A Life at Stake (1955) (Special Edition) - September 7th, 2021 - Blu-ray Forum

MifuneFan · 05-08-2021, 02:02 PM

The Film Detective will be releasing the film noir A Life at Stake (1955) starring Angela Lansbury, in a special edition, on September 7th.

Quote:

Synopsis

Spoiled young Doris Hillman (Lansbury) invites struggling architect Edward Shaw (Andes) to come in as her husband's partner in a lucrative real estate deal. However, when Edward becomes romantically involved with Doris, he learns that something deadly is going on. There's a life at stake, and it could be his own. This independent production from the golden age of film noir was described by the Los Angeles Times as "a study in fear." It also shows Angela Lansbury, already a double Oscar nominee, as you've never seen her. She's a charming femme fatale. But is she as bad as she seems?

Quote:

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Commentary by film noir scholar and critic, Jason Ney
Full Color Booklet with essay by film noir scholar and critic, Jason Ney
"HOLLYWOOD HITCH-HIKERS: INSIDE THE FILMAKERS" an original Ballyhoo Motion Picture Production

TFD trailer:

Gunsnroses092789 · 05-13-2021, 12:39 AM

Sold

BijouMan · 05-13-2021, 06:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

The Film Detective will be releasing the film noir A Life at Stake (1955) starring Angela Lansbury, in a special edition, on September 7th.

1954 or 1955?

MifuneFan · 05-13-2021, 08:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BijouMan

1954 or 1955?

1955 is when it was released.

https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/4964...stake#overview

BijouMan · 05-14-2021, 03:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

1955 is when it was released.

https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/4964...stake#overview

Some sources say 1954 and others say 1955.

noirjunkie · 05-14-2021, 03:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BijouMan

Some sources say 1954 and others say 1955.

If any sources say 1954, they're wrong. It was shot in 1954 and released by Gibraltar in March 1955.

MifuneFan · 08-24-2021, 04:45 PM

Trailer put out by TFD. Looks very nice.

laidbacklarkin · 09-20-2021, 04:57 AM

Mpeg2 ?????

lemonski · 09-20-2021, 05:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by laidbacklarkin

Mpeg2 ?????

Not according to DVDBeaver

1.37:1 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray
Disc Size: 22,372,199,166 bytes
Feature: 18,167,070,720 bytes
Video Bitrate: 28.04 Mbps
Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

noirjunkie · 09-20-2021, 05:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lemonski

Not according to DVDBeaver

1.37:1 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray
Disc Size: 22,372,199,166 bytes
Feature: 18,167,070,720 bytes
Video Bitrate: 28.04 Mbps
Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

Beaver's wrong. It's MPEG-2.

lemonski · 09-20-2021, 06:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by noirjunkie

Beaver's wrong. It's MPEG-2.

Ewww

MifuneFan · 09-20-2021, 02:33 PM

I wonder why TFD are using MPEG-2 now. They did the same with Flight to Mars as well, but their previous Special Editions like The Sin of Nora Moran, and Eegah were MPEG-4. The images look a little flat in some instances, but otherwise it looks good all things considered. Sounds like a nice package overall with the booklet, and extras.

Gunsnroses092789 · 09-20-2021, 02:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

I wonder why TFD are using MPEG-2 now. They did the same with Flight to Mars as well, but their previous Special Editions like The Sin of Nora Moran, and Eegah were MPEG-4. The images look a little flat in some instances, but otherwise it looks good all things considered. Sounds like a nice package overall with the booklet, and extras.

My guess is that it's the authoring house(s) they're using. Maybe the MPEG-2 discs are the same people who author VCI releases... those two stand out to me as the only two who I can think of that have used MPEG-2 since 2010.

Gunsnroses092789 · 09-30-2021, 02:43 PM

Just watched this for the first time via TFD's release.

Surprisingly strong and suspenseful film! I didn't expect to like it as much as I did.

As for the release itself, it's a mixed bag. The menus are kind of wonky. The menu options keep appearing before the background, like it's a glitch or it could freeze. Luckily, it didn't cause issues.

As for the A/V, the sound was crisp and nice. And boy, what a great music score! As for the video, it has solid fine grain and it's reasonably sharp. The grading is fine, but could have been better. It's a pale. There is also some sort of anomaly that I'm assuming dates back to the source material. The image throughout is a little unstable in some ways, it kind of pulsates or fluctuates, and "waves" kind of like how a piece of paper gets wavy when wet. There are also a few jump cuts here and there, I suppose missing from the print(s) used, but nothing too major. And lastly, the MPEG-2 leaves a bit to be desired. I feel like the grain could have been even better resolved (though it's pretty good, as is) and the film struggles with lots of aliasing issues whenever we see a patterned jacket or grooves on a door, just to name a couple.

Overall, it's the best we're likely to get with this PD film, and probably the best it's looked since its initial release. Being new in the restoration biz, hopefully The Film Detective will continue to improve with its future releases. It's still a great film and a solid release that anyone interested should not hesitate to pick up.

BluPat · 10-15-2021, 11:15 AM

Do TFD still use BD-R? Or are they pressed discs now.

MifuneFan · 10-15-2021, 12:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BluPat

Do TFD still use BD-R? Or are they pressed discs now.

Pressed. They started using pressed discs a couple years back when they started doing Special Editions.

raybestos · 10-23-2021, 09:55 AM

Sorry, MPEG-2 in 2021 = total incompetence. Any company releasing films using a 30-year-old compression codec is full of ineptitude.

MPEG-2 encode = No Sale.

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05-13-2021, 12:39 AM	#2
Gunsnroses092789 Blu-ray Ninja Top contributor Member since:Nov 2010 4K collection:194 Blu-ray collection:1247 DVD collection:135 Blu-ray reviews: 18 Trading Score:89	Sold

09-20-2021, 04:57 AM	#8
laidbacklarkin Special Member Member since:Jul 2011 Location:Southern California 4K collection:335 Blu-ray collection:6343 DVD collection:1659 Blu-ray reviews:20 Trading Score:17	Mpeg2 ?????

09-20-2021, 02:33 PM	#12
MifuneFan Blu-ray Emperor Top contributor Member since:Mar 2012 Location:New York City 4K collection:28 Blu-ray collection:1145 Trading Score:69	I wonder why TFD are using MPEG-2 now. They did the same with Flight to Mars as well, but their previous Special Editions like The Sin of Nora Moran, and Eegah were MPEG-4. The images look a little flat in some instances, but otherwise it looks good all things considered. Sounds like a nice package overall with the booklet, and extras.

09-30-2021, 02:43 PM	#14
Gunsnroses092789 Blu-ray Ninja Top contributor Member since:Nov 2010 4K collection:194 Blu-ray collection:1247 DVD collection:135 Blu-ray reviews: 18 Trading Score:89	Just watched this for the first time via TFD's release. Surprisingly strong and suspenseful film! I didn't expect to like it as much as I did. As for the release itself, it's a mixed bag. The menus are kind of wonky. The menu options keep appearing before the background, like it's a glitch or it could freeze. Luckily, it didn't cause issues. As for the A/V, the sound was crisp and nice. And boy, what a great music score! As for the video, it has solid fine grain and it's reasonably sharp. The grading is fine, but could have been better. It's a pale. There is also some sort of anomaly that I'm assuming dates back to the source material. The image throughout is a little unstable in some ways, it kind of pulsates or fluctuates, and "waves" kind of like how a piece of paper gets wavy when wet. There are also a few jump cuts here and there, I suppose missing from the print(s) used, but nothing too major. And lastly, the MPEG-2 leaves a bit to be desired. I feel like the grain could have been even better resolved (though it's pretty good, as is) and the film struggles with lots of aliasing issues whenever we see a patterned jacket or grooves on a door, just to name a couple. Overall, it's the best we're likely to get with this PD film, and probably the best it's looked since its initial release. Being new in the restoration biz, hopefully The Film Detective will continue to improve with its future releases. It's still a great film and a solid release that anyone interested should not hesitate to pick up.

10-15-2021, 11:15 AM	#15
BluPat Blu-ray Ninja Top contributor Member since:Nov 2008 Location:Texas 4K collection:243 Blu-ray collection:1457 Blu-ray reviews: 80 Trading Score:4	Do TFD still use BD-R? Or are they pressed discs now.

10-23-2021, 09:55 AM	#17
raybestos Senior Member Member since:Dec 2012	Sorry, MPEG-2 in 2021 = total incompetence. Any company releasing films using a 30-year-old compression codec is full of ineptitude. MPEG-2 encode = No Sale.

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