Bluebeard (1944) 80th Anniversary Edition from Kino

[WaverBoy]

Just got this in. Excellent film, and it is indeed the best transfer I’ve ever seen of it…but man, you’d think since it was a 4K scan from Paramount, somebody would have taken the time to do some stabilization and digital cleanup. Gate weave and considerable speckling throughout, both of which could have been greatly mitigated with some digital TLC. I’ve been dreaming of a pristine copy of this for decades now, like we finally got for DETOUR, but this isn’t quite there. The film print source has the most detail and the best blacks/greys/contrast of any release yet, but with some digital stabilization and cleanup they could have really had something. Still very much worth having though; just a bit disappointing that Edgar Ulmer’s long-neglected classic didn’t quite get the level of love it deserves. But at least we do have two audio commentaries, which is most appreciated. Listening to David Del Valle’s right now, absolutely superb, chock full of fascinating observations and charming anecdotes from a man who knew both John Carradine and Shirley Ulmer personally. I know he’s gotten a lot of flak over the years but I quite like his commentaries that I’ve heard. Plus, he seems like a very pleasant fellow, and I’ve had some nice interactions with him on social media.