Alfred Hitchcock Presents - Season Two

I was very pleased to be able to add "Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Season Two" to my TV-DVD collection on October 17, 2006, when Universal Studios Home Entertainment officially put this 5-Disc set into circulation. And the video quality looks very nice here too, in my opinion. These black-and-white prints for this second "AHP" season (from 1956-1957) have survived in admirable shape.This set includes all 39 second-year "AHP" episodes on five single-sided, dual-layered discs (which is a nice change from the first-season set, which has thirty-nine shows placed onto three double-sided DVDs). These 2nd-season shows appear to be uncut for the most part too.A few seconds of Hitchcock's dialogue may possibly have been trimmed here and there (leading into what were the commercials breaks when the shows originally aired), but nothing of a substantive nature has been cut out from what I can detect. And the running times would tend to back up that conclusion as well. In sampling a few episodes from Disc #1, I found running times of 26:11, 26:21, 25:28, and 25:33 for the first four programs.I, personally, have experienced very little difficulty at all while playing any two-sided discs from Universal, but I still like the fact that USHE now seems to be utilizing the one-sided DVD format for most of its television catalog. The single-sided discs look nicer too....they aren't as plain-looking, in that the single-siders include a label on each DVD, complete with photos, show title, and of course an easy-to-read disc number.The same photo of Mr. Hitchcock (holding a hangman's noose, which seems fairly appropriate) is displayed on each of the five disc labels in this AHP-2 collection. It might have been nicer to have a different picture adorning each of the discs....but the redundant photo doesn't bother me at all. Heck, I just like opening this package and seeing SOME type of label on the DVDs, period.Other than the switch to the single-sided discs, this set is almost identical to the Season-One release in most respects (such as the packaging and the DVD menu design and layout).The Main Menu provides choices for "Episode Index", "Subtitles", and a "Play All" option. (The "Play All" can be accessed from any of the "Episode Index" menu screens as well.)Eight shows occupy each disc (except Disc #5, which has seven). English subtitles are available for each program. The "Episode List" (title only) text screens that were a part of the first-season release have not been included in this second-season boxed set.Universal has also elected to omit the episode description text screens from the S.2 menus. A wise move too, because a lot of "spoilers" were revealed in the S.1 show summaries. For Season Two, when an individual episode is selected, you're taken straight to the episode (without going to a sub-menu first).Unlike Season One, chapter breaks have been inserted for all 39 of these year-two episodes, which I like a lot. There are four total chapters (scenes) per program. Advancing past the first "chapter" takes the viewer directly to Act 1 of the episode, while skipping the opening credits as well as bypassing Hitchcock's prologue/introduction.Alfred's droll intros are fun to see....but being able to get right to the beginning of the body of the program with one quick click is quite handy too. That's a very nice chaptering option to have.I haven't seen many of these Hitchcock episodes for quite some time, so some pleasant memories were rekindled when I watched some of the AHP shows on these DVDs -- including the following impressive entries:"Fog Closing In", "None Are So Blind", "De Mortuis", "Vicious Circle", "Father And Son", "Nightmare In 4-D", "Kill With Kindness", "The Night The World Ended", "Mr. Blanchard's Secret", and the three-part story starring frequent AHP guest star John Williams entitled "I Killed The Count".In addition to the above-mentioned installments, the Season-Two episode I enjoy the most is "One More Mile To Go" (first aired on April 7, 1957). I actually had no idea that this episode was even going to be a part of the S.2 collection, so it was a real treat indeed to see this one pop up in the Episode Index on Disc #4. It is also one of the very few episodes directed by Mr. Hitchcock himself during this second season of his television series."One More Mile To Go" stars David Wayne and is an episode filled with tension, suspense, and the one thing that frightened the daylights out of Director Alfred Hitchcock more than anything else -- the police. According to Mr. Hitchcock's daughter (Pat), and via interviews with Hitch himself in the years prior to his death at age 80 on April 29, 1980, Alfred very much feared the police.Perhaps that fear of "men in blue" was the springboard for episodes like "One More Mile", which has a script that features a motorcycle cop trailing after David Wayne throughout the program. And, according to what Pat Hitchcock has said in the past about her father, "nothing could be more menacing than that" (i.e., being pursued relentlessly by a policeman) -- especially if the person being chased (in this case Wayne) has a terrible secret he wants to hide....a "secret" in the form of something that Wayne stuffed into the trunk of his car shortly before being pulled over by that menacing man in the blue uniform."One More Mile To Go" has been compared in some ways to the movie "Psycho" (which Hitchcock directed three years later). I hadn't really thought about the "Psycho" comparisons in the past, but the AHP episode does mirror that iconic Hitch film in several ways, including the part of a policeman tailing the car being driven by the story's main character.I could probably watch "One More Mile" every day of the week and not tire of it. It's an episode that has an eerie and mysterious quality that, for me, makes each repeat viewing just as satisfying as the one that preceded it.---------------------------More "AHP-Season 2" DVD Details:Video -- Full Frame (original 1.33:1 TV ratio).Audio -- Dolby Digital Mono (2.0).Subtitles? -- Yes (English only).Bonus Features -- None (except for some ads for other Universal DVDs).Packaging -- A three-panel folding Digipak case with an outer slipcover/box.Paper Insert? -- No.---------------------------The "Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Season 2" DVD collection is another excellent reason to start building a "Classic TV On DVD" library (if you haven't already started building one, that is). With 39 gorgeous and well-written half-hour B&W teleplays available in one convenient and affordable DVD package, "AHP-2" earns a "Very Much Recommended" label from this reviewer.

I love Alfred HitchcockMaster of mystery and scary stories

High quality DVD. Very pleased.

I couldn't watch Alfred Hitchcock when I was younger as it was too scary for me. I'm okay with it now as I see the stories have a twisted end.

You can't beat brand new!

The master of suspense Alfred Hitchcock had been directing films for more than thirty years when he began hosting the weekly series "Alfred Hitchcock Presents." The half-hour show aired for eleven seasons on CBS and NBC. Hitchcock himself directed several of these episodes.Each episode would begin with the image of a profile caricature of Hitchcock as Charles Gounod's "Funeral March of a Marionette" played in the background. Then Hitchcock would walk into the frame and line up with his profile of the caricature before addressing the audience in his droll delivery about the upcoming episode. Hitchcock would appear a second time at the end of the episode with a final observation and an invitation to return for the next week's show.Just like season one, season two aired 39 episodes. All episodes run approximately 25 minutes with a total running time of 16 hrs. 52 min. All episodes are in black-and-white and full frame 1.33:1. Unlike the season one DVD, the subtitle option for these episodes is English only. All discs are one-sided discs; there are no bonus features. The episodes are presented in the sequence in which they originally aired from Sep. 30, 1956 to June 23, 1957. (An asterisk indicates those episodes directed by Hitchcock.)Disc 1Wet Saturday*Fog Closing InDe MortuisKill with KindnessNone Are So BlindTobyAlibi MeConversations Over a CorpseDisc 2Crack of DoomJonathanThe Better BargainThe Rose GardenMr. Blamchard's Secret*John Brown's BodyCrackpotNightmare in 4-DDisc 3My Brother, RichardThe ManacledA Bottle of WineMalice DomesticNumber Twenty-TwoThe End of Indian SummerOne for the RoadThe Cream of the JestDisc 4I Killed the Count (1)I Killed the Count (2)I Killed the Count (3)One More Mile To Go*Vicious CircleThe Three Dreams of Mr. FindlaterThe Night the World EndedDisc 5A Man Greatly BelovedMartha Mason, Movie StarThe West Warlock Time CapsuleFather and SonThe Indestructible Mr. WeemsA Little SleepThe Dangerous PeopleWhether you savor these over the course of months or binge watch some weekend, there are hours of entertainment awaiting you. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

great for hitchcock fans

This series of Alfred Hitchcock is so fantastic to wash the picture is so sharp and sound well transfert to DVD it is a addiction ! Buy it !

Martha Mason, movie star. Episode diffusé le 19 mai 1957 sur CBS et présenté sur le sixième DVD du coffret... Mabel, folle de cinéma, voue un culte à la star Martha Mason ce qui suscite un amusement agacé chez son mari. A ce que cela ne tienne ! Mabel se débarrasse du mari (qui termine comme fertilisant pour les lys) et joue sa partition d'épouse folle d'inquiétude de la même manière que MM l'aurait fait dans l'un de ses films. Si j'ai tenu à résumer cet épisode c'est qu'il illustre, selon moi, parfaitement la force de cette anthologie avec un scénario au cordeau non dénué d'une savoureuse ironie, de solides interprètes (la prestation de Judith Evelyn est grandiose) et une influence se mesurant sur la production ultérieure d'autres artistes (Gus Van Sant s'en inspirera pour Prête à tout). Quasiment chacun des 39 épisodes - présentés dans de très belles copies (4/3 1.33) avec néanmoins parfois un peu de souffle sur la vo (vf que minoritairement présente) - aurait pu servir ma démonstration. Et je n'ai même pas évoqué les présentations du maestro qui constituent, à elles seules, un mini épisode dans l'épisode tant Hitch donne de sa personne, ne craignant ni le ridicule ni l'autodérision. Une seule question: aurai-je la patience d'attendre tranquillement la sortie de la saison 3 sans commettre de meurtre ? Rien n'est moins sûr !

En una oportunidad tuve al alcance de mi mano la primera temporada de la serie televisiva, el resultado fue impactante sin dudarlo me gustó mucho. Me gustaron las historias, el descubrir diversos actores que había visto en otros roles y lo más importante el talento de hitchcook para llevar a cabo un historia de suspenso e intriga con una maestría genial.Esto me llevó a comprar las temporadas siguientes y las mismas no me han defraudado, todo lo contrario me han atrapado aun más a punto tal que no me canso de ver una y otra vez las diferentes historias

"The master of suspense" su piccolo schermo, un'edizione imperdibile! Unico problema: l'assenza di sottotitoli in italiano per chi vuole godersi la bellezza dell'originale anche senza conoscere perfettamente la lingua. Giudizio complessivo: positivo!