Alfred Hitchcock directed some of the most iconic films in cinema history. Whether it was the horror Psycho or the Birds. Or the thrilling North by Northwest or Saboteur. To The Suspense filled Rear Window or The Man who knew too much. Once thing is for sure Hitchcock was a master of film direction.
But before he made those epic adventures Hitchcock started on the small scale, but yet you could still see his genius. Now the good folks at Kino Lorber under the division KL Studio Classics are releasing one of Hitchcock early film, 1932's Number Seventeen.
In an empty London house, a hobo named Ben (Leon M. Lion) looks for shelter yet instead finds a corpse. When Detective Fordyce (John Stuart) shows up, he questions Ben, but is interrupted when a girl (Ann Casson) falls through the roof. Her father has vanished, and she's received an inscrutable telegram that mentions both the house and a missing necklace. Soon more suspicious characters turn up, all looking for the necklace, and none of them who they claim to be.
Now many people dismiss Number Seventeen as a bad film and while I will admit Number Seventeen is far from Hitchcock greatest film. I found this film to be a very interesting early entry into Hitchcock's career. Even though the film can be a bit confusing at times.
The film has been transferred in 1080p in 1.20:1 aspect ratio and a DTS-HD Master audio 2.0. This transfer comes from a new 4K restoration by Studio Canal and what a restoration it is! This restoration looks so amazing. When you look at this film in some of the earlier releases in comparison to this one, the difference is night and day. It is a gorgeous restoration to say the least.
Now Kino Lorber added some really nice bonus features to this Blu-ray. Take a look at what is included.
* NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historian and Critic Peter Tonguette
* Hitchcock/Truffaut: Icon interviews Icon (Audio)
* Hitchcock: The Early Years: Documentary (A Near hour long French film)
* Introduction by Noel Simsolo
* Hitchcock Film Trailers
-Number Seventeen
- Blackmail
- Murder!
- The Paradine Case
- Under Capricorn
- Lifeboat
Number Seventeen is not going to be a film for the average film fan. Even Hitchcock fans looking for a film like Spellbound or Rebecca are going to be disappointed. But I did find this film an interesting one none the less. To see how Hitchcock would go from this to become the Master of Cinema is a true amazing thing.
If you are a fan of Alfred Hitchcock or early British Cinema, Number Seventeen is going to be right up your alley. You can get a copy of Number Seventeen by heading over to Amazon.com today.
Out of 4 film reels (4 being the best) KL Studio Classics Blu-ray release of Number Seventeen receives...
 { KL Studio Classics Blu-ray Review}){kind=link}
0 Comments