The Philippine Online Chronicles

We are lucky that in recent years the price of DVDs has been falling. Though new releases and special editions still won’t cost you less than P500, there are always DVDs on sale, and though we have to be wary of some with shoddy transfers (I have run into original DVDs that pixilated and broke up, making it apparent that its source was VCD) the video stores now always have bargain bins with great stuff on sale.

Sometimes, even better than finding a great DVD on sale (and the excruciating inverse of this is seeing a DVD you paid full price for that’s selling for half what you paid) is finding a good boxed set on sale. And that’s what we have for this entry, the Alfred Hitchcock collection. While this doesn’t have Vertigo or Rear Window, which are part of another set, it does have four great movies for only P400.

That’s right, P100 for a Hitchcock flick, and none of these are slouches at all: Psycho, The Birds, Saboteur,and, Shadow of a Doubt. As a person who has been amassing a considerable DVD collection of classics, the chance to grab four of them for the price of one regularly priced DVD is something I could not pass up. And even beyond collecting purposes, each of these films still holds up despite its age, providing viewers with a good taste of why Hitchcock is known as the master of suspense.

Psycho is still one of the most talked-about, most referenced, and most loved films of all time, and for good reason. Hitchcock does so much in this film. He breaks a lot of rules, he provides us with amazing images, he chills and shocks and throws us off guard and in the final tension-filled scenes he leaves us breathless, gasping to recover from the trauma. If you haven’t seen it before, don’t talk to anyone about it. And though it stands as one of the greatest films, it also proves that a film can be great but also imperfect.

I don’t know how many times I’ve watched Psycho, but I do know that every time that I go back to it there’s something new to notice or enjoy. There are these camera angles that are just slightly diagonal to give a subtle, unsettling feeling. There’s the score to take note of which provides such powerful emotion to the film. And each viewing is rewarding, especially when viewed to appreciate the craft that went into Hitchcock’s work. This is arguably the first Slasher flick, and it’s a pretty amazing one.

The Birds doesn’t move as fast as Psycho, but it stands as an amazing technical achievement. When birds begin attacking people, it sounds funny and absurd at first, but when Hitchcock shows you the damage the birds can do you will wind up having chills when you hear chirping. There’s a particularly affecting scene here as children go running from a classroom to shelter and the birds descend on them, attacking mercilessly. I think that scene alone is worth the hundred bucks for the DVD.

But when you take in all of the other sequences, such as a heated debate in a diner or the tension-filled finale, this comes off as more than a great bargain. There are moments in The Birds when it lulls and fails to keep an audience’s full attention. Despite that, on the whole it still stands as a strong piece of horror that is executed very well.

Saboteur plays more on espionage, but has the Hitchcock trademarks, which he was just establishing at the time. The ascents and descents, the great compositions, and the devious characters who can speak their evil while keeping grins on their faces. No Bond or Bourne, this film nonetheless is a cross-country spy-thriller about a man who is framed for sabotage. He tries to chase down the true saboteur and uncovers something much bigger than he imagined.

Paranoia and a sense of urgency are elements of suspense that even modern directors are hard put to instill in a lot of thrillers. These days it’s often accomplished with shaky-cams and quick cut editing. But Hitchcock shows how it’s done in Saboteur with a steady hand and a willingness to be unflinching. Along with all that suspense, though, is a believable little love story and some genuine warmth amidst all of the treachery.

Shadow of a Doubt was supposedly one of Hitchcock’s favorites among his films, and in this collection this was a real eye-opener. Telling the story of two Charlies, a niece and her Uncle Charlie who she discovers is a murderer, it follows the dance of death between the two as we try and figure out who knows what, and who knows too much, and what each will do with what they know.

Once again there’s a terrific sense of paranoia throughout the film. It’s quiet and it’s set in a languid little town. But you sense beneath all of it, hidden in that picturesque setting, is the potential for some real bad things happening. And once you’ve got this imbalance going with a heartless killer squaring off against a seemingly defenseless young girl, then you’re hooked.

Anyone who loves films finds his way to Hitchcock sooner or later, and getting The Alfred Hitchcock Collection at a measly P400 is a steal and a great entry point to one of the greatest directors of all time.