Noir Archive Volume 1: 1944-1954 (9-Film Collection) - April 23, 2019

[MifuneFan]

Noir Archive - Volume 1: 1944-1954 Blu-ray

Kit Parker Films will be releasing a box set with 9 Film Noir titles from 1944-1954. The description states that all are in HD, and presented in their original aspect ratio!

The 3-Disc set includes the following:

• "Address Unknown" (1944) dir/William Cameron Menzies, cst/Paul Lukas, Carl Esmond, PeterVan Eyck;
  
• "Escape in the Fog" (1945) dir/Oscar (Budd) Boetticher cst/Otto Kruger, Nina Foch, William Wright;
  
• "The Guilt of Janet Ames" (1947) dir/Henry Levin cst/Rosalind Russell, Melvyn Douglas, Sid Caesar;
  
• "The Black Book" (aka "The Reign of Terror") (1949) dir/Anthony Mann cst/Robert Cummings, Richard Basehart, Arlene Dahl;
  
• "Johnny Allegro" (1949) dir/Ted Tetzlaff cst/George Raft, Nina Foch, George Macready;
  
• "711 Ocean Drive" (1950) dir/Joseph M. Newman cst/Edmond O'Brien, Joanne Dru, Otto Kruger;
  
• "The Killer That Stalked New York" (1950) dir/Earl McEvoy cst/Evelyn Keyes, Charles Korvin, William Bishop;
  
• "Assignment Paris" (1952) dir/Earl McEvoy cst/Dana Andrews, Marta Toren, George Sanders;
  
• "The Miami Story" (1954) dir/Fred F. Sears cst/Barry Sullivan, Luther Adler, John Baer

Source

[noirjunkie]

This is the noir news of the year. Hopefully, they'll do the films justice with the transfers. Can't wait to check it out.

[bsend]

I would love it if this was a shelf space saving collection.

[The Great Owl]

Yes, this will be mine.

[John_Drake]

Originally Posted by bsend

I would love it if this was a shelf space saving collection.

Agreed.

I'm excited that it's number 1--hopefully more installments on the way!

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by John_Drake

Agreed.

I'm excited that it's number 1--hopefully more installments on the way!

Yep that's my thought-process as well, very exciting. It's a 3-disc set, so it should be in a standard case I imagine,

[Tae]

The only one of these I'm familiar with is 711 Ocean Drive, but I love the idea of getting 9 classic noirs all in one package so I'm sure this will be mine at some point Also very excited that it's labeled volume 1, there's a lot of potential here if they go on to do several sets like this.

[javi92]

I want to believe these will look good

[nitin]

All are Columbia movies so hopefully they are using Sony’s HD transfers.

[noirjunkie]

Originally Posted by nitin

All are Columbia movies so hopefully they are using Sony’s HD transfers.

Those transfers look good, so hopefully, these will utilize the same work.

[Schlockmeister]

No subtitles?

[latehong]

Oh my God, please please please please with English subtitles.

[xxnomad]

Are any of these films stand outs? Very interested in the set!

[78deluxe]

A little relieved this isn't coming out for months. With all the recent sales and spending I wouldnt have wanted to try to justify an immediate purchase.

Look forward to this one.

[78deluxe]

Originally Posted by xxnomad

Are any of these films stand outs? Very interested in the set!

Almost all of them are between 6 and 6.9 on IMDB. Nothing really exceptional, but it would appear they are approaching this the right way a lot of decent films for a reasonable price.

[noiradelic]

711 Ocean Drive and The Black Book (aka Reign of Terror) are standouts. Black Book's about the French Revolution, but considering the subject matter and time period, it's about as noir it can get. As directed by Anthony Mann and lensed by John Alton, it's a gritty thriller full of betrayal, jeopardy and shadowy cinematography.

711 Ocean Drive has an imaginative premise. An electrician (Edmond O'Brien) leverages his wiring skills into becoming a major player in a crime syndicate. The execution is strong, though perhaps the film could've exploited the inherent noir potential even more. Exciting climax atop the Hoover Dam.

[DaBargainHunta]

Originally Posted by noiradelic

711 Ocean Drive has an imaginative premise. An electrician (Edmond O'Brien) leverages his wiring skills into becoming a major player in a crime syndicate. The execution is strong, though perhaps the film could've exploited the inherent noir potential even more. Exciting climax atop the Hoover Dam.

This one sounds really interesting!

[John Ross Ewing]

All of these were available on DVD via Sony's overpriced MOD releases, except for The Killer That Stalked New York which was available in one of the OOP Bad Girls Of Film Noir sets. I don't know how much this set is going to cost but I'm sure it will be a bargain compared to buying even a few of the Sony MOD releases. I'm looking forward to this one.

[George Hargensen]

First time I ever heard of Kit Parker Films...How good are their previous releases?
I own all of the Sony Film Noir DVD Sets, so I'd like to know what to expect from a BD release from this company... Anyone can enlighten me with an unbiased opinion? Thanks.

[Spotty]

How are they fitting 9 films on just 3 discs? I would think 2 films per disc would sort of be the max...or am I missing something.