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List Price: $39.98 | | Label: Universal Studios
Salesrank: 8011
Released: October 9, 2007 |
| Our Price: $29.72 |
| Used Price: $28.72 |
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MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
No description available for this title.
Item Type: DVD Movie
Item Rating: NR
Street Date: 10/09/07
Wide Screen: no
Director Cut: no
Special Edition: no
Language: ENGLISH
Foreign Film: noSubtitles: no
Dubbed: no
Full Frame: yes
Re-Release: no
Packaging: Sleeve
Alfred Hitchcock Presents - Season Three Reviews:
UNRIVALED EXCELLENCE 
2009-10-07 - It seems like a lot of people have written very eloquent and thoughtful reviews of Hitchcock's half-hour segmented anthology series, so I'm not sure that there is anything I can add here that hasn't been covered already.
Frankly I'm amazed and pleased that Universal Studios is offering this series at such a reasonable price. It's clear from the enjoyment that Alfred Hitchcock takes in setting up a morbid little joke or comment at the start of each episode that he truly loves being in front of the camera as much as he loves being behind it directing. I think I may have actually gotten more enjoyment from Alfred's introductions and exits than I did from watching some of the half-hour dramas.
Oh, many of the dramas are excellent, borne up to the best examples of television production ever created on the wings of great actors and great cinematographers. There is a certain gripping noir presence to a drama series that makes exquisite use of black and white film. It's a lost art today, but when done to perfection as in this series, I almost prefer to watch black and white rather than color episodes of other more modern shows. There is a great feel to it that simply can not be matched in more contemporary styles. And it especially lends itself very well to the presentation of mysteries.
Are there some episodes that don't quite satisfy? Sure. There are just a few. But they are short and easy to tolerate. The less than excellent episodes, in my opinion are only two in this series..., "Miss Bracegirdle Does Her Duty" and.., "On The Nose". I simply found them as dull as dishwater. Not worthy of the Hitchcock title. In one, a very proper older lady , traveling on her own in France, ( obviously out of her element..) suddenly finds herself accidentally trapped in the wrong hotel room with a sleeping man. ( the door handle snaps off from the inside when she tries to leave.) I hate it when my door handles snap off, don't you? Well... ( yawn...) Turns out the man in the bed is dead, and was a notorious killer. It was so poorly done that it was almost laughable. Almost. As for the other one, a woman with a gambling addiction ( she bets on horses...) finds herself in a series of comical miscues as she tries to score enough money to pay off her bookie so that the guy doesn't tell her husband, who threatened to leave her if she was back to her old gambling habits. Man oh man. I have never seen a nicer , kinder, gentler meek little bookie who attempted to scare a woman into giving him his owed money. There was nothing there. BIG BORE from start to finish in that one. The other episodes in the season I found all well worth the price of the purchase. It was enjoyable seeing some of the earliest television work of actors like William Shatner, Jack Klugman, Vincent Price.., and so on.
- Mike S.
Pleasant surprise! (Hadn't seen the show before)
2009-01-27 - I was too young to appreciate the series at the time it originally aired. I occasionally caught bits and pieces of re-runs here and there in the 60s, but never had the situation to watch it on any sort of regular basis in any serious way until now.
I started with this - Season 3, because I read that it was better than the first two, and I was hooked with the first episode. The story of the woman who falls for a puppeteer she sees on stage has one of the all-time great, dark humor surprise endings!! And that is a trademark of the each of these episodes - either a surprise or a deviously clever ending, often with a very dark or macabre humor. Some you can see coming after a certain point and others are complete surprises.
I also love the intros and outros, where Hitch himself always appears. As the consummate director who had a wide knowledge of all aspects of film-making, he came up with some rather elaborate, clever, hard-to-do sets that you could tell took some time and real expertise (and cash) to do well. He took those segments very seriously and worked hard at them, when they could have been just cheap filler.
In those intros and outros (and in the stories themselves), his jaded, wry, cynical, sarcastic humor seems a cut above the idealized, happy themes of so much TV of that era. He also had very funny self-deprecating humor about his weight and looks. And he even puts down the commercials sometimes.
Every single episode of this season is gripping and the show is addictive. I will now start on seasons 1 and 2 and cannot wait for the release of later seasons!
1950's TV, gone but not forgotten
2009-01-26 - This is great stuff from classic TV era. When only upper income (smart) folks had TVs, the content was adult level. These half hour dramas feature fine actors and well crafted scripts. Many of the characters are over 40, as these were the viewers (the ones who could afford sets) back in the '50's.
alfred hitchcock presents
2009-01-20 - The Alfred Hitchcock Presents (Season Three) is very good viewing considering they were made in the late 50,s but only half hour viewing almost seems like it needed the full hour to tell the story properly when the 1960,s arrived They Changed The title to the Alfred hitchcock hour . to tell a story i think an hour is needed for viewing especially these old shows but having said that if you like suspence and to be thrilled at every turn with a slight twist at the end then this show is highly recommended
Season Four, NOW, please!!!
2008-11-26 - Alfred Hitchcock Presents is a big batch of wonderfulness. I, like all other Hitchcock fans, zealously grabbed up the first three releases and have enjoyed them over and over again. But look, Universal...there was an implicit promise that we'd get one of these per year, right around Halloween. And you've dropped the ball with Season Four. You have an obligation to keep these coming until all of them, every season, every episode, are beautifully restored and available for collectors and murder-mystery fans. You owe it to Hitch!
Whatever the delay is, overcome it. Get these out, if possible faster.
And if you happen to be a shopper mulling over this purchase, I can't recommend it strongly enough. Alfred Hitchcock's wraparound segments are worth the price of admission alone. He's warm, darkly amusing, and often downright hilarious. The shows themselves are clever, and often ingenious. Get all three seasons, and help us convince Universal DVD to keep them coming!!
