Ready for a little ‘hitch’ in your Blu-ray collection for the holiday season?  Then check out the review below of the very large and comprehensive Blu-ray set "Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection" out now from Universal Home Entertainment.  The big man and his legacy are reviewed below!

   Title: "Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection"

   Grade: 4

   Cast: Jimmy Stewart, Cary Grant, Anthony Perkins

   Director: Alfred Hitchcock

   Rating: Not Rated

   Runtime: 1759 minutes

   Release Company: Universal Home Entertainment

   Website: www.UniversalHiDef.com

THE FLICKS

I won’t mince words – Alfred Hitchcock was a master filmmaker.  And it was never so apparent than in the amazing array of no less then fifteen films in this Limited Edition set.  Meaning you get to see early Hitch touting more tame wares like "Saboteur" (which cleverly implies much more then it shows!) alongside later fare like the salacious "Frenzy" complete with sass and sex.  My personal favorites here include of course the poignant "Psycho," the raw "Frenzy," the terror inducing "The Birds" and the sheer fun of "North By Northwest."  But also evident is the love pairing of Hitch and actor muse Jimmy Stewart who in the delightfully witty "Rope," the ever engaging and way ahead of its time "Vertigo," the tense "Rear Window" and even the underrated "The Man Who Knew Too Much" both show what working with someone with equal precision and skill can accomplish.  (Those two were made for each other!)  This set is as much about the actors as it is a love letter to Hitch and his films.  Some of the other films here do provide more in terms of memorable performances then amazing movies like Sean Connery in "Marnie," Shirley MacLaine in "The Trouble With Harry," Paul Newman in "Torn Curtain" and the zesty Karen Black (she of "Trilogy of Terror!") in "Family Plot," but every film in this set does provide something noteworthy for the Hitch fan.  (BTW – favorite performance by an actor in a Hitch film here would be the layered work by Anthony Perkins in "Psycho" and favorite female hands down the captivating Kim Novak in "Vertigo!")