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It's my understanding that these are all brand new transfers.

souvenir wrote:You complainers are all mad. Anamorphic versions of Vertigo and Psycho do not exist in R1 outside the Masterpiece box. If you're upset for having shelled out on that set now that more extra features are available then that's no reason to take it out on Universal. These releases are more than welcomed. Supplements are just that - extra features to enjoy (or not) alongside the film.

I do welcome them, but, the quality of the commentaries and bonus features will be the deciding factor on purchase vs. rental since I've already enjoyed the movies many times. I've never had to cut back on my DVD purchases because of money issues, but, I'm really starting to notice the high cost of living and the economic slowdown is beginning to hit home. My plan is to wait a week or two after the release date and let all of you tell me if the bonus material and transfers are:

a) good enough to demand a purchase, or
b) rent them and use the money to buy a quarter of a tank of gas on your way to the video store.

What about The Birds? If I'm not mistaken, these 3 SEs would leave The Birds as the only one from the Masterpiece box NOT re-issued separately...

they're probably waiting for the remake, if it ever happens (and hopefully it won't).

These are all available for pre order on Amazon now. As well as Touch of Evil.

PLEASE tell me that they aren't releasing Psycho once again without the isolated score once included on a late LD boxed set release of the film, concurrent with the first DVD release, but left off that release and the subsequent DVD release???!!

Sigh.....

Last December amazon sold the Masterpiece Collection for $56. I'm a Prime member and I snapped it up. Coincidentally enough I have only just now had the opportunity to watch these films having spent this past weekend watching Rear Window, Vertigo and Psycho. I was surprised to see these titles listed over on Beaver. I'm in agreement, the films looked great, the extras were worthwhile and I'm certain Universal is looking to bleed collectors dry. (Of course, I can rationally explain why I have 24 different copies of Dylan's Blonde On Blonde so I've no room to scorn Universal's actions.)

headacheboy wrote: I have 24 different copies of Dylan's Blonde On Blonde so I've no room to scorn Universal's actions.)

Let's see:

1. Original mono LP
2. Original stereo LP
3. Sundazed mono vinyl reissue
4. 8-track
5. cassette
6. Original Columbia CD
7. Gold CD edition
8. Sony SACD hyrbid

Help me! 24 different copies?

There might be a few Japanese versions, too.

Getting back on track, I can live without the isolated Psycho score, and a little grain. But for me the largest omission will bite, and bite hard. That is the US censor cut footage, aired a few times in Germany on their public TV.

Frame grabs of the infamous censored 18.36 seconds are featured in this article.

Daliah Lavi wrote:Getting back on track, I can live without the isolated Psycho score, and a little grain. But for me the largest omission will bite, and bite hard. That is the US censor cut footage, aired a few times in Germany on their public TV.

Live with a little grain? Films are supposed to have grain. I couldn't live with it if it didn't have grain.

Adam wrote:

Daliah Lavi wrote:Getting back on track, I can live without the isolated Psycho score, and a little grain. But for me the largest omission will bite, and bite hard. That is the US censor cut footage, aired a few times in Germany on their public TV.

Live with a little grain? Films are supposed to have grain. I couldn't live with it if it didn't have grain.

Yes, that was one of my points.
Some will moan about the (natural) grain and, to my mind extraneous extras. Just give me the film as the director intended, i.e. uncut!

Daliah Lavi wrote:I can live without the isolated Psycho score, and a little grain. But for me the largest omission will bite, and bite hard. That is the US censor cut footage, aired a few times in Germany on their public TV.

According to a 2006 post on the Hitchcock Wiki Forum (which nobody contradicted) the current R1 DVDs do include this previously censored footage:

JamesBW wrote:Yes, the Universal DVD are "uncut."

It seems the omission of those shots was peculiar to certain markets back in the early 60s (when "Psycho" was enjoying its first runs), or to TV showings. Biographer Patrick MacGilligan mentions some of them, for example the one where we see blood on Norman's hands. Since those days of yesteryear, we in the States, at least, have all seen and are very familiar with these cut scenes. Nothing new here.

I couldn't tell what the insert with the letter was. It looked sort of like they replaced the letter Mr. H shot (written in English) with a badly photographed insert of a letter shot by another crew (written in German? French? the image is not clear), presumably for foreign audiences.

Sadly they're incorrect, anyone who currently owns the Universal region CE, can compare for themselves. It is still the censored US print.

The spied undressing is still missing the bra removal as highlighted in the frame grabs from the German TV broadcast. This is shown in the making of under Chapter 20 of the R1 CE.

As is the walk towards the sink to wash his bloodied hands. Again as shown in the German TV frame grabs.

The stabbing of the detective, now at the foot of the stairs, is still missing a further couple of stabs. This fades to black on the US dvd, while the German print carries on further.

Fascinating to see just what was originally cut. And as I mentioned before, I would expect Universal to pull out all the stops, and restore this classic to its true director's cut.
Hell, if it can happen to James Whale's Frankenstein...

Thanks for the clarification and confirmation. I checked the R1 CE myself, as you suggest. (For anyone else who wants to do so, the timings on the German site are slightly different due to PAL speed-up.)

The odd thing is I feel sure I've seen at least some of this censored footage at some point (maybe in the doc, as you say). I used to have a UK TV broadcast - which I watched more often than I've seen the DVD - and wonder now if it was in that. Can anyone who owns different DVD editions (maybe other regions?) or TV broadcasts check for this footage, please.

Is Dave Pattern (who runs the Hitchcock Wiki site) aware of this? I'm surprised I haven't come across this issue before, which is why - I admit - I was initially sceptical of your claim, especially after I found an uncontradicted denial!

EDIT: looking at the timings of the various DVD releases on the Hitchcock Wiki site, the Masterpiece Collection release is given as 28 seconds longer than that for the earlier CE edition. Has anyone checked the later transfer?

MANY thanks for the link to the Cut Psycho footage very interesting!

Ran to check my dvd/videos of the film and yes (SADLY!) the US collectors edition is missing all those shots, (its also missing the Cow shot LOL) like many i didnt double dip for the release collection so would love to know how that compares.

And would like to add that the memory of the previous poster is right as i also have a old VHS copy of the film from a UK tv showing and the footage is in that version, sadly my video quality is now terrible, no sound and picture rolls urgh!

Hope Universal takes the chance of this new release to restore the footage to this important film, or will they wait for their next Hitchcock rerelease!

You're welcome. I'm actually surprised this isn't common knowledge.

I've sent out an alert to The Digital Bits, Tim Lucas of Video Watchdog, Rue Morgue the Canadian genre magazine and for what it's worth the editor of Fangoria.

Could someone alert Universal USA to the cuts and link to the cuts page. I really don't want to lose this chance of getting an uncut version restored..although it may already be too late.

Tim Lucas has very kindly written about my cause on his blog

For what it's worth, lets spread the word gentlemen!

From the 16:9 Psycho that is in the Masterpiece collection:

This is the last frame in which you see Marion in a bra:


then it cuts to Norman looking


then it cuts back to this frame

So that confirms the Masterpiece collection is still the censored edition. Thank you.

If my highlighting of the cuts doesn't make a difference at Universal, we'll more than likely have the same version on the forthcoming 2 disc set.

I've been reliably informed the first German VHS also featured this uncut version. And I'm hearing that the pre cert UK VHS was the same deal...

Jonathan S wrote:I used to have a UK TV broadcast - which I watched more often than I've seen the DVD - and wonder now if it was in that. Can anyone who owns different DVD editions (maybe other regions?) or TV broadcasts check for this footage, please?

I can confirm that the uncut version was screened several times by the BBC in the 1980s.

Daliah Lavi wrote:I've been reliably informed the first German VHS also featured this uncut version. And I'm hearing that the pre cert UK VHS was the same deal...

Well, the pre-cert VHS can be picked up on Ebay for a bit over a fiver.

I've a niggling feeling, there was a release prior to that, in a slip case perhaps?

Daliah Lavi wrote:I've a niggling feeling, there was a release prior to that, in a slip case perhaps?

Yep. Here's the cover. Interesting to note that Gus Van Sant's PSYCHO remake uses the same angles as the censored version during the scene in which Norman washes his hands.

Thanks Brad, amazing how I could picture that 1981 release slip case after all these years. I note that release shares the same running time as the hard case 1985 edition currently on eBay...

Btw Brad, your assistance would be much appreciated over here. The historians are rebelling.

Further proof the censored footage was perhaps included in European prints

This rather shows up the 'Hitchcock specialists', allowing such important information to slip right under their noses.

The censored version of PSYCHO was shown on ITV4 last night. This seems to have become the standard edition. That's progress for you!