Alfred Hitchcock, the Signature Collection, on DVD

The "Master of Suspense" made many classics over his long career and if you've only seen such Hitchcock films as "The Birds" or "Psycho" you're already aware of his greatness.

But this boxed set contains nine other Hitchcock classics, and as such it's a feast of filmmaking as only "Hitch" could do it.

The Alfred Hitchcock Signature Collection contains a two disc edition of "Strangers on a Train and single disc incarnations of "Dial M For Murder," "Foreign Correspondent," "Suspicion," "The Wrong Man," "Stage Fright," "I Confess" "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" and the previously released (but always welcome) "North by Northwest."

So what you have here is not only an A list of Hitchcock, but of Hollywood's legendary stars as well, names such as Cary Grant, Henry Fonda, Grace Kelly, Marlene Dietrich, Montgomery Clift, James Mason, Eva Marie Saint and many others.

The audio and video quality vary, not surprisingly for a collection than spans decades, but the entertainment value here is top notch.

Here's a rundown of the films:

Strangers on a Train - the two disc DVD set. While travelling from Washington, D.C., champion tennis player Guy Haines (Farley Granger) meets playboy Bruno Anthony (Robert Walker). Their chance encounter becomes a series of confrontations as Bruno wriggles into Guy's life, with a scheme that the men swap murders. Beaucoups of extra features, including an alternate 'preview' version of the film; commentary by director Peter Bogdanovich, "Psycho" screenwriter Joseph Stephano, Strangers on a Train author Patricia Highsmith and biographer Andrew Wilson; a new "making-of" documentary ; three featurettes: The Hitchcocks on Hitch, Strangers on a Train: The Victim's P.O.V., Strangers on a Train by "Signs" and "The Village" director M. Night Shyamalan; Alfred Hitchcock's Historical Meeting, and a vintage newsreel. Video is Full Frame, not 16x9 TV compatible and audio is mono.

Suspicion, the oldest of the films in boxed set, sees Cary Grant in one of his more unlikeable characterizations as a womanizing gambler who flirts with the Joan Fontaine (in an Oscar winning role). After he marries her, Lina (Fontaine) starts to suspect that Johnny (Grant) may be trying to kill her for her money. The DVD includes a new "making of" documentary "Before the Fact: Supicious Hitchcock," and the theatrical trailer. Video is Full Frame, not 16x9 TV compatible and audio is mono.

Foreign Correspondent stars Joel McCrea as reporter Johnny Jones, who discovers a conspiracy threatening to take over Europe. McCrea's performance is excellent. Great production values and a riveting plot highlight this classic. Extras include a new "Making of" documentary and the trailer. Video is Full Frame, not 16x9 TV compatible and audio is mono.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith is actually more of a screwball comedy than a typical Hitchcockian thriller, and that's fine. Hitch did comedy well, too. It stars Carole Lombard and Robert Montgomery as a couple whose marriage is full of both bliss and hiss. Extras include a new "Making of" documentary and the trailer. Video is Full Frame, not 16x9 TV compatible and audio is mono.

Dial M for Murder was originally shot in 3-D but that isn't the version we get on this DVD - and that's okay. It stars Ray Milland as a slick tennis player who dreams up the perfect murder plot. He blackmails an old friend (Anthony Dawson) to stage a break in and murder his rich wife (the glorious Grace Kelly). But as in so many things Hitchcockian, appearances can be deceiving. The DVD includes new documentaries on the film and on 3D movies, as well as the theatrical trailer. Video is Full Frame, not 16x9 TV compatible and audio is mono.

Stage Frighthas Richard Todd acting as an actor accused of the murder of a lover's (Marlene Dietrich) husband. Eve Gill (Jane Wyman) believes he's innocent and tries and catch the real killer. The movie features absolutely marvelous opening and concluding sequences as well as typically exceptional performances. The DVD includes a new "making of" documentary and the trailer. Video is Full Frame, not 16x9 TV compatible and audio is mono.

I Confess has an interesting take on "priest/client privilege" as man of the cloth Montgomery Clift hears a murder confession and has to wrestle with the decision of reporting it to the police or sticking to his vows. The DVD also has a new "making of" documentary and the trailer. Video is Full Frame, not 16x9 TV compatible and audio is mono.

The Wrong Man teams Hitchcock with Henry Fonda and Vera Miles in the story of a misidentified as a robbery and murder suspect. The DVD comes with a new "making of" documentary and the trailer. Video is anamorphic widescreen (HOORAY!), which is 6x9 TV compatible, and Dolby Digital mono.

Finally, we get the great North by Northwest, a wonderful roller coaster ride in which ad agency maven Cary Grant is mistaken for a spy, then a murderer, and has to run for his life. Eva Marie Saint plays the love interest, or is she? James Mason is the heavy. The DVD also features anamorphic widescreen video, which is pretty good, and this disc features remixed Dolby Digital 5.1 surround audio, though it sounded more like mono - with perhaps a little left and right front channel - to us. Extras include a really good "making of' documentary, an audio commentary by screenwriter Ernest Lehman, production stills gallery, music only (by Bernard Herrmann!) track, commercials and trailers.

All the movies look very good, though not state-of-the-art. The older titles show some flaws that are undoubtedly due to the age of the original films but, on the whole, the DVD's look just finel. The mono sound is generally crisp and clean.

Okay, if you want to be truly and definitively Hitchcockian, you also need such flicks as "To Catch a Thief," "The Birds," "Rear Window," and so many more, but this is one heck of an introduction to the master and it's great having all these classics together in one package.

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