Tag Archives: Alan Napier

Alfred Hitchcock The Ultimate Collection on 4K

Commissions Earned

“Alfred Hitchcock: The Ultimate Collection” is coming to 4K UHD Blu-ray and Blu-ray on October 14th via Universal Studios Home Entertainment. This “ultimate collection” consists of a total of 15 films, listed below.

  • “Saboteur” (1942)
  • “Shadow of a Doubt” (1943)
  • “Rope” (1948)
  • “Rear Window” (1954)
  • “The Trouble with Harry” (1955)
  • “The Man Who Knew Too Much” (1956)
  • “Vertigo” (1958)
  • “North by Northwest” (1959)
  • “Psycho” (1960)
  • “The Birds” (1963)
  • “Marnie” (1964)
  • “Torn Curtain” (1966)
  • “Topaz” (1969)
  • “Frenzy” (1972)
  • “Family Plot” (1976)

The tech specs for the 4K UHD Blu-ray set include a 2160p video presentation for each film, available in various aspect ratios and sound formats. These all will feature the HDR10 form of high dynamic range. “North by Northwest” will be the only one to feature Dolby Atmos sound. Meanwhile, the other films will be presented in a variety of DTS:X and DTS-HD Master Audio lossless Mono sound mixes. The tech specs for the Blu-ray will reflect this same variety of aspect ratios and sound formats, but will be presented in 1080p HD. The sound formats will likely be in lossless 5.1 surround sound for “North by Northwest.” The other films in the set, on Blu-ray, will feature an assortment of DTS:X and DTS-HD Master Audio Mono sound.

NOTE: All fifteen of these movies have previously been released in sets and/or individually over the years on the 4K UHD Blu-ray format. This will, however, mark the first time they have all been included together in one set.

UPDATED: The Blu-ray version of the set is now available for preorder on Amazon, but the 4K is not yet. Stay tuned for an update on that. In the meantime, you can find the 4K UHD Blu-ray version available for preorder at online retailer GRUV. Below you can find a glimpse at the packaging and contents for each version of the box set.

A 64-page collectible booklet, featuring storyboards, film trivia, photographs, letters, and much more, will be physically included with both versions of the set. The other bonus materials set to be included on the set run rather lengthy (as you’d expect), so you can find them listed further below after the break.

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1956 film The Court Jester with Danny Kaye on Blu-ray

– Amazon Commissions Earned –

The 1956 film “The Court Jester” starring Danny Kaye is officially making its debut to Blu-ray Disc on January 26th, 2021, via Paramount Presents. The release will be spine #13 in the Paramount Presents series. The film, directed by Melvin Frank and Norman Panama, co-starred Glynis JohnsBasil Rathbone, Angela Lansbury, Cecil Parker, John Carradine, Mildred Natwick, and Alan Napier. The film has received a new 6K restoration which you can read a slight bit about below.

Originally released in 1956, THE COURT JESTER was shot in Paramount’s trademark “VistaVision” widescreen format, capturing a grander scope of information on the film negative. For this new restoration, the original negative was scanned at 6K and one of the “separation masters” was also scanned and recombined with the negative scans to address color fading in the negative.  The result is an incredibly vibrant picture that faithfully captures the colors and textures of Edith Head’s sensational costumes and Hal Pariera’s sparkling art direction.”

The tech specs for the release include a 1080p presentation in the original 1.85:1 aspect ratio with a Mono DTS-HD Master Audio sound mix. The release will come with a digital copy of the film included. You can now find the upcoming Blu-ray available for preorder over at Amazon. This, like all of the Paramount Presents releases, will come with a fold-out poster for the film in the slipcover packaging (as pictured below).

Bonus materials set to be included on the release are listed below.

  • A New Filmmaker Focus with film historian Leonard Maltin
  • Theatrical Trailer

Further below, after the break, you can find the full announcement regarding the upcoming Blu-ray release of this film.

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