As a child growing up I was consumed with a passion for film, which has continued to this day and one of my all time favorite directors of film is Alfred Hitchcock.
The film Family Plot came was released in 1976 and for a young teenager growing up in Southern California, this was my first and only opportunity to see a Hitchcock film in it's initial release.
The plot in this film is sort of silly in spots, it concerns a phony psychic who while working as a medium is hired to find a missing heir to her family's fortune. The only problem is that the missing heir is now a jewel thief who faked his own death years ago and wants no part of being located once again.
Bruce Dern plays a cabbie who is also a boyfriend to the psychic, played by Barbara Harris, the jewel thief is played by William Devane, and Karen Black plays his accomplice/love interest.
Mr Hitchcock on this film employed many of the people who had made his subsequent films so successful including screenwriter Ernest Lehman, who penned North By Northwest amongst others for Hitch, Edith Head multi Academy Award winning costume designer, as well as Henry Bumstead who handled the fabulous set designs.
This DVD release is quite impressive for one of the least impressive films of Alfred Hitchcock, but the features make this a worthy addition to your collection nonetheless.
The disc is released in anamorphically enhanced widescreen which is presented in it's original aspect ratio of 1:85.1 and looks vastly superior to the old LaserDisc and VHS copies of this film that I have viewed over the years.
The soundtrack is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 mono and the composer is John Williams in a subdued but effective score.
There is a very nice documentary on this DVD as well entitled, "Plotting Family Plot which runs a little under 50 minutes and covers just about the whole production of the film and has interviews with assisstant director Howard Kazanjian, set designer Henry Bumstead, and actors Bruce Dern, Karen Black, William Devane.
There all also the standard addition of trailers two to be exact, as well as production photos and some behind the scenes photos as well.
Overall Alfred Hitchcocks 54th and final film is not something that film historians will be citing as a milestone in his career, however I think that anyone who is a film collector or Hitchock fan should add this to their DVD collection. I give this DVD release on a Bronze to Platinum rating scale.... a SILVER rating.
As a child growing up I was consumed with a passion for film, which has continued to this day and one of my all time favorite directors of film is Alfred Hitchcock. The film Family Plot came was released in 1976 and for a young teenager growing up in Southern California, this was my first and only opportunity to see a Hitchcock film in it's initial release. The plot in this film is sort of silly in spots, it concerns a phony psychic who while working as a medium is hired to find a missing heir to her family's fortune. The only problem is that the missing heir is now a jewel thief who faked his own death years ago and wants no part of being located once again. Bruce Dern plays a cabbie who is also a boyfriend to the psychic, played by Barbara Harris, the jewel thief is played by William Devane, and Karen Black plays his accomplice/love interest. Mr Hitchcock on this film employed many of the people who had made his subsequent films so successful including screenwriter Ernest Lehman, who penned North By Northwest amongst others for Hitch, Edith Head multi Academy Award winning costume designer, as well as Henry Bumstead who handled the fabulous set designs. This DVD release is quite impressive for one of the least impressive films of Alfred Hitchcock, but the features make this a worthy addition to your collection nonetheless. The disc is released in anamorphically enhanced widescreen which is presented in it's original aspect ratio of 1:85. 1 and looks vastly superior to the old LaserDisc and VHS copies of this film that I have viewed over the years. The soundtrack is presented in Dolby Digital 2. 0 mono and the composer is John Williams in a subdued but effective score. There is a very nice documentary on this DVD as well entitled, "Plotting Family Plot which runs a little under 50 minutes and covers just about the whole production of the film and has interviews with assisstant director Howard Kazanjian, set designer Henry Bumstead, and actors Bruce Dern, Karen Black, William Devane. There all also the standard addition of trailers two to be exact, as well as production photos and some behind the scenes photos as well. Overall Alfred Hitchcocks 54th and final film is not something that film historians will be citing as a milestone in his career, however I think that anyone who is a film collector or Hitchock fan should add this to their DVD collection. I give this DVD release on a Bronze to Platinum rating scale.... a SILVER rating.