NOTE: Vertigo is individually reviewed on 4K UHD HERE

 

NOTE: Rear Window is individually reviewed on 4K UHD HERE

 

NOTE: Psycho is individually reviewed on 4K UHD HERE

 

NOTE: The Birds is individually reviewed on 4K UHD HERE

 

Universal 4K UHD (September 2020): Universal transferred Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, Rear Window, Vertigo and The Birds to 4K UHD as part of their The Alfred Hitchcock Classics Collection. They are all on separate 4K UHD discs. Four, region FREE, Blu-rays are included. These 4K UHD transfers feature HDR described as "4K Ultra HD is the ultimate movie watching experience. 4K Ultra HD features the combination of 4K resolution for four times sharper picture than HD, the color brilliance of High Dynamic Range (HDR) with immersive audio delivering a multidimensional sound experience." These utilize HDR10 not Dolby Vision on BD 100 (triple layered discs).

There are subtitle options including English SDH, French Canadian, Latin American Spanish and as with all 4K UHD discs, this Universal package is Region 'Free' (included Blu-rays too!) playable worldwide. 

Notable observations:

Yes, unfortunately this is the same style packaging (cardboard sleeves where you must slide the, tightly held, discs out) as the Masterpiece Blu-ray Collection... and very few people like it. It can be extremely difficult not to get fingerprints on the playing surface. I suggest wiping them before placing them in your player.

Audio - no 'mono' mixes that I have heard - it seems they are down-mixes (dual-mono.) Vertigo, for example has a 7.1 (Foley gunshot sounds like an echo'ing canon - better in the included dual-mono option) along with the DTS foreign language DUBs. We will report on this in detail on the individual reviews when we obtain the screen captures for comparison.

The included Blu-rays for Rear Window, Vertigo and The Birds are the exact same transfers as the 2012 edition - and actually have those VoB / M2TS file dates - see HERE.

Psycho is a new Blu-ray transfer (2020) - so we will focus a bit on it here (see menus below.) The extended 'Uncut' and 'theatrical re-release cut' are seamlessly-branched as they are on the 4K UHD.

Any new extras? Aside from the inclusion of the 'uncut version' of Psycho (also found on the Blu-ray of the Turbine legacy Collection out of Germany from January 2019, reviewed HERE) I haven't found any of significance. yes, all the commentaries, Hitchcock / Truffaut interviews etc. NOTE: Not all the extras are on the 4K UHDs - but most of them are - the rest appear on the included Blu-rays, which, as we say, are duplicates of the 2012 issues. There is a leaflet with a code for digital copies.

Okay the BIG question - how to the 4K UHD transfers look?

Short answers:

Rear Window - has always had contrast-y issues, so I wasn't expecting too much. It improves over the Blu-ray, but doesn't climb the heights of the format. However, it has moments that are easy to identify as superior and I'd rate it, about, the third best of this set despite having the highest bitrate.

Vertigo, which I have seen over a dozen times - probably closer to 20 times - looks magnificent via 4K UHD. Midge's apartment, the flower shop, Novak's sweaters, the cars, Scottie's suits, facial detail, the animation in the nightmare sequence, and the film's wonderful pastels and hues look better than I have ever seen. I found it stunningly beautiful. The gem of the The Alfred Hitchcock Classics Collection 4K UHD set.

Psycho - there are a few who were unhappy with the 2012 Universal Blu-ray transfer feeling it looked waxy and lacked grain texture. As the theatrical re-release and 'uncut' version are seamlessly-branched there is no difference in the quality between the cuts. This 4K UHD improvement over past digital editions is readily apparent but can appears subtle in just how much better it is. The grain is fine and very much appreciated. Yes, I didn't see these textures as much in 1080P as I do here. Contrast layering is adept - the overall image, like the rest of the 4K set is dark-ish, which I perceive to be more authentic. I greatly prefer this to a brightened image. This is the second best looking transfer of The Alfred Hitchcock Classics Collection 4K UHD in my opinion.

The Birds - I adore the film but it never looked exceptional on digital. While the 4K UHD helps the appearance - it still has weaker digital issue lacking tightness and smoothness that stem from the source. Not all films translate well to digital and The Birds looks very average on 4K UHD. But in its defense - better than any previous way I have seen it - just not dramatically as improved as Vertigo.

New extras would have seemed appropriate and Universal lose marks for the packaging (I've had to wipe my own fingerprints off 1/2 a dozen times.) But these are The Master's most beloved films and this is the best they can look in your home theatre - for that much can be forgiven, or at least overlooked for now. Plus many want to see the Uncut bits from Psycho. Once you pop 4K UHD of Vertigo in your system, you'll be too mesmerized by the credits alone to feel slighted about the package weaknesses and lack of new supplements, imo.   

Gary Tooze