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Posted by One-Shot Scot on 10/08/05 15:22
"Prince of Orange" <nospam@all.com> wrote in message
news:9q6dk1ldnb43m085jmqo2stkt64ulfi44o@4ax.com...
> On Wed, 5 Oct 2005 08:37:03 -0700, "One-Shot Scot" <SonOf@Bitch.com>
> wrote:
>
> >Has anyone else had a bad experience with the Hitchcock Masterpiece
> >Collection?
>
> I haven't purchased the set yet, but I do have a question for you.
> Does 'Vertigo' have an option for you to play the movie with the
> original mono soundtrack? Although the video restoration was great, I
> hated the annoyingly intrusive foley sounds in the new soundtrack.
If you thought that the video quality of the first non-anamorphic _Vertigo_
DVD looked good, you will be amazed by the vast improvement of the
anamorphic version. I am embarrassed to admit that I bought the Hitchcock
Masterpiece Collection primarily to get the anamorphic _Vertigo_.
Yes, the original monaural 2.0 soundtrack has been included in the new
release and is sounds better to me than the phony, dolled up 5.1 soundtrack.
And speaking of dolled up, even though _Doll's Funeral March_ was the theme
for Hitchcock's TV show, someone at Universal decided that it would make
great background music for the _Vertigo_ DVD menus. They were wrong.
The differences between the fake 5.1 soundtrack and the original 2.0 can be
clearly heard in the opening scene of the rooftop chase. The sound of the
two gunshots have a hollow ring and forced reverberation in 5.1, but in 2.0
mono, they sound very natural. The sound of the men's shoes on the shingled
roof sound dull and lifeless in 5.1, in 2.0 the sound is much more natural.
Even the music sounds better in 2.0.
Here are all of the "Languages" options for the new anamorphic _Vertigo_:
Spoken Language
English 5.1
English 2.0 Mono
Feature Commentary -- With Associate Producer Herbert Coleman,
Restoration Team Robert A. Harris and James C Katz and other
_Vertigo_ Participants. (This option is located in the Bonus Materials
menu.)
Subtitles
English SDH*
Espaol
Franais
*subtitled for the deaf & hard of hearing
*** It is not necessary to go the menu to change from one audio track to
another or from one subtitle track to another. All of the audio and subtitle
options can be changed with the Audio or Subtitle buttons on the remote
control.
Now here is a paradox which will be of interest only to TRUE _Vertigo_ fans:
Madeleine leads Scottie from her home, to the flower shop, to Mission
Delores, to the Palace of the Legion of Honour and then to the McKittrick
Hotel, where she ultimately vanishes. It is this incident at the McKittrick
Hotel which adds a great deal of mystery and intregue to this outstanding
film.
Beginning 28 minutes into the film, Scottie watches Madeleine get out of
her green Jaguar and walk up the front steps to the McKittrick Hotel.
Next, he sees her open a window on the second floor above the front
door. But when he goes inside and asks the manager at the desk
(played by Ellen Corby) about this, she says that "Miss Valdes" hadn't
been in that day. "No, she hasn't been here at all. I would have seen
her, you know." And the room key is still on the rack. So they both go
upstairs to check the room and Madeleine is gone.
After Madeleine vanishes from the hotel, her car again appears in front
of her apartment building and the flowers are still in the car. The flowers
are the only tangible evidence of any of Madeleine's travels.
What in the world is going on here? Did Madeleine disappear? Was the
desk clerk in on the scheme? Was Scottie hallucinating?
The basic premise of _Vertigo_ is that there was a murder conspiracy
between only two people: Gavin Elster and Judy Barton. The discovery of
a third conspirator puts a whole new spin on things. In the supplemental
features of the DVD, there is an alternate ending in which Midge and
Scottie hear a radio report stating that the police are closing in on
Elster. Things are tied up neatly with Judy dead and Elster about to be
captured.
Things aren't so neatly tied up with a third conspirator at large.
Admittedly, the manager of the McKittrick Hotel probably didn't have a
clue about the murder. However, it makes me wonder how many others were
duped into unknowingly aiding and abetting Elster's murder plot.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00006JKCX/102-8131998-7046534?v=glance
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