The Manxman: Special Edition

 

 

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This is a tragic, woeful tale! Do not expect to leave this film unscathed by the brutal knife edge of Hitchcock. He wields the weapon of suspense and trauma even here, so very early in his career.

We are also introduced to the fine actor, Carl Brisson. His performance alone garners the worth of four stars. Each facial expression, every gesticulation is worth a thousand words in the medium of silent film, and Mr. Brisson flawlessly provides them all. He is, essentially, the backbone of this dreadully long, droll, tragedy.

You'll notice the pacing and editing of the movie are frustrating, however, in its entirety, i still believe this film works. It's a Lily in Winter: rare, rare, rare. I only wish Mr. Brisson had produced more than three films before his untimely (and early) death.

And you'll want this as a reminder that the fruits of Hitchcocks genius were in the larval stages and just absolutely fascinating to watch.

These DVDs (and The AH Collection II) are quite a good value. Iï¿m a big Hitchcock fan, and before I bought them I had only seen cheapo VHS versions of a few of the movies (except for The Lady Vanishes and The 39 Steps, of which I had the Criterion editions). Anyway, I got the two box sets here on Amazon (theyï¿re also now available in one big set with 14 DVDs), and Iï¿ve watched through all of them.
The first thing you need to know, and then promptly forget about, is that Tony Curtis provides an introduction to each DVD, and man is it brutal! There are a lot of pictures that were publicity stills for his later movies or his TV series, and Tony says things like, ï¿Hitch liked to shock people. You know what itï¿s like when you have a good twist at the end of a film? Hitch had a lot of those. Shocking!ï¿ His comments rarely relate to the movie. Anyway, I watched all the intros, but it was painful.
Several of the DVDs also have trailers for later Hitchcock films, all in horrible condition. Which makes the transfers of the actual movies all that much better, since theyï¿re quite acceptable. The worst transfer is the earliest film, The Lodger, and the worst movies are The Manxman and Easy Virtue. Besides that, it was a pleasure watching them. None of the films are at the level of the two Criterion releases, and there are certainly lines and scratches throughout, but you can enjoy them. The sound is generally okayï¿very little screeching as I recall from the VHS copies Iï¿ve seen. Thereï¿s really no bass response at all, but thereï¿s not a whole lot of scratching either.
I think (a) except for the two Criterion ones, theyï¿re the best copies out there, (b) if youï¿re a Hitchcock fan, theyï¿re required viewing and you wonï¿t be disappointed in the movies themselves, and (c) at about $... a DVD, and with three or so of the discs containing a second, silent film (none of the silents stand alone on a DVD) and two of the discs containing an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents (in probably the worst condition youï¿ve ever seen them, especially if youï¿ve been spoiled by the Universal-released episodes), theyï¿re a tremendous bargain.
Note, these arenï¿t all of Hitchcockï¿s early movies. Several, such as Champagne and Juno and the Paycock, arenï¿t out on DVD at all. Also note that these arenï¿t all mystery/suspense films. The Farmerï¿s Wife is a comedy, The Ring is a boxing/love story, Easy Virtue, Skin Game, and The Manxman are melodramas, and Jamaica Inn is a period piece. But itï¿s neat to finish one of these and then watch, say, The 39 Steps and see an early glimpse into the director Hitch would later become.
One painful caveat: The Farmerï¿s Wife, a silent comedy, was quite entertaining, but it was also nearly an hour longer than its 97-minute listed running time. Everytime I thought the farmer would finally choose a wife, another plot twist came up. After 2+ hours I started to consider hitting the FF button. I read somewhere that itï¿s a common error in silent films to have them run at the wrong speed--unfortunately this one runs too slow. If you can forego the music, Iï¿d consider watching it in a slight fast forward mode!

These DVDs are "Laserlight" releases which mean that they have very poor quality picture and sound.Wait for the new Hitchcock Box sets which have clear picture and sound plus documentaries and other extras.The superb Criterion versions are also a good choice.If it's introduced by Tony Curtis,then it's Laserlight,avoid it!

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4.0 out of 5 stars Half wonderful, all of great historical interest
Note: this review refers to the 14-DVD boxed set and not just to Volume 1.

No film buff and certainly no film major should be without the boxed set of 14 DVDs that Laserlight... Read more

Published on Dec 1 2000 by F. Behrens

4.0 out of 5 stars You know you want them all
You can look up the individual reviews. Of course some individual titles will go out of stock. Others may not be your favorite (mine is 39 steps). Read more

Published on Oct 10 2000 by bernie

5.0 out of 5 stars Imperdible...
En esta era de la tecnología y el gusto por lograr las mejores imágenes y los mejores efectos, esta colección nos lleva a darnos cuenta que las grandes obras... Read more

Published on Sep 25 2000 by Carlos Gabri

1.0 out of 5 stars Offset dialog screens
Story and picture quality aside, it is very annoying that the film seems to have been transferred off center. Read more

Published on Aug 31 2000 by Philip J. Poon

2.0 out of 5 stars No Thanx , Man
This film, like most of his early work, is for Hitchcock aficionados only. I am an admirer of Hitchcock and also enjoy old British films, but I still found this movie tough going,... Read more

Published on Jun 25 2000 by Jesmat

3.0 out of 5 stars Alfred de Musset in England
If you know Les caprices de Marianne, the story is quite similar. But there is a lot of sad love stories in Hitchcock movies. Read more

Published on Jun 11 2000 by R. Michel

3.0 out of 5 stars Time travel!
What a great pleasure to watch old silent movies. The Hitchcock collection 1 provides you very good movies: The Manxman takes place in Polpero, England, and is a bit slow, but an... Read more

Published on Jun 11 2000 by R. Michel

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