Which DVD to pick up first: "Rebecca" (Criterion) or "Psycho"?

[PsychFan]

My wife's birthday is coming up, and I want to pick a DVD as one of her gifts. She's a big Hitchcock fan (and DVD fan) and already owns Rear Window, North by Northwest and The Birds.

I thought of Vertigo, but she told me that's not one of her favorites. I'm thinking of getting her either the Criterion Collection version of Rebecca, or Psycho. Any recommendations from other Hitchcock/film/DVD buffs on which to go for?

[Ken_McAlinden]

You can't really go wrong with either one. That being said, I would probably go with Rebecca. It is a very impressive transfer and a nice package from Criterion. The Psycho transfer is a hair less impressive, but otherwise, the only knock on it is it could have been anamorphic 16:9.

Strangers on a Train is another good one, as are all of the other Criterions (The 39 Steps, The Lady Vanishes, Notorious, and Spellbound).

Regards,

[PsychFan]

Thanks Ken. I'm thinking Rebecca as well now, having read some more online reviews. I think she'll really like it ... especially because her attitude is "The more extras, the better ..."

[Todd Fredericks]

Jeff, I agee with Ken. The Criterion 'Rebecca' is very nice and I strongly recommend it...

Todd

[Ed Bishop]

TO CATCH A THIEF

My pick: a nice romp, breezy all the way, with the usual Hitchock sexual and sinister undercurrents. Very funny at times, and gorgeous photography by Robert Burks.

REBECCA I find stunning but downbeat, PSYCHO a masterwork but dubious as a gift, unless she hasn't seen it and you want to give her the gift of glorious terror:D

ED:cool:

[jdw]

This is from the Criterion website;


Criterion to Release Wrong Men & Notorious Women: Five Hitchcock Thrillers 1935-1946

Criterion is currently preparing Wrong Men & Notorious Women: Five Hitchcock Thrillers 1935-1946, a single-package gift set containing The 39 Steps, The Lady Vanishes, Rebecca, Spellbound, and Notorious, to be sold together at a reduced price. The individual releases of these five titles will continue to be available separately, featuring the same transfers, packaging, and extras as the discs in the gift pack. Look for Wrong Men & Notorious Women: Five Hitchcock Thrillers 1935-1946 in May.

end-quote


Criterion released a similar set of their Kurosawa titles that ended up being quite a bargain compared to buying all the movies separately...

[Jeff H.]

Originally posted by Ed Bishop
TO CATCH A THIEF

My pick: a nice romp, breezy all the way, with the usual Hitchock sexual and sinister undercurrents. Very funny at times, and gorgeous photography by Robert Burks.

REBECCA I find stunning but downbeat, PSYCHO a masterwork but dubious as a gift, unless she hasn't seen it and you want to give her the gift of glorious terror:D

ED:cool:


The gift of glorious terror? ED you kill me!!!:D

[Ere]

I'd lean towards 'Rebecca' also. I just watched this on TCM with my wife and she really liked it. I've always loved the whole package, the sense of impending doom infuses every aspect.... and Joan Fontaine, she deserves a nomination on that 'other' thread....

Ere

[Gardo]

I love most of Hitchcock's work, but given the choice you're outlining I'd go for Rebecca. Fascinating extras, particularly the screen tests (you can see why Vivien Leigh would never do as "I") and the telegrams between Hitchcock and David O. Selznick.

[PsychFan]

Thanks for all the input, folks. I think the choice will be Rebecca. Another factor in its favor is the fact that I've never seen it, whereas I have seen Psycho ... so this should be enjoyable for both of us.

[-=Rudy=-]

Is it me, or do women not like Vertigo for some reason? That movie has grown on me a lot over the past year. The Mrs. doesn't like it--claims to not like Kim Novak, and doesn't like James Stewart when he's not doing a "family man" role.

[Gardo]

Dunno--the best paper any student's ever written for me on Vertigo was written by a woman. Really brilliant conclusions. She's now finishing a degree in screenwriting at Loyola Marymount in L.A.

[Ken_McAlinden]

Originally posted by Jeff Partyka
Thanks for all the input, folks. I think the choice will be Rebecca. Another factor in its favor is the fact that I've never seen it, whereas I have seen Psycho ... so this should be enjoyable for both of us. The only thing working against it would be if you have seen Mel Brooks' "High Anxiety", you will have trouble not thinking about Cloris Leachman's parody of Mrs. Danvers. :)

Actually, Dame Judith Anderson's performance in Rebecca is so archetypal that you will likely recognize lots of parodies of and homages to it that you have seen over the years.

Regards,