Hitchcock: The Early Years – Volume Two (Blu-ray) ***Preorder*** 1/7

The master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock, conquered silent cinema in the 1920s, made his mark on sound films in the early 1930s, and then set forth developing his iconic style of dark drama, gripping thrillers, and black comedy as the 30s rolled on. 

This second volume of Hitchcock’s Early Years sees him capture the flair for stylish suspense that would define his legacy:

• Sabotage (1936)
• Young and Innocent (1937)
• The Lady Vanishes (1938)
• Foreign Correspondent (1940)
• Bonus film: Waltzes From Vienna (1934) (standard-definition)

Limited Edition 4-Disc Hardbox – 1000 copies only.

Sabotage 

Praised by critics on release and still fresh with each contemporary viewing, Hitchcock’s Sabotage is often listed as one of the greatest British films of all time.

A detective is on the trail of a saboteur who is plotting to set off a bomb in London.

Starring Sylvia Sidney, Oskar Homolka, and John Loder, and adapted from the 1907 novel The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad.

Special Features and Technical Specs:

• 1080p High-definition presentation on Blu-ray
• NEW Audio commentary by writers and film experts Kim Newman and Barry Forshaw
• Audio commentary by author / film scholar Leonard Leff
• NEW Film Critic Tim Robey on Sabotage
• Introduction by film critic Charles Barr
• On Location – featurette, introduced by Robert Powell
• Archival episode of Cinema Then, Cinema Now featuring Professor Jerry Carlson, Professor George Custen, and Professor Ilan Stavans
• Peter Bogdanovich Interviews Hitchcock – audio interview
• Archival introduction by actor Tony Curtis
• Image Gallery
• Audio: English LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Aspect Ratio 1.33:1
• Optional English HOH Subtitles

Young and Innocent 

This thrilling mystery was adapted from the novel A Shilling for Candles by Josephine Tey, a “crisply paced, excellently performed film” (New York Times). 

After seeing the body of a young girl washed up on a beach, Robert Tisdall runs away to secure help. He is seen by two girls who, believing him to be the murderer, inform the police. He must then attempt to prove himself innocent of a charge of murder based on circumstantial evidence.

Special Features and Technical Specs:

• 1080p High-definition presentation on Blu-ray
• NEW Audio commentary by writers and film experts Kim Newman and Jo Botting
• Audio commentary by authors Stephen Rebello and Bill Krohn
• NEW Film Critic Tim Robey on Young and Innocent
• Introduction by film critic Charles Barr
• A Profile of Alfred Hitchcock: The Early Years
• Peter Bogdanovich Interviews Hitchcock – audio interview
• Hitchcock / Truffaut – audio interview segment
• Archival introduction by actor Tony Curtis
• Image Gallery
• Audio: English LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Aspect Ratio 1.33:1
• Optional English HOH Subtitles

The Lady Vanishes 

Margaret Lockwood and Michael Redgrave star in this iconic mystery, renowned as one of Hitchcock’s best films, and based on the novel The Wheel Spins by Ethel Lina White. 

During a journey aboard a Trans-Continental Express, a young woman strikes up an acquaintance with a middle-aged English governess who mysteriously disappears from her compartment. The girl is accused of hallucinating and begins to doubt her own state of mind. But as further enquiries are made, the curious behaviour of a group of foreign government agents is revealed.

Special Features and Technical Specs:

• 1080p High-definition presentation on Blu-ray
• NEW Audio commentary by professor and film scholar Jason Ney
• NEW Film historian Matthew Sweet on The Lady Vanishes
• Introduction by film critic Charles Barr
• Archival episode of City Cinematheque featuring Professor Jerry Carlson and Professor Royal Brown
• Image Gallery
• Theatrical Trailer 
• Bonus film: Waltzes From Vienna (1934) (standard-definition)
• Audio: English LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Aspect Ratio 1.37:1
• Optional English HOH Subtitles

Foreign Correspondent 

Nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture, Hitchcock’s landmark spy thriller stars Joel McCrea, Laraine Day, and Herbert Marshall.

At the beginning of 1939, Jones, an American reporter, is sent by his paper to Europe. There, he is to investigate the possibility of a world war. In London, he meets an elderly Dutch politician, co-signatory of a secret alliance treaty whose details the Nazis will stop at nothing to discover. 

Special Features and Technical Specs:

• 1080p High-definition presentation on Blu-ray
• The Art of Film: Vintage Hitchcock
• Trailers from Hell: Foreign Correspondent – featuring filmmaker Larry Cohen
• Academy Award Theatre: Foreign Correspondent – 1946 radio adaptation starring Joseph Cotton
• Theatrical Trailer
• Audio: English LPCM 2.0 Mono
• Aspect Ratio 1.33:1
• Optional English HOH Subtitles