Alfred hitchcock not in Drama DVDs &amp; Videos

Rear Window (Collector's Edition) [DVD]

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Suspicion

Joan Fontaine's fabulous performance as a woman who grows to fear the man she loves anchors this compelling story in which Alfred Hitchcock shows his love for playing with the audience's expectations. Perfectly cast is the dashing Cary Grant, whose lovable and charming persona is on full display while being completely transformed through Hitchcock's eerie camera work and visual innuendo--to the point that the simplest gesture takes on a new and malevolent aspect. SUSPICION lives up to its title's promise, weaving dread and ambiguity into a potent psychological net. Fontaine is the beautiful daughter of a wealthy, landed English family. Grant is the lighthearted and irreverent wastrel who charms Fontaine into elopement and succeeds in introducing the young woman to the pleasures of a more carefree outlook on life. However, as Fontaine discovers the legacy of Grant's carefree ways--his numerous debts and pursuers--she begins to suspect a darker past and must confront the horrible implications this has for her future.

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$4

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$5

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Rear Window (Collector's Edition) [DVD]

The weather is getting hotter, and photographer L.B. Jefferies (Jimmy Stewart) is stuck in his apartment with a broken leg and nothing to do--that is, nothing to do but spy on his neighbors through their open windows across the way in the apartment complex. There's an attractive and scantily clad dancer, a songwriter, a lonely woman, and the Thorwalds (Raymond Burr and Irene Winston), a bickering couple, among others. But when Mrs. Thorwald disappears, Jefferies is sure that something's wrong. Soon, despite the warnings of his girlfriend, Lisa (Grace Kelly), and his motherly nurse, Stella (Thelma Ritter), Jefferies has out his binoculars and telephoto lens and is studying his neighbor "like a bug under glass." However, looking in from the outside might not be as safe as Jefferies assumes. REAR WINDOW is not only a gripping story of murder and suspense, it is a celebrated allegory on the nature of film itself, a story in which the audience watches Jefferies watch the story unfold. The different windows represent the various different stories that are often told on film and also can be seen as representing the coming of television, as Jefferies can watch a multitude of "shows" from the comfort of his own apartment.

3 reviews

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$5

Dial M for Murder

The Lady Vanishes (Special Edition 2-Dis...

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$8

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Dial M for Murder

Alfred Hitchcock had already begun work on REAR WINDOW when he took on the project to direct DIAL M FOR MURDER, based on the successful play by Frederick Knott. For the film, Hitchcock chose to cast his favorite leading lady of the time, Grace Kelly, as the embattled Margot Wendice. Kelly would also star in REAR WINDOW and Hitchcock's subsequent TO CATCH A THIEF. It wasn't Hitchcock's preference to shoot DIAL M FOR MURDER in Warnercolor 3D (the cameras were large and unwieldly), and the film is seldom screened in 3D, but Hitchcock's use of the technique is notable for its service to the story rather than just being a gimmick. In the film Margot Wendice is a wealthy heiress whose playboy husband, Tony (Ray Milland), recognizes his dependence on his wife's fortune. When Tony begins to suspect he is losing Margot's affection to writer Mark Halliday (Robert Cummings), he also begins to fear he will lose her wealth. This leads the callous husband to craft a plan for his wife's death. However, when the plan goes awry, Tony is quick to turn circumstance into a second opportunity to destroy his wife.

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$8

The 39 Steps (Criterion Collection) [DVD...

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$21

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The Lady Vanishes (Special Edition 2-Disc Set) [DVD]

The master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock, weaves a knotty yarn of intrigue in this early outing. Young, beautiful, and spoiled Iris Henderson (Margaret Lockwood) is wrapping up a ski vacation before unenthusiastically returning to London to be married. In the hotel, she meets an elderly governess en route to home, Miss Froy (Dame May Witty), as well as an unbearably rude music scholar named Gilbert (Michael Redgrave). Then, just before boarding the train, Iris receives a blow to the head and is taken under the protective wing of Miss Froy. Their conversation is polite and uneventful. Iris finally dozes off and when she comes to, Miss Froy is nowhere to be found, and no one on the train recalls seeing the governess. Thwarted at every turn in her search, Iris finds only one ally, the unbearable but handsome Gilbert. As their search begins to seem futile, Iris starts to suspect she is losing her mind. Then several people on the train--including a shifty physician and a mysterious nun--reveal nefarious motives beneath their innocent facades.

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$21

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$24

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The 39 Steps (Criterion Collection) [DVD]

A classic British spy mystery, and one of Hitchcock's best, THE 39 STEPS is the story of an innocent man who struggles to prove his innocence. Robert Donat gets more than he bargained for when he brings home a mysterious woman (Lucie Mannheim) who confesses to be a British agent on the hot trail of a dangerous spy ring. The woman is killed in Donat's apartment and he immediately finds himself on the run, burdened with the charge for her murder and the dangerous knowledge of her mission. The film is distinguished by its pioneering use of contrapuntal sound effects, as well as the dynamism between Donat and his costar Madeleine Carroll.

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$24

I Confess

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$4

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I Confess

I CONFESS, from the play by Paul Anthelme, is based on a premise custom made for Alfred Hitchcock's fascination with the dilemma of an innocent man accused of a crime. Montgomery Clift plays Father Michael Logan, a priest who hears the confession of a murderer and soon finds himself framed for the crime. Circumstantial evidence mounts, painting an ever more damning picture of the priest's crime while he is bound by his priestly vows not to reveal what he has learned in confession. If other Hitchcock dramas such as SABOTEUR follow the plight of the innocent man through breakneck pursuits, I CONFESS succeeds on the strength of Clift's ability to convey the real anxiety of the moral dilemma he faces and the effects of the widening chasm between pious intentions and social disgrace. Strong performances are also given by O.E. Hasse as the bitter and murderous gardener Otto Keller and by Anne Baxter as the woman whose faith in Father Logan also threatens scandal.

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$4

Strangers on a Train

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$7

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Strangers on a Train

STRANGERS ON A TRAIN, based on the Patricia Highsmith novel, quickly became one of Alfred Hitchcock's most successful thrillers and remains one of his most popular films. En route from Washington, D.C., champion tennis player Guy Haines (Farley Granger) meets pushy playboy Bruno Anthony (Robert Walker). What begins as a chance encounter turns into a series of morbid confrontations, as Bruno manipulates his way into Guy's life. Bruno is eager to kill his father and knows Guy wants to marry a senator's daughter (Ruth Roman) but cannot get a divorce from his wife, Miriam (Laura Elliot). So Bruno suggests the men swap murders, which would leave no traceable clues or possible motives. Though Guy refuses, it will not be so easy to rid himself of the psychopathic Bruno. The film is tightly paced and disturbing from beginning to end, an effect heightened by Hitchcock's inventive camera work, including a terrifying sequence shot through a pair of eyeglasses that have been knocked to the ground.

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$7

Shadow of a Doubt

To Catch a Thief (Sensormatic; Paramount...

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$10

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Shadow of a Doubt

A favorite of Alfred Hitchcock himself, with an exceptional script by the playwright Thornton Wilder, SHADOW OF A DOUBT anticipates such family menace dramas as CAPE FEAR. Young Charlie Newton (Teresa Wright) lies on her bed in Santa Rosa, California, bored with her small-town life and family. Meanwhile, her namesake, Uncle Charlie, lies on another bed thousands of miles away in Philadelphia surrounded by discarded bills, deep in secret thoughts. The two are linked, psychic twins, and when Charlie goes to send for her uncle, she finds a telegram announcing his visit already waiting for her. Uncle Charlie brings happiness into the Newton home and a special pleasure to Mother. Yet Charlie feels a tension--as if her double, played with razor-thin menace by the mild-mannered Joseph Cotten, has brought violence into her home as well. Subtle clues add weight to Charlie's vague doubts. This growing knowledge shocks her out of the warm sense of safety that she held in her small world. However, her intuitive understanding is a long way from allowing the young niece to challenge her uncle, and the tense cat-and-mouse play between the two is powerfully dramatized, showing Hitchcock in his best form.

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$10

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$11

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To Catch a Thief (Sensormatic; Paramount Centenntial Collection) [DVD]

A supposedly reformed cat burglar, out to prove himself innocent of a recent crime spree, tries to capture the thief who's terrifying the French Riviera. Cary Grant is devastatingly elegant as the reformed thief, John Robie, and charming enough to attract the attention of the lovely Frances Stevens (Grace Kelly), a wealthy and spoiled American traveling the Riviera with her widowed mother (Jessie Royce Landis). However, things do not begin on a romantic note. Robie is more interested in clearing his name than in pursuing the beautiful American, but the two will not go their separate ways so easily. When Mrs. Stevens has her jewels stolen, the snubbed Frances puts the police on Robie's trail. Now the dashing Robie will have to win the confidence and assistance of Frances if he is to ever set things right. The stars are radiant together, with an entrancing chemistry that sparkles, especially in the impromptu ad-libbed dialogue of the picnic scene. A series of elaborate set pieces combined with dramatic Riviera scenery make the film an enduring glamorous spectacle, featuring a fireworks kissing scene that is truly a classic.

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$11

Marnie

Rear Window (2-Disc Special Edition; Uni...

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Marnie

In terms of psychological power and innovative visual techniques, MARNIE ranks alongside VERTIGO and PSYCHO as one of Alfred Hitchcock's most exceptional films, though it is less well known than these classics. This thriller, based on a best-selling novel by Wilson Graham, revolves around a pathological liar and compulsive thief (Tippi Hedren) who is befriended by her latest victim, Mark Rutland (Sean Connery). The core of the story concerns a wealthy man who marries a beautiful woman who steals from his business. Despite his sincere love, dashing looks, and wealth, some deep-seated neurosis makes her emotionally inaccessible, causing him to search her past for an explanation. This is Connery's American film debut, and he portrays his character's fascination with Marnie with a conviction that allows the psychological turmoil of the young woman to emerge. Hedren's performance as the deeply conflicted and emotionally scarred woman walks the fine line favored by Hitchcock, balanced between an icy sexuality and emotional fragility. The director wants to show the audience Marnie's world and fears, so he uses a range of innovative visual techniques--including awkward rear projections, flashes of color, and a menacing atmosphere of storms--to convey her troubled state of mind. MARNIE is one of Hitchcock's most underrated and underappreciated films.

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$11

Vertigo (Special Edition; Universal Lega...

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$14

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Rear Window (2-Disc Special Edition; Universal Legacy Series) [DVD]

The weather is getting hotter, and photographer L.B. Jefferies (Jimmy Stewart) is stuck in his apartment with a broken leg and nothing to do--that is, nothing to do but spy on his neighbors through their open windows across the way in the apartment complex. There's an attractive and scantily clad dancer, a songwriter, a lonely woman, and the Thorwalds (Raymond Burr and Irene Winston), a bickering couple, among others. But when Mrs. Thorwald disappears, Jefferies is sure that something's wrong. Soon, despite the warnings of his girlfriend, Lisa (Grace Kelly), and his motherly nurse, Stella (Thelma Ritter), Jefferies has out his binoculars and telephoto lens and is studying his neighbor "like a bug under glass." However, looking in from the outside might not be as safe as Jefferies assumes. REAR WINDOW is not only a gripping story of murder and suspense, it is a celebrated allegory on the nature of film itself, a story in which the audience watches Jefferies watch the story unfold. The different windows represent the various different stories that are often told on film and also can be seen as representing the coming of television, as Jefferies can watch a multitude of "shows" from the comfort of his own apartment.

starting at

$14

Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Season Two (5...

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$14

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Vertigo (Special Edition; Universal Legacy Series) [DVD]

VERTIGO is Alfred Hitchcock's haunting tale of deception, madness, and death--a masterful exploration of fantasy and anxiety. The film ranks with REAR WINDOW as one of the director's most closely studied films for its psychological complexity, while the obsession of its protagonist--John "Scottie" Ferguson (James Stewart)--can also be seen to parallel that of Hitchcock's own fascination with the icy-blonde leading lady he re-created at the center of so many of his films. Ferguson is a retired detective, his career ended by the onset of a paralyzing fear of heights. An old friend, the wealthy Gavin Elster (Tom Helmore), hires Ferguson to follow his wife (Kim Novak), whom, he explains, has grown obsessed with an ancestor of hers. The assignment, however, draws Ferguson out of his comfortable role as observer and into a complex web of intrigue, mingled with the detective's own fantasies and fears. Stewart gives an exceptional performance as the disintegrating detective, while Novak, who was left largely undirected by Hitchcock, conveys a subtle and powerful psychological journey. Another star of the film is its San Francisco setting. VERTIGO is considered one of Hitchcock's most complex, finest films.

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$14

Vertigo (Widescreen; Collector's Edition...

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$22

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Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Season Two (5 - Disc Set) [DVD]

The master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock, was as prolific as he was brilliant, producing not only dozens of award-winning films, but also a few excellent television series. ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS, which won the Golden Globe Award for "Television Achievement," was arguably the best of his small-screen triumphs. Hosted by the man himself, the series offered viewers short dramatized stories on a weekly basis, mixing the genres of horror, drama, suspense, and fantasy. Season two is collected here in its entirety, with 39 episodes featuring guest stars Rip Torn, Jessica Tandy, Hume Cronyn, Vic Morrow, and others.

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$22