Alfred Hitchcock Presents: The Legacy Collection DVD review
Nov 15, 2025- Permalink
Alfred Hitchcock Presents was a half-hour anthology series that premiered on CBS in 1955 before moving to NBC in 1960. It predated the other legendary anthology series, The Twilight Zone, by five years. Many of the scripts came from previously published sources, including Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, which started publishing in 1956. Though the master of suspense and his desert dry wit would do the intro and the outro for each episode, he only directed seventeen. The series gave work to many actors from those starting out to household names. Guest performers included Barbara Bel Geddes, Charles Bronson, John Cassavetes, Joseph Cotten, Bette Davis, Bruce Dern, Robert Duvall, Clint Eastwood, Peter Falk, Joan Fontaine, John Forsythe, Cedric Hardwicke, Peter Lawford, Cloris Leachman, Robert Loggia, Peter Lorre, Walter Matthau, Steve McQueen, Audrey Meadows, Vera Miles, Ricardo Montalbán, Roger Moore, Leslie Nielsen, Vincent Price, Claude Rains, Robert Redford, Burt Reynolds, Thelma Ritter, George Segal, Harry Dean Stanton, Dean Stockwell, Jessica Tandy, and Robert Vaughn. Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has just released Alfred Hitchcock Presents: The Legacy Collection on DVD. The 34-disc set contains 263 episodes of the series. The run actually had 268 episodes, so I’m guessing the missing five are due to some arcane licensing issue. Thanks to Allied Vaughn and MovieZyng, I had a chance to take a look at this hefty set.
The episodes are presented in the original 1.33:1 aspect ratio. The series was shot on film, so we get a nice clean black & white DVD presentation. I can already hear one person in the back mumbling, “If it was shot on film, why’s it not on Blu-ray?” Without delving into physical media economics, the short answer is DVD is the cheapest format to produce and, though it’s sad that a legendary show with great scripts and casts isn’t in high demand, this is the format that makes the most sense. I think it’s a really nice video presentation and the fact that fans of the series can get their hands on 263 episodes of it is fantastic.
On the audio side of things, there’s an English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono track. Subtitles are available for English SDH. Dialogue is clear and prioritized in the mix as are effects. Like many shows of the era, the score can sound a little tinny.
The Alfred Hitchcock Presents: The Legacy Collection DVD set is comprised of 34 discs. There is no digital code. There are two special features. “Alfred Hitchcock Presents: A Look Back” features Patricia Hitchcock, Norman Lloyd and Hilton Green discussing the creation and success of the series, while “Fasten Your Seatbelt: The Thrilling Art of Alfred Hitchcock” sees directors John Carpenter, William Friedkin, Martin Scorsese, Eli Roth, and Guillermo del Toro discuss the genius of Hitchcock and his ability to keep an audience in suspense and terror.
The Alfred Hitchcock Presents: The Legacy Collection DVD gives the home entertainment audience 263 episodes of a groundbreaking TV series without facing the whims of a streamer. Is there really much more to say? Recommended.