No list of the greatest directors of all time is ever complete without the name Alfred Hitchcock upon it. Not only arguably responsible for many more truly classic films than any other director in history, his innovation, both technically and story-wise, has been an influence on too many who followed in his footsteps to name without essentially listing most every one to have done so, not to mention the impact on general popular culture his work has had over the years - the innumerable "homages" paid to the man in The Simpsons alone serving as a perfect example.

This set gathers together seven of the Master of Suspense's films that are under licence to Universal, including many which were withdrawn from general release for many years as they formed a part of what became known as "Hitchcock's private collection" - films he bought back from the studios as an heirloom as such for his daughter, Patricia.

Luckily they are available for us all again, and this collection contains many a true classic from his most successful creative period. Absolute masterpieces such as the exemplary peeping tom tale of Rear Window, that which had people wary of showering for years, Psycho, and the very much underrated black comedy The Trouble With Harry are all present, along with earlier works such as Hitch's remake of his own film The Man Who Knew Too Much, complete with the Academy Award winning Doris Day tune Que Sera Sera, the virtual technical experiment that was Rope, the wartime jingoistic drama of Saboteur and the absolute black and white gem that is Shadow of a Doubt.

Most of Hitchcock's more renowned trademarks are very much on display throughout the inclusions in this set, from his classic 'wrong man' scenarios, his love of red herrings and unpredictable twists, that wry sense of humour that doesn’t always get the credit it truly deserves, and, of course, the legendary "MacGuffin".

All these titles are presented in their original ratios, and pleasingly are all anamorphically enhanced where appropriate. If that isn’t enough in itself, any fan of Hitchcock, or indeed any student of the art of filmmaking, should delight in the brilliantly put-together documentaries that accompany each title in this set. On top of this there are often many looks at production artwork and scene planning sketches, photo galleries of varying worth and generally original trailers from the days when they were usually more than just a few clips from the film rapidly cut together with a strident voiceover.

While all these titles are available separately for those who wish to pick and choose, any fan of the great director's work will surely treasure this collection of the renowned and the underrated from the man's vast canon of sometimes simply incredible work. Delightfully presented in a foldout presentation box, it also ends up a thoroughly more affordable alternative to buying each of the titles individually.