Everyone, at some point in their lives, secretly wishes death on another person. We all do it. Homicidal thoughts are as natural as breathing. Hopefully you’ve never acted on yours, but if you are reading this from a prison cell, congratulations on being assertive. The notion that we all want someone dead is what drives smarmy psychopath Bruno Anthony (Robert Walker) into asking tennis star Guy Haines (Farley Granger) for a good ol’ round of murder in Hitchcock‘s Strangers on a Train. Hit the jump to for my full review of the new Blu-ray edition from Warner Bros. 

Dial M for Murder is possibly the strangest film in Hitchcock’s body of work. The iconic director was always technically innovative and creative, but something about him jumping on the 1950s 3D craze feels bizarre. The format may have been imposed on him by Warner Bros., who he was under contract with for one more film. By the time it was released in theaters in 1954, the 3D craze had died down and Warner released it largely in 2D. Now, nearly 60 years later, Warner is transporting viewers back into Wendices’ living room and we all have front row seats to the murder. See how the Warner Bros Blu-ray 3D of Dial M for Murder fares after the jump.

Director Alfred Hitchcock is having a pretty big year.  Two feature film iterations of the iconic filmmaker will have been released by 2012’s end—the Toby Jones-fronted The Girl and the aptly named Hitchcock with Anthony Hopkins—and this week a massive collection of Hitch’s films hits Blu-ray.  Just in time for Halloween, this convenient box set includes 15 of the most revered features from The Master of Suspense’s career in glorious HD, with special features and extras galore.  From Psycho to Family Plot, this swell collection will make a fine addition to the home video libraries of cinephiles aplenty.  Hit the jump for our full review of Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection on Blu-ray.

As a preamble to this week’s Top 5, I’d like to take a few lines to recognize my own personal “Top 2″ from the past 7 days: the St. Louis Cardinals and Warner Premiere’s animated adaptation of Frank Miller‘s classic tale The Dark Knight Returns, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1. Beginning with the former, my beloved Cardinals completed yet another historic comeback last night against the Washington Nationals. Win or lose, I think it’s necessary to get in writing here that I won’t have a single negative thing to say about this team the rest of the way. As for the latter, I had a chance to sit down with director Jay Oliva‘s animated adaptation the other day and I found it to be a worthy retelling of Miller’s classic Bat-story. If you have any interest in animated comic adaptations and have yet to check it out, I recommend doing so.

But enough of my own personal favorites, included in this week’s trip around the bases (yep, that’s another baseball reference) is our coverage of New York Comic-Con 2012, the first trailer for director Sacha Gervasi‘s Hitchcock, Seven Psychopaths interviews with Sam Rockwell, Christopher Walken and more, a new trailer for Quentin Tarantino‘s Django Unchained, and a slew of interviews for The CW’s new superhero series, Arrow. A brief recap and link to each awaits.

If you’re a regular around these parts on the weekends you may have noticed that Collider was “Top 5-less” last Saturday. For the first time since our inaugural installment last May, the weekly feature failed to grace the site. The reason? My bachelor party. That’s right, instead of spending my Saturday morning/afternoon putting together a highlight reel of coverage from the preceding week, I gallivanted through the streets of Chicago partaking in debauchery in its most primal form (i.e. arcade games and karaoke). All this in mind, a big thank you to Steve and the rest of the Collider team and to you, the reader, for the excused absence is in order. It’s good to be back.

In this week’s edition you’ll find new posters and new footage from The Amazing-Spider Man courtesy of the film’s latest international trailer, the first trailer and poster for Steven Soderbergh‘s male-stripper inspired Magic Mike, the first look at Anthony Hopkins as The Master of Suspense in Hitchcock, a set photo/video recap featuring, among other things, Star Trek 2 and Les Miserables, and Matt’s superhero film editorial which begs the question, “Why So Serious?” (see what I did there?). As always, a brief recap and link to each can be found after the jump.

There are many ups and downs in Alfred Hitchcock’s long and varied career. From the British filmmaker who was learning his craft to the skilled thriller filmmaker we know today, there were many periods of uncertainy and compromise in his filmography. After proving his mastery with such films as The 39 Steps and The Lady Vanishes in England, Hitch was invited to America to work for David O. Selznick. It led to Rebecca, Spellbound and Notorious, which Fox has now put out on Blu-ray, and through the three you can see Hitchhcock learning how to work in America while retaining and refining his voice. Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, Ingrid Bergman, Gregory Peck, and Cary Grant star in the movies, and our review of the three follow after the jump.

Production is underway on director Sacha Gervasi‘s Hitchcock (formerly titled Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho), and we now have our first look at Anthony Hopkins completely transformed as the legendary director.  The resemblance is quite startling, and Hopkins looks to be under a good deal of (very well-done) makeup.  It’s certainly a different look than Toby Jones is going for on the competing Hitchcock film The Girl, which focuses on the director’s obsessive relationship with his The Birds star Tippi Hedren.  Hitchcock, meanwhile, is described as a love story between Hitchcock and his wife and partner Alma Reville (Helen Mirren) which takes place during the troublesome production of the horror classic Psycho.

Hit the jump to get a look at Hopkins as Hitchcock.  The stellar cast includes Scarlett Johansson, Jessica Biel, Toni Collette, Danny Huston, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Kurtwood Smith.

Sacha Gervasi‘s Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho has picked up a new title, and begun principal photography.  The film will now simply be entitled “Hitchock“, which is probably better since the previous title sounds more fitting for a documentary.  Hitchcock is being billed as a love story between the legendary director (played by Anthony Hopkings) and his wife and partner Alma Reville (Helen Mirren).  The movie also stars Scarlett Johansson, Jessica Biel, Toni Collette, Danny Huston, Michael Stuhlbarg, Kurtwood Smith, Wallace Langham, Richard Portnow, and Michael Wincott.

Hit the jump for the press release.

Alfred Hitchcock’s filmography boasts a bounty of treasures, but one of his most impressive works is undoubtedly Rear Window.  If you’ve never seen it, I must implore you to move the film to the top of your Netflix queue right this moment.  Besides the excellent story construction and acting, the thriller is a technical marvel.  The majority of the film is seen through the Peeping Tom eyes of Jimmy Stewart, and Hitchcock constructed an enormous exterior building set in order to put the audience right in Stewart’s shoes.  What results is a film experience unlike any other, much more akin to watching an extremely well choreographed play (Noises Off, anyone?) than a movie.

A glorious piece of art has been put together using Hitchcock’s classic, as Installation artist Jeff Desom put his Adobe After Effects knowledge to good use in order to create a single-shot edit of the film.  It’s a gorgeously stunning piece of work that gives us a fascinating alternate view of Rear Window, and it makes me want to revisit the film as soon as possible.  Hit the jump to check it out.

Earlier today we learned that Jessica Biel will be playing Vera Miles in the star-studded real life pic Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho, and now four more thesps are lined up to join the project. Anthony Hopkins is set as the famous director, Scarlett Johansson is playing Psycho scream queen Janet Leigh, Helen Mirren is set as Hitch’s wife, and James D’Arcy is up for the role of the uber creepy Anthony Perkins. Now Variety reports that Toni Collette, Danny Huston (X-Men Origins: Wolverine), Michael Stuhlbarg (A Serious Man) and Michael Wincott (The Crow) are in negotiations to take on supporting roles. Hit the jump for more.

Jessica Biel is set to join Scarlett Johansson, Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren, and possibly James D’Arcy in Sacha Gervasi‘s Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho.  According to Deadline, Biel is set to play Vera Miles who played Lila Crane, the sister of unfortunate Bates Motel guest, Marion Crane.  Johansson is set to play Janet Leigh (who played Marion), Hopkins will play Hitchock, and Mirren will play Hitchcock’s wife, Alma Reville, and if D’Arcy signs on, he’ll play Anthony Perkins (who played Norman Bates).

Hit the jump for more.

Late last year we learned that Toby Jones had been tapped to play Alfred Hitchcock in a BBC2 film focusing on the director’s “obsessive relationship” with The Birds actress Tippi Hedren, and today the first image of Jones and Sienna Miller as Hedren has gone online. Julian Jarrold (Becoming Jane) is directing The Girl with Hitchcok biographer Donald Spoto onboard to ensure the film’s accuracy. Hedren has also been in contact with Jarrold and the production, though she recently expressed some concern:

“If I have one reservation about the film it is that I worry they will not portray me as as strong a character as I was – and still am. I had to be extremely strong to fight off Mr. Hitchcock.”

Jones and Miller look fairly excellent as Hitchcock and Hedren, and I’m eager to see the two in action. This isn’t the only film about Hitchcock in the works, as Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho is headed towards production with Anthony Hopkins taking on Hitch. Hit the jump to check out the image of Jones and Miller.

The long gestating adaptation of Stephen Rebello’s book Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho looks like it’s finally coming to fruition. Not only has Anthony Hopkins (The Silence of the Lambs) signed on to play the famous director, but Helen Mirren (The Queen) has joined the cast as Alma Reville, Hitchcock’s wife. With the behind-the-camera casting set, it’s now being reported that Scarlett Johansson (Lost in Translation) will step into the shoes of Psycho star, Janet Leigh. James D’Arcy (Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World) will co-star beside Johansson as Anthony Perkins/Norman Bates. Hit the jump for more.

Toby Jones should’ve received more praise for his turn as Truman Capote in the film Infamous, but Philip Seymour Hoffman and the superior film Capote just got more traction and attention when awards season came around. However, now Jones will get a chance to shine for BBC2 as the UK network has announced the actor will play iconic filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock in a TV film called The Girl. Rather than being a standard biopic, the film will focus on the director’s “obsessive relationship” with his The Birds star Tippi Hedren, who will be played by Sienna Miller (The Factory Girl). Julian Jarrold (Becoming Jane) will direct the film from writer Gwyneth Hughes which also features the acting talents of Imelda Staunton (Another Year) and Penelope Wilton (Downton Abbey) with Hitchcock biographer Donald Spoto also working on the film for authenticity and accuracy. More after the jump.

The first Alfred Hitchcock film I ever saw was Psycho. Teenage me scoffed at the notion that a black and white movie that was made during the Eisenhower era could be as scream-inducing as “real scary movies” like A Nightmare on Elm Street or Leprechaun (that little green guy scared the hell out of me). Of course, I quickly realized that my initial impression of the film was 100% wrong. Not only was Psycho genuinely frightening, it’s also an exquisite piece of filmmaking. Even a layman like me knew I wasn’t just seeing a bunch of scenes that were randomly cut together; it was the first time I realized that there’s a true art to good filmmaking.

Hitchcock had a knack for telling incredibly rich and layered stories that appealed to both the wide masses and the deeper-thinking cinephiles. Now, arguably five of his best films have been remastered and boxed together in one glorious package that includes Psycho, North by Northwest, Rear Window, Vertigo, and The Birds. Hit the jump for our review of Alfred Hitchcock: The Essentials Collection on DVD.