Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Season One DVD Review:

By the time the first season of Alfred Hitchcock presents was on television, he was already known as the “Master of Suspense”, a title which had been earned through his many successful and suspenseful films. With that success Hitchcock brought murder mystery back into the homes of viewers each week. Now these fantastic episodes are available on DVD, as quick little mysteries to enjoy without the commercials, although the jokes Hitchcock makes about the advertisements are still in place.

The stories all seem fairly simple, with every day ordinary people, but there is always murder and most usually a twist at the end to surprise you with a conclusion you may not have imagined. It truly is imaginative the way the entire story is told and completed within about twenty-five minutes. It never feels rushed either. Instead the story is just kept rather simple, until the end, and even the twist seems remarkably simple at times as well.

Perhaps the best part about each episode is the introduction and conclusion by Hitchcock. He hosts the show with a deadpan and dry humor which is great. If you don’t listen closely it would be easy to miss the fact that he is even joking, but the humor is astonishingly unique to Hitchcock. Though the actual stories are usually void of any humor, Hitchcock is a one-liner king in his own dry way, never really even smiling.

Season one had a remarkable 39 episodes, a number which far outdoes any season of any show on television today. Each episode features a new story, so there are plenty of guest stars, including Cloris Leachman, Charles Bronson, Claude Rains, Lorne Greene, Joanne Woodward, Vera Miles and plenty more. All 39 episodes have been fit onto three double-sided discs, which allows for decent quality picture, although the sound is a bit shaky at times.

On the third disc there is one special feature, which is a documentary, Alfred Hitchcock Presents: A Look Back. This contains new interviews with Pat Hitchcock, the daughter of Alfred Hitchcock, and other people close to the project and Hitchcock himself. It is a short but nice addition to the collection.

The greatest thing about the collection is the fantastic artwork which is filled in the foldout container as well as the stylish cover art. It is classy in black and white with just a touch of a dark purple. It really looks great. The photos inside the case are equally impressive.



Ryan Izay