Too Late for Tears (1949) / Woman on the Run (1950)

[dsman71]

Im surprised I didnt see this sooner but here is the proof. Im getting both of them !


FNF Teams with Flicker Alley To Bring Restorations Home

The Film Noir Foundation has partnered with Los Angeles-based Flicker Alley to bring several of its recent restorations to the home entertainment market. Blu-ray editions of Woman on the Run (1950) and Too Late for Tears (1949) are expected to release before the year's end, complete with bonus extras produced by the FNF. "We chose to work with Flicker Alley," said Eddie Muller, "because of its commitment to producing high quality products with what other companies might consider 'marginal' titles. Plus, [Flicker Alley founder] Jeff Masino understood that value of letting us brand these titles as Film Noir Foundation discoveries." The release of more FNF titles will largely be dependent on sales numbers for these first two packages. Repeat Performance (1947), High Tide (1947), and The Guilty (1947) are other candidates for future release, as are some of the Argentine noir films recently resurrected by the FNF.

[MifuneFan]

Yeah noirjunkie mentioned it in the Film Noir thread. It's great news indeed

[tylergfoster]

How'd I miss this?

(Learned today via a Kino Lorber Studio Classics post about The Chase (1946) where I asked them if they were getting Too Late For Tears as well.)

[Jobla]

I'd like to see them consider a couple of recent restorations, namely M (1951) and PRIVATE PROPERTY (1960). Both of those films have been missing for decades.

[Thomas Veil]

Too Late For Tears (Killer Bait) is awesome! I knew they were at least doing a DVD but Blu-ray news is great to hear. Some Lizabeth Scott face slapped goodness to go please! She is wonderfully evil in this.

[dsman71]

Right now I heard that there was a hold up while they seek a new distributor but these are coming, that much is confirmed on the article posted.

[dsman71]

Too Late for Tears

FormatBlu-ray/DVD Dual Format Edition (NTSC)
RegionAll: A,B,C/0
DirectorByron Haskin
FeaturingLizabeth Scott, Dan Duryea, Arthur Kennedy
Year1949
LanguageEnglish
Length102 minutes
UPC6-17311-67969-8
Available for Pre-Order Only. Pre-Orders will ship on our before the official release date, April 12, 2016.

Finally! One of the great missing films of the classic noir era—resurrected! Rescued and preserved after a five-year crusade by the Film Noir Foundation, this 1949 classic is at long last available in a clean digital version, transferred from a 35mm print painstakingly restored by UCLA Film & Television Archive.

When a pair of film noir icons like Lizabeth Scott and Dan Duryea collide, sparks are sure to fly. Jane Palmer (Scott) and her husband Alan (Arthur Kennedy) mysteriously have $60,000 literally dropped in their laps. The circumstances seem mighty suspicious to Alan, who wants to turn the money over to the police. But in a materialistic rapture, Jane won’t let it go. She doesn’t care where it came from, or what danger might ensue—not if it will bring her the luxury she craves. Enter shady Danny Fuller (Duryea, as cocky and menacing as ever), who claims the money belongs to him. Let the games begin! Roy Huggins’ snappy script (adapted from his novel) is a complex, breezy and black-hearted homage to James M. Cain and Raymond Chandler. Rapacious housewife Jane Palmer is one of the juiciest female villains in Hollywood history, and Liz Scott’s best role ever.

Flicker Alley is excited to present this world-premiere Blu-ray/DVD dual-format edition of Too Late For Tears, restored by UCLA Film & Television Archive, and passionately championed by the Film Noir Foundation, with special thanks to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Together with Woman on the Run, this film marks the first collaboration between Flicker Alley and the Film Noir Foundation.

Bonus Materials Include:

Audio Commentary Track - By writer, historian, and film programmer Alan K. Rode.
“Chance Of A Lifetime: The Making of Too Late For Tears” – Produced by Steven Smith and the Film Noir Foundation and featuring Eddie Muller, Kim Morgan, and Julie Kirgo, this mini-doc offers a behind-the-scenes examination of the film’s original production.
“Tiger Hunt: Restoring Too Late For Tears” – Produced by Steven Smith and the Film Noir Foundation, this is a chronicle of the multi-year mission to rescue this “lost” noir classic.
“Noir City” – A short documentary directed by Joe Talbot about the annual Noir City Film Festival presented by the Film Noir Foundation at San Francisco’s historic Castro Theatre.
24-Page Souvenir Booklet – Featuring rare photographs, poster art, original lobby cards, and an essay by writer and noir-expert Brian Light.


Woman on the Run

FormatBlu-ray/DVD Dual Format Edition (NTSC)
RegionAll: A,B,C/0
DirectorNorman Foster
FeaturingAnn Sheridan, Dennis O’Keefe
Year1950
LanguageEnglish
Length79 minutes
UPC6-17311-67979-7
Available for Pre-Order Only. Pre-Orders will ship on or before the official release date, April 12, 2016.

A lost gem rediscovered! Thanks to the efforts of the Film Noir Foundation, this terrific 1950 film noir, the only American print of which was burned in a 2008 fire, has been rescued and restored to its original luster. Join the wild chase around San Francisco as a man goes into hiding after witnessing a gangland execution. Police bird-dog his wife Eleanor (Ann Sheridan), certain she’ll lead them to her husband, whose testimony against the killer could bring down a crime kingpin. But Eleanor and her hubbie are Splitsville—she never wants to see him again. When roguish newspaperman Danny Legget (Dennis O’Keefe) charms Eleanor into helping him track down the hidden husband—there are unexpected, stunning, and poignant results. This nervy, shot-on-location thriller is a witty and wise look at the travails of romance and marriage, and perhaps the best cinematic depiction ever of mid-20th century San Francisco.

Flicker Alley is honored to present this world-premiere Blu-ray/DVD dual-format edition of Woman on the Run, completely restored by the Film Noir Foundation in conjunction with UCLA Film & Television Archive, with special thanks to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s Charitable Grant Trust and the British Film Institute. Together with Too Late For Tears, this film marks the first collaboration between Flicker Alley and the Film Noir Foundation.


Bonus Materials Include:

Audio Commentary Track - By author, historian, and “noirchaelogist” Eddie Muller.
“Love is a Rollercoaster: Woman on the Run Revisited” – Produced by Steven Smith and the Film Noir Foundation, this mini-doc offers a look into the making of the film, from script to noir classic.
“A Wild Ride: Restoring Woman on the Run” – Produced by Steven Smith and the Film Noir Foundation, this stranger-than-fiction document of the film’s restoration is a thriller in itself.
“Noir City” – A short documentary directed by Joe Talbot about the annual Noir City Film Festival presented by by the Film Noir Foundation at San Francisco’s historic Castro Theatre
24-Page Souvenir Booklet – Featuring rare photographs, poster art, original lobby cards, and an essay by the one and only Eddie Muller.

http://www.flickeralley.com/classic-...Run/p/59318243
http://www.flickeralley.com/classic-...ars/p/59318231

[MifuneFan]

You already made a thread for this last July

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread...ighlight=tears

[dsman71]

Well this is the updated one with all the information, and specs. And I cant recall last July ! Thanks for the reminder, I couldnt even recall if I did it, that's how fast paced my life is, I cant remember much these days lol .

*If a mod wants to port the information to my original thread , please by all means be my guest, as I dont want to clog this with redundant threads *

[*PREACHER*]

Received both of mine in the mail today from Flicker Alley...can't wait to watch both tonight.

[lilboyblu]

DVD Talk & DVD Beaver have posted reviews. They look marvelous!

Too Late For Tears:
DVD Talk - http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/70787...ate-for-tears/
DVD Beaver - http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film5/blu-r...rs_blu-ray.htm

Woman On The Run
DVD Talk - http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/70788/woman-on-the-run/
DVD Beaver - http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film5/blu-r...un_blu-ray.htm

Don't forget that Arrow Academy will be releasing these films in Region B next month too.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by *PREACHER*

Received both of mine in the mail today from Flicker Alley...can't wait to watch both tonight.

Same here. Glad to have them at last.

They're both handsome packages, and they're housed in the Scanavo double-disc cases that are also used for double-disc Criterion releases.

[tom_k35]

Originally Posted by lilboyblu

Don't forget that Arrow Academy will be releasing these films in Region B next month too.

Do we know the extras on the UK releases? Flicker Alley and Arrow Academy, in general, both do excellent transfers. So no worries there

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by tom_k35

Do we know the extras on the UK releases? Flicker Alley and Arrow Academy, in general, both do excellent transfers. So no worries there

I posted them here. They're mostly the same as the Flicker Alley release

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...postcount=2297

[dsman71]

I watched both the minute I got them in the mail from FA, and both are the BEST Ive ever seen them look and sound. Plus, the extras are well produced and a good watch/listen.. I cant recommend these enough

[Jaymole]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

I posted them here. They're mostly the same as the Flicker Alley release

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...postcount=2297

Thanks...will be picking up the arrow releases then as they are half the price of the Flicker Alley Blus

[The Great Owl]

Too Late for Tears is a perfect example of why classic-era film noir is my favorite movie genre. No other genre of cinema comes close to conveying the feel of walls closing in around characters when they make wrong choices and must tell lies upon lies in an attempt (usually a futile attempt) to stay out of legal trouble or even grave danger. In so many of these films, fate places someone in the wrong place at the wrong time, but that person's weaknesses take him or her further into the bad places, almost like a train being diverted by a switch in the railroad tracks.

This movie hits the ground running, and the wrong choice is quickly made, as a husband and wife, played respectively by film noir stalwarts Arthur Kennedy and Lizabeth Scott, happen upon a sudden appearance of $60,000, and are debating about whether or not to turn the money over to the police or to keep it for themselves. Lizabeth Scott, in her finest role that I've seen to date, is preoccupied with "keeping up with the Joneses", and is desperate to keep the money in order to afford the finer things that have been denied to her so far in life.
[Incidentally, I briefly took a job right out of college as a collections agent for a third-party credit card collections agency, and was always told by my mentor that most people land themselves into trouble by trying to "keep up with the Joneses." In truth, the lines between the fictional Dark City worlds of noir and real life are quite thin.]

With such a premise, I was expecting Too Late for Tears to amp up the intensity at some point with a situation that gets out of hand. I was surprised, however, at how soon the situation in this film got out of hand. After a pivotal moment early in the film, characters become desperate, characters are driven to crime, and characters keep making the choices that dig their graves deeper and deeper. Make no mistake about it, Too Late for Tears is not a slow-moving psychological noir or women's gothic noir. This movie is gritty femme fatale murder noir that veers as gloriously close to outright drive-in sleaze as the Production Code allowed. This 1949 film would make a great double-feature with the 1945 noir, Detour, as both of these features inhabit a world that practically demands that I play music from The Cramps and Social Distortion while I'm reading the supplementary booklets after the credits roll.

Dan Duryea, who had quite a track record in noir cinema for playing smug rat-faced troublemakers, despite his real-life reputation as a happy family man who was reportedly quite the opposite of his characters, also enjoys what is perhaps his finest role. When his character shows up at Lizabeth Scott's door looking for the money, things take a turn for the worse in a big hurry. Through it all, though, we sense that his character has an inward sense of ethics that is challenged by a woman's relentless avarice.

With Too Late for Tears, we have a brilliant McGuffin in the form of the money, we have two gorgeous women by way of Lizabeth Scott herself, who had the most sultry voice in cinema, and an amazingly gorgeous Kristine Miller. We have two men, Arthur Kennedy and Dan Duryea, who occasionally find themselves in ethical waters over their heads. We have Don DeFore, who plays a long lost friend who shows up in town with a secret, and we have a great supporting actor in the form of Barry Kelley, who also excelled in films like The Asphalt Jungle and The Manchurian Candidate. Director Byron Haskin, who also helmed The War of the Worlds and Robinson Crusoe on Mars, keeps the ball rolling through a fast-paced story that builds momentum until an amazing conclusion.

This Flicker Alley Blu-ray presents a fine restoration of Too Late for Tears, as a result of some hard work and elbow grease from the Film Noir Foundation. It's a good-looking black-and-white transfer and, although print damage is evident, it's probably the best-looking edition of this public domain movie that we'll ever have a chance to see. The audio quality steps up to the plate as well, to the extent that most people who are enthralled in this movie will never notice occasional imperfections. "Chance Of A Lifetime: The Making Of Too Late For Tears" is a short, but information-packed documentary with input from the likes of Eddie Muller and Julie Kirgo. A short restoration documentary is icing on the cake. The audio commentary from Alan K. Rode is a pleasure to hear, since Rode is great at bringing the background information to light while keeping things light-hearted in a way that quickly establishes a rapport with the listener.

This is an outstanding Blu-ray all around.

[The Great Owl]

Woman on the Run lacks the intense headrush momentum of Too Late for Tears, which was released concurrently by Flicker Alley, but it is still an impressive film noir entry in a different sort of way. Woman on the Run has no femme fatale story elements or stolen money plotlines, and, instead, it thrives from a more intimate character study focused on the deteriorating marriage between a husband and wife. The husband in question, played by Ross Elliott, has gone into hiding after witnessing a horrific murder, and, upon visiting his home, the police are surprised to find that the wife, played to excellence by the beautiful Ann Sheridan, seems casually uninvolved with his whereabouts. She soon sets out to locate her husband, though, with the help of an overly zealous news reporter, played by noir veteran Dennis O'Keefe. Can the team of Sheridan and O'Keefe find the husband while keeping the police investigators at bay? More importantly, does the killer know the husband's whereabouts as well?

My favorite aspect of Woman on the Run is that it takes us on a tour of seedier blue-collar sections of San Francisco that are not normally shown in films that utilize this city as a location setting. Chinese and Italian neighborhoods are featured, a grimy used clothing store plays a part in the story, and a seaside amusement park that figures prominently in the conclusion is depicted with an oddly gritty and shady camera eye.

The typical film noir tropes do not apply in Woman on the Run, but I nonetheless consider it a part of the genre in that, like other films noir, it examines aspects of post-World War II culture that are not particularly pleasant to see. In this case, the increasing rate of fractured marriages in the wake of the war are the prime subject of observation.

Since an original negative of Woman on the Run was lost in a fire, and since this transfer was taken from a dupe negative, the imperfections in this high definition presentation are evident, but one still cannot help but be impressed by the level of commitment that the Film Noir Foundation had to creating the best possible edition for today's viewers to enjoy. I'll give the video presentation two thumbs up, with the usual disclaimer that it's not a demo disc. The audio quality fares better, thanks to some creative thinking by Eddie Muller and the Foundation.

"Love is a Rollercoaster: Woman on the Run Revisited" is a fun documentary that expands on the rather fascinating behind-the-scenes sagas. "A Wild Ride: Restoring Woman on the Run" is essential viewing for anyone who believes that this presentation was done on the fly. "Woman on the Run Locations Then and Now" is a short piece, but a fun one for those of us who enjoyed the San Francisco settings. The "Noir City" really makes me want to check out one of the Foundation festivals. Finally, the Eddie Muller commentary track is bursting with information, as usual, and Muller delivers it in a conversational fashion.

Highly recommended!

[deltatauhobbit]

Originally Posted by lilboyblu

Don't forget that Arrow Academy will be releasing these films in Region B next month too.

Has anybody confirmed whether the Arrow releases are region free?

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by deltatauhobbit

Has anybody confirmed whether the Arrow releases are region free?

DVDBeaver stated they are. They are identical disc masters to the ones found in the Flicker Alley releases apparently. Not sure if the disc art differs.