Alfred Hitchcock's Best Films Are Being Seen in a Whole New Way (2024)

It isn't often that the major film studios come together for a bigger purpose, but that's what just happened with the newly released set, Alfred Hitchcock: The Iconic Film Collection. Warner Bros. and Paramount Home Entertainment have partnered with Universal Pictures Home Entertainment to release this limited edition coffee table book that contains the latest 4K UHD transfers of six masterpieces by Alfred Hitchcock. The set covers arguably his greatest era, from 1953 to 1963, when he directed and released Rear Window, To Catch a Thief, North by Northwest, Vertigo, Psycho, and The Birds. It's one of the greatest runs from any filmmaker in history, and is collected now with a large number of special features.

The premium book style-packaging consists of rare photos, bios, trivia, and original cover art by renowned artist Tristan Eaton. It features over 15 hours of revealing bonus features, including Psycho Uncut (the extended version of the movie originally seen in theaters), audio interviews with Alfred Hitchcock, the original ending of The Birds, behind-the-scenes featurettes, rare production photographs, creative storyboards, and insightful feature commentaries (like the late, great William Friedkin's commentary for Vertigo). It is a limited-edition item and will be available to purchase at participating retailers, including Amazon and GRUV. Digital codes for each film are provided.

The collection was just released on Nov. 26, 2024, so it should be available for a bit and will make a great Christmas gift. It's probably the best introduction to Hitchcock that anyone could have, and if you don't have most or all of these movies in your collection, they're pretty much essential. To Catch a Thief and North by Northwest have new 4K transfers that are absolutely stunning, which should hopefully give the former more attention than it's usually given (it's one of the most visually romantic films ever made).

The other films have some of Hitchcock's best use of color, but even the contrasts in the black-and-white Psycho are improved drastically by the 4K upgrade. So if you're a cinephile with a little extra money to spend this holiday season, you know what's up. You can find brief descriptions of each film below, and can purchase the collection here.

Alfred Hitchcock's Mid-to-Late Period Masterpieces

Starring James Stewart and Grace Kelly, Rear Window is Alfred Hitchcock’s voyeuristic masterpiece about a photographer who develops an obsession after thinking he witnessed a neighbor’s murder. To Catch a Thief, courtesy of Paramount Pictures, stars Cary Grant along with Grace Kelly and centers on a reformed jewel thief in the French Riviera. Considered one of Hitchcock’s greatest cinematic achievements, Vertigo stars James Stewart and Kim Novak in a dizzying web of mistaken identity, passion and murder.

North by Northwest, courtesy of Warner Bros., stars Cary Grant alongside Eva Marie Saint as a man on the run who is abducted and framed for murder, and it's considered one of Hitchcock’s most visually stunning films. Perhaps regarded as Hitchcock’s most well-known film, Psycho stars Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins as a mild-mannered motel manager who turns out to be not what he seems. Finally, Hitchcock’s one true “monster” movie, The Birds, stars Tippi Hedren as she fights to survive an unexplainable attack by birds in a quiet seaside town.

A Treasure Trove of Special Effects

Rear Window (1954)

• Rear Window Ethics: An Original Documentary
• A Conversation with Screenwriter John Michael Hayes
• Pure Cinema: Through the Eyes of the Master
• Breaking Barriers: The Sound of Hitchcock
• Hitchcock/Truffaut
• Masters of Cinema
• Production Photographs
• Theatrical Trailer
• Re-release Trailer Narrated by James Stewart
• Feature Commentary with John Fawell, Author of Hitchcock's Rear Window: the Well Made Film

To Catch a Thief (1955)

• Filmmaker Focus: Leonard Maltin on To Catch a Thief
• Behind the Gates: Cary Grant and Grace Kelly (2009)
• Commentary by Dr. Drew Casper, Hitchcock Film Historian, and more!

Vertigo (1958)

• Obsessed with Vertigo : New Life of Hitchcock's Masterpiece
• Partners in Crime: Hitchcock's Collaborators
• Foreign Censorship Ending
• Hitchcock/Truffaut
• Feature Commentary with Film Director William Friedkin
• Theatrical Trailer
• Restoration Theatrical Trailer
• 100 Years of Universal: The Lew Wasserman Era

North by Northwest (1959)

• North by Northwest : Cinematography, Score, and the Art of the Edit
• Destination Hitchcock: The Making of North by Northwest
• The Master’s Touch: Hitchcock’s Signature Style
• North by Northwest : One for the Ages
• A Guided Tour with Alfred Hitchcock
• Commentary by Screenwriter Ernest Lehman

Psycho (1960)

• Psycho Uncut: The extended version of the movie as seen in theaters in 1960 exactly as intended by Alfred Hitchcock.
• The Making of Psycho
• Psycho Sound
• In The Master's Shadow: Hitchcock's Legacy
• Hitchcock/Truffaut
• Newsreel Footage: The Release of Psycho
• The Shower Scene: With and Without Music
• The Shower Sequence: Storyboards by Saul Bass
• The Psycho Archives
• Posters and Psycho Ads
• Lobby Cards
• Behind-the-Scenes Photographs
• Production Photographs
• Psycho Theatrical Trailers
• Psycho Re-release Trailers
• Feature Commentary with Stephen Rebello, author of "Alfred Hitchcock and The Making of Psycho"

The Birds (1963)

• The Birds: Hitchcock's Monster Movie
• All About The Birds
• Tippi Hedren's Screen Test
• Deleted Scenes
• The Original Ending
• Hitchcock/Truffaut
• The Birds Is Coming (Universal International Newsreel)
• Suspense Story: National Press Club Hears Hitchcock (Universal International Newsreel)
• Theatrical Trailer
• 100 Years of Universal: Restoring the Classics
• 100 Years of Universal: The Lot