Hitchcock Masterpiece Collection bargain price... Issues fixed?!

[bleachershane]

I'm tempted to pick up the UK version of this that has turned up on Amazon for £48 today. Did some reading about some of the problematic transfers and then found this:

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2013/10/...u-ray-box-set/

Here, the guy vaguely states that some of the 'issues' that 'plagued' the set have been rectified.

I've replied on the forum over there to ask what else he knows but does anyone here know what he's talking about? I can't find a peep elsewhere about any issues being fixed!

[bleachershane]

From the article: Posted on October 21, 2013 by Craig Skinner

"There were a number of issues that plagued the first release of The Alfred Hitchcock Masterpiece Collection – slight image issues and errors in credits – but most of these have since been remedied. They did put me off picking up the set originally and since most of them have been fixed I’ve just been waiting for the price to drop a little.

And now it has. Amazon currently have the set as the Gold Box deal at $109.99, 63% off the list price of $299.98. But it won’t stay at that price for long so it would be best to hurry if you want to pick it up.

The set contains fifteen films from Hitchcock, see the list below, which works out at just over $7 per film.

Disc 1: Saboteur (1942)
Disc 2: Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
Disc 3: Rope (1948)
Disc 4: Rear Window (1954)
Disc 5: The Trouble with Harry (1955)
Disc 6: The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)
Disc 7: Vertigo (1958)
Disc 8: North by Northwest (1959)
Disc 9: Psycho (1960)
Disc 10: The Birds (1963)
Disc 11: Marnie (1964)
Disc 12: Torn Curtain (1966)
Disc 13: Topaz (1969)
Disc 14: Frenzy (1972)
Disc 15: Family Plot (1976)

There are some truly wonderful films in that list, including my personal favourite, North by Northwest. I’m very much looking forward to a big re-watch of that and many of the other titles when my set arrives."

[MichaelB]

They fixed the stuff that was contractually problematic, such as Frenzy's opening credits, but most of the other problems remained in the retail version - and I'd be astounded if they'd remastered the problem titles for a cheaper edition, especially if they haven't drawn attention to this.

But I was happy to pay £60 a year ago, because as I saw it I was paying for ten discs ranging from "good" to "excellent" and only four titles that were significantly worse than that (and I can be lenient with The Birds, since it's always going to be problematic thanks to the unusually large amount of optical process work).

Also, perversely, I quite like having Family Plot as a demo disc to show off just how bad a Blu-ray transfer can get!

[bleachershane]

For £48 it seems a steal (yes, even with the so-so discs) and as I've just found out, the UK version excludes "North By Northwest" which works out perfectly for me as I bought it standalone a few years ago!

I can't even begin to imagine how bad "Family Plot" is for it to have been universally panned as an horrific transfer! What on earth did they do...?!

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by bleachershane

I can't even begin to imagine how bad "Family Plot" is for it to have been universally panned as an horrific transfer! What on earth did they do...?!

They corralled a few cats and had them use the negatives as a scratching post. After that, they put them in the bottom of a bird cage to collect droppings. The negatives were then scanned on a rigged-up ViewMaster, and then downconverted to an Etch-a-Sketch, and then finally they upscaled it to Blu-ray using Windows 95.

[jwf]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

They corralled a few cats and had them use the negatives as a scratching post. After that, they put them in the bottom of a bird cage to collect droppings. The negatives were then scanned on a rigged-up ViewMaster, and then downconverted to an Etch-a-Sketch, and then finally they upscaled it to Blu-ray using Windows 95.

Funniest post ever. I take my hat off to you, Sir.

[mattyl149]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

They corralled a few cats and had them use the negatives as a scratching post. After that, they put them in the bottom of a bird cage to collect droppings. The negatives were then scanned on a rigged-up ViewMaster, and then downconverted to an Etch-a-Sketch, and then finally they upscaled it to Blu-ray using Windows 95.

Good job it wasn't Windows Vista otherwise each time you put the disc in, it would pop up with a security screen first asking you if you trust the disc

[bleachershane]

Originally Posted by jwf

Funniest post ever. I take my hat off to you, Sir.

Agreed, I've yet to see it album that painted a vivid picture of just how bad it is! Brilliantly funny post ;-)