at all. The whole film was almost completed, when sound came in and revolutionized the industry; {$Hitchcock} was forced to re-shoot some sequences and add others to make the film a mostly-talking film, something like {$Alan Crosland}'s {#The Jazz Singer} (1927). {$Hitchcock}'s leading lady, {$Anny Ondra}, had a very thick continental accent, not a problem for a silent film, but a real liability for a talkie. {$Hitchcock} overcame the problem by having another actress speak the lines on-stage, offscreen, while {$Ondra} simply mouthed them for the camera. Since dubbing was unknown at the time, this was the only method; then, too, the camera was confined to a soundproof shooting booth, and so the mobility of {$Hitchcock}'s camera is severely limited. During one long sequence, {$Cyril Ritchard} as {%Crewe}, the artist, sits down and plays a piano solo seemingly to keep the audience interested, but the film ends with a thrilling chase through the British Museum (mostly accomplished using miniatures, and the Schufftan Process, which allowed full-scale backgrounds to be reelected into the lens of the camera through a series of mirrors). It's interesting to see how {$Hitchcock} deals with sound, when it was clearly thrust upon him at the last minute, and while not a front-rank {$Hitchcock}, it is still a remarkable historical document of an artist finding his way through a medium that has suddenly been transformed by advancing technology. ~ Wheeler Winston Dixon, All Movie Guide
• Alfred Hitchcock relished in playing off of his audience's suspicions, and this early suspense film accomplishes just that. Made when Europe was on the verge of war, Sabotage focuses on Mr. Verloc, the incarnation of the heavily accented neighbor who may not be as benign as he seems. This xenophobic approach works to the film's advantage, as the sight of Verloc and his shadowy associates plotting the destruction of London surely must have grabbed English audiences in 1936. Hitchcock's fascination with espionage and crime is evident, as always, especially in the scene where Verloc meets his contact in the aquarium. Another favorite Hitchcock element present is having a wife slowly come to distrust and fear her husband. Sylvia Sidney plays this transformation beautifully. In the early scenes she is warm and friendly, but as the film progresses, she begins to tighten up, and in the final scenes, her hatred toward Verloc is utterly convincing. As for Oscar Homolka, from the start it's obvious he's up to something, but he is convincing as a small cog in a much larger wheel, a pathetic man who is overwhelmed by the pressures imposed upon him. But the centerpiece of the film is the nerve-racking journey of Mrs. Verloc's younger brother Steve, as he travels through London unaware that the reel can he carries contains a bomb. The bomb, of course, is set to a timer, and each delay adds increasing tension as the hour of detonation approaches. The sequence is pure Hitchcock, as there is nothing more suspenseful than to see an innocent in danger. Sabotage may be a couple of notches below The 39 Steps and The Lady Vanishes, but it is still classic Hitchcock. ~ Bob Mastrangelo, All Movie Guide
• Blackmail is Alfred Hitchcock's first talkie, and not a bad effort at all. The whole film was almost completed, when sound came in and revolutionized the industry; Hitchcock was forced to re-shoot some sequences and add others to make the film a mostly-talking film, something like Alan Crosland's The Jazz Singer (1927). Hitchcock's leading lady, Anny Ondra, had a very thick continental accent, not a problem for a silent film, but a real liability for a talkie. Hitchcock overcame the problem by having another actress speak the lines on-stage, offscreen, while Ondra simply mouthed them for the camera. Since dubbing was unknown at the time, this was the only method; then, too, the camera was confined to a soundproof shooting booth, and so the mobility of Hitchcock's camera is severely limited. During one long sequence, Cyril Ritchard as Crewe, the artist, sits down and plays a piano solo seemingly to keep the audience interested, but the film ends with a thrilling chase through the British Museum (mostly accomplished using miniatures, and the Schufftan Process, which allowed full-scale backgrounds to be reelected into the lens of the camera through a series of mirrors). It's interesting to see how Hitchcock deals with sound, when it was clearly thrust upon him at the last minute, and while not a front-rank Hitchcock, it is still a remarkable historical document of an artist finding his way through a medium that has suddenly been transformed by advancing technology. ~ Wheeler Winston Dixon, All Movie Guide
• {$Alfred Hitchcock}'s {#The 39 Steps} firmly established the director's reputation beyond the boundaries of the British isles, but it did far more than that: it was also the film where {$Hitchcock}'s reach and grasp as a filmmaker began growing by leaps and bounds. He'd already made three excellent thrillers ({#The Lodger} (1926), {#Blackmail} (1929), and {#The Man Who Knew Too Much} (1934)) that had attracted considerable attention in America, but {#The 39 Steps}, as a piece of screencraft, assembled all the best elements in those widely scattered successes (spread across eight years of his career) between two covers in a way that riveted audiences and industry observers. It played exactly the way that British movies weren't supposed to, lively and piercingly funny, rather than stodgy and dignified; it was almost as much a comedy as a thriller, which was something new in any country's cinema; and it was almost as much a battle of the sexes in the jousting of its two leads ({$Robert Donat}, {$Madeleine Carroll}) as it was a quest by the hero to prove his innocence of a murder charge; by the end of the movie, we want to see not only how Richard Hanney ({$Donat}) proves his innocence but also how he and Pamela ({$Carroll}) manage to stay together. Not coincidentally, {#The 39 Steps} was also the first of his major films in which {$Hitchcock} ripped up and threw away most of the contents of the underlying source (a novel by {$John Buchan} that had been a best-seller then and which has remained a perennially popular read ever since) -- he later followed this practice in his subsequent treatments of Josephine Tey's {-A Shilling For Candles} (as {#Young and Innocent}), Ethel Lina White's {-The Wheel Spins} (as {#The Lady Vanishes}), and Francis Beeding's {-The House of Dr. Edwardes} (as {#Spellbound}), among other literary properties. In the process, he struck a blow for the director as a creative voice in his own right, independent of and superior to the novelist (at least where actual screen adaptations were concerned), who might take one or two good ideas, a name or two, and perhaps a setting and a scene from a chapter and junk everything else, making it his own. In a time when producers and studios still occupied a place of cultural inferiority (even in their own minds) to the authors and publishers of the printed word, this was no small achievement, especially considering that it was done well and, thus, justified itself. So, in his own way, working within the thriller genre in {#The 39 Steps}, {$Hitchcock} helped open the way for virtually every major director who came after him. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
• {$Alfred Hitchcock} relished in playing off of his audience's suspicions, and this early suspense film accomplishes just that. Made when Europe was on the verge of war, {#Sabotage} focuses on {%Mr. Verloc}, the incarnation of the heavily accented neighbor who may not be as benign as he seems. This xenophobic approach works to the film's advantage, as the sight of {%Verloc} and his shadowy associates plotting the destruction of London surely must have grabbed English audiences in 1936. {$Hitchcock}'s fascination with espionage and crime is evident, as always, especially in the scene where {%Verloc} meets his contact in the aquarium. Another favorite {$Hitchcock} element present is having a wife slowly come to distrust and fear her husband. {$Sylvia Sidney} plays this transformation beautifully. In the early scenes she is warm and friendly, but as the film progresses, she begins to tighten up, and in the final scenes, her hatred toward {%Verloc} is utterly convincing. As for {$Oscar Homolka}, from the start it's obvious he's up to something, but he is convincing as a small cog in a much larger wheel, a pathetic man who is overwhelmed by the pressures imposed upon him. But the centerpiece of the film is the nerve-racking journey of {%Mrs. Verloc}'s younger brother {%Steve}, as he travels through London unaware that the reel can he carries contains a bomb. The bomb, of course, is set to a timer, and each delay adds increasing tension as the hour of detonation approaches. The sequence is pure {$Hitchcock}, as there is nothing more suspenseful than to see an innocent in danger. {#Sabotage} may be a couple of notches below {#The 39 Steps} and {#The Lady Vanishes}, but it is still classic {$Hitchcock}. ~ Bob Mastrangelo, All Movie Guide
• There is little mystery as to the identity of the killer is in this early thriller from Alfred Hitchcock, but the master still delivers enough to make the film a worthwhile viewing. Based on the play Enter Sir John by Clemence Dane and Helen Simpson and adapted for the screen by Hitchcock and Walter Mycroft, Murder! is really just a standard-issue mystery at its core. However, the director's touches and good performances add enough to the film to make it stand slightly above average. The film is broken into four sections: the murder, the trial, the investigation, and the cat-and-mouse game used to flush out the real killer. The first three parts are routine and slow, but the finale is suspenseful in trademark Hitchcock fashion. It is topped off by a shocking conclusion that the director pulls off in grand style. Herbert Marshall toplines the picture as a tormented gentleman whose guilt over helping put a young lady in the gallows prompts him to find the real culprit in the murder case for which she was convicted. Marshall hasn't got the charisma of a Cary Grant or a James Stewart, but he does a solid job playing a man whose anguish hides his feelings for the girl. Esme Percy plays the dour villain with a sullen style that seems best explained by his behavior in the conclusion. Norah Baring is very good as the death-row babe although Hitchcock may have erred by keeping the character out of the picture until more than halfway through. Some of the recognizable Hitchcock elements that turn up in Murder! include his usual amusing array of primitive psychobabble and a great shot in the opening murder sequence in which the camera pans over and slowly reveals the reactions of the witnesses, the stunned prime suspect, and finally the murder weapon and the victim. A German version titled Mary was filmed simultaneously on the same sets. Hitchcock can be seen nearly halfway through the film walking in front of the victim's complex. ~ Patrick Legare, All Movie Guide
• There is little {\mystery} as to the identity of the killer is in this early {\thriller} from {$Alfred Hitchcock}, but the master still delivers enough to make the film a worthwhile viewing. Based on the play {+Enter Sir John} by {$Clemence Dane} and {$Helen Simpson} and adapted for the screen by {$Hitchcock} and {$Walter Mycroft}, {#Murder!} is really just a standard-issue {\mystery} at its core. However, the director's touches and good performances add enough to the film to make it stand slightly above average. The film is broken into four sections: the murder, the trial, the investigation, and the cat-and-mouse game used to flush out the real killer. The first three parts are routine and slow, but the finale is suspenseful in trademark {$Hitchcock} fashion. It is topped off by a shocking conclusion that the director pulls off in grand style. {$Herbert Marshall} toplines the picture as a tormented gentleman whose guilt over helping put a young lady in the gallows prompts him to find the real culprit in the murder case for which she was convicted. {$Marshall} hasn't got the charisma of a {$Cary Grant} or a {$James Stewart}, but he does a solid job playing a man whose anguish hides his feelings for the girl. {$Esme Percy} plays the dour villain with a sullen style that seems best explained by his behavior in the conclusion. {$Norah Baring} is very good as the death-row babe although {$Hitchcock} may have erred by keeping the character out of the picture until more than halfway through. Some of the recognizable {$Hitchcock} elements that turn up in {#Murder!} include his usual amusing array of primitive psychobabble and a great shot in the opening murder sequence in which the camera pans over and slowly reveals the reactions of the witnesses, the stunned prime suspect, and finally the murder weapon and the victim. A German version titled {#Mary} was filmed simultaneously on the same sets. {$Hitchcock} can be seen nearly halfway through the film walking in front of the victim's complex. ~ Patrick Legare, All Movie Guide
• It's easy to forget, with all his successes, that Alfred Hitchcock's career suffered quite a few periods of commercial decline. Following his two international breakthroughs, The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) and The 39 Steps (1935), the director produced three films with relatively disappointing box-office returns. In 1938, he broke out of this slump with the popular and entertaining The Lady Vanishes. The director's penultimate movie before leaving England, it's a very light picture, more dependent on comedy than almost any of his previous films. A good deal of the humor comes from the interplay between the definitively British tourists Charters and Caldicott, played indelibly by Basil Radford and Naunton Wayne, that the actors would reprise in several other films. Despite (or perhaps because of) its "Englishness," The Lady Vanishes made quite a splash in America, securing Hitchcock a place in Hollywood. The charming script by Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat was based on the popular Ethel Lina White novel, The Wheel Spins. ~ Brendon Hanley, All Movie Guide
• Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps firmly established the director's reputation beyond the boundaries of the British isles, but it did far more than that: it was also the film where Hitchcock's reach and grasp as a filmmaker began growing by leaps and bounds. He'd already made three excellent thrillers (The Lodger (1926), Blackmail (1929), and The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)) that had attracted considerable attention in America, but The 39 Steps, as a piece of screencraft, assembled all the best elements in those widely scattered successes (spread across eight years of his career) between two covers in a way that riveted audiences and industry observers. It played exactly the way that British movies weren't supposed to, lively and piercingly funny, rather than stodgy and dignified; it was almost as much a comedy as a thriller, which was something new in any country's cinema; and it was almost as much a battle of the sexes in the jousting of its two leads (Robert Donat, Madeleine Carroll) as it was a quest by the hero to prove his innocence of a murder charge; by the end of the movie, we want to see not only how Richard Hanney (Donat) proves his innocence but also how he and Pamela (Carroll) manage to stay together. Not coincidentally, The 39 Steps was also the first of his major films in which Hitchcock ripped up and threw away most of the contents of the underlying source (a novel by John Buchan that had been a best-seller then and which has remained a perennially popular read ever since) -- he later followed this practice in his subsequent treatments of Josephine Tey's A Shilling For Candles (as Young and Innocent), Ethel Lina White's The Wheel Spins (as The Lady Vanishes), and Francis Beeding's The House of Dr. Edwardes (as Spellbound), among other literary properties. In the process, he struck a blow for the director as a creative voice in his own right, independent of and superior to the novelist (at least where actual screen adaptations were concerned), who might take one or two good ideas, a name or two, and perhaps a setting and a scene from a chapter and junk everything else, making it his own. In a time when producers and studios still occupied a place of cultural inferiority (even in their own minds) to the authors and publishers of the printed word, this was no small achievement, especially considering that it was done well and, thus, justified itself. So, in his own way, working within the thriller genre in The 39 Steps, Hitchcock helped open the way for virtually every major director who came after him. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

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