Hitchcock – The Beginning – A new Special Edition 11 Disc Blu-ray Box Set is heading our way

Hitchcock’s silent films including THE RING (1928), THE FARMER’S WIFE (1929) and CHAMPAGNE (1928) were greeted with great enthusiasm by critics and were heralded as evidence that British films had reached an international standard of artistry.  Hitchcock’s final silent film THE MANXMAN (1930) was also a considerable commercial success.  In 1929, Hitchcock directed BLACKMAIL, the first British sound feature, hailed as a film which “used sound and dialogue with more flair and imagination than any Hollywood or European film of the time.” Hitchcock’s inventive and expressionist use of sound demonstrated that the new technology opened a new realm of possibilities.  In the wake of BLACKMAIL, there were searches for new challenges. These included adaptations of two high profile plays, JUNO AND THE PAYCOCK (1930) and THE SKIN GAME (1931), two more thrillers MURDER! (1930), NUMBER SEVENTEEN (1932), and an intriguingly odd marital drama, the appropriately titled RICH AND STRANGE (1932).