Official Film Noir on Blu-ray Thread

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I've got separate DVDs of Possessed and Mildred Pierce, because I found them for two dollars apiece a while back.

It will probably be a long while before I'm able to retire a lot of my Warner film noir DVDs, though, because most of them come in the five Warner Film Noir Classic Collection box sets that I own. My DVD of Out of the Past is staying put in that box set.

Yeah, I've got that problem in spades. And not just the Film Noir collections; I have about 75 Warner DVD boxed sets. I don't imagine any of them going away soon. Well...there are three that I could upgrade right now if I had the spare cash: The Complete James Dean Collection, That's Entertainment!: The Complete Collection, and the Superman Ultimate Collector's Edition.

Otherwise, I think the closest one I have to completion on BD would be The Warner Bros. Pictures Gangsters Collection, in which four of the six films included are in the Ultimate Gangsters Collection: Classics Blu-ray set. The next closest one is The Essential Steve McQueen Collection, in which three of the six titles included are on Blu-ray (all of which I have).

[jetthead]

Originally Posted by Pizzamorg

Well worth the price? It's eighty pounds on UK Amazon.

It's only $29.95 + shipping on the SAE wesbsite.

http://www.screenarchives.com/title_...MAN-HUNT-1941/

[noirjunkie]

Originally Posted by jayembee

Still, it's hard to discern a pattern from just two examples, whichever way you want to slice it.

Agreed. I'd actually go a step further and say it's hard to discern a pattern in Warner Bros.' catalog blu-ray releases as a whole.

[Pizzamorg]

Picked up an undamaged Maltese Falcon steel from Cex earlier. Was 12 quid but I had some stuff to trade in, so I didn't have to pay anything.

[maely]

Watched Fritz Lang's Scarlet Street for the first time the other night. At first, I wasn't sure if I was going to like it because I wasn't caring much for Edward G. Robinson playing the role of the sucker. At first, I remember thinking, "Well in Double Indemnity and in Gilda, for example, I have no problem with the men being played the fool by the women because in both cases the man is just as rotten himself."

Well, let's just say things started to get complicated toward the end of Scarlet Street, haha. The movie comes to quite a head at the end, especially with the climax in the hotel room and the flashing lights (which feels like it must have been an influence on Hitchcock's Vertigo the following decade).

Overall, I liked Scarlet Street a lot, but I am left with one puzzling thought: Why the hell is this movie entitled Scarlet Street?

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by maely

Watched Fritz Lang's Scarlet Street for the first time the other night. At first, I wasn't sure if I was going to like it because I wasn't caring much for Edward G. Robinson playing the role of the sucker. At first, I remember thinking, "Well in Double Indemnity and in Gilda, for example, I have no problem with the men being played the fool by the women because in both cases the man is just as rotten himself."

Well, let's just say things started to get complicated toward the end of Scarlet Street, haha. The movie comes to quite a head at the end, especially with the climax in the hotel room and the flashing lights (which feels like it must have been an influence on Hitchcock's Vertigo the following decade).

Overall, I liked Scarlet Street a lot, but I am left with one puzzling thought: Why the hell is this movie entitled Scarlet Street?

The title of the film comes from the street in Greenwich Village where Christopher (Edward G. Robinson) furnishes Kitty (Joan Bennett) with her apartment. The street name is actually Carmine Street, but "carmine" is defined as a bright red pigment color, hence the change to "scarlet" for the title.

Edward G. Robinson is the ultimate "average frustrated chump" in this movie, and it's heartbreaking to see him used and abused throughout the film. Fortunately, the role accentuates the undeniably incredible acting range of Robinson. It's fun to watch Scarlet Street and Double Indemnity back-to-back to see Robinson in two vastly different roles.

As much as I love Scarlet Street, though, I may prefer Fritz Lang's previous film, The Woman in the Window, which also starred Edward G. Robinson, Joan Bennett, and Dan Duryea.

Joan Bennett was a muse of sorts for Fritz Lang, with her wonderful roles in Man Hunt, The Woman in the Window, Scarlet Street, and Secret Beyond the Door. I like Bennett a lot because she physically resembles the contemporary popular singer, Katy Perry.

[noirjunkie]

A new company called "The Film Detective" that focuses on remastering public domain titles in HD is planning blu-ray releases for several noirs, some of which have not previously been released. The planned releases include D.O.A. (1950), Dick Tracy's Dilemma (1947), Kansas City Confidential (1952), The Red House (1947) and The Stranger (1946). Not a noir, but also of interest to Bogart fans, is a planned release of Beat the Devil (1953).

Source: link.

On its Facebook page, the company recently said to expect D.O.A. "very soon."

While I'm happy that these titles are getting released on blu-ray, the fact that The Film Detective was founded by the co-founder of Film Chest makes me nervous, as Film Chest is notorious for its excessive use of DNR. The company's previous releases of Kansas City Confidential, The Red House, and The Stranger all look terrible, with KCC being basically unwatchable. I hope these new releases will be remastered and will leave the films' grain structures intact.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by noirjunkie

A new company called "The Film Detective" that focuses on remastering public domain titles in HD is planning blu-ray releases for several noirs, some of which have not previously been released. The planned releases include D.O.A. (1950), Dick Tracy's Dilemma (1947), Kansas City Confidential (1952), The Red House (1947) and The Stranger (1946). Not a noir, but also of interest to Bogart fans, is a planned release of Beat the Devil (1953).

To be honest, Beat the Devil is the one the excites me the most.

While I'm happy that these titles are getting released on blu-ray, the fact that The Film Detective was founded by the co-founder of Film Chest makes me nervous, as Film Chest is notorious for its excessive use of DNR. The company's previous releases of Kansas City Confidential, The Red House, and The Stranger all look terrible, with KCC being basically unwatchable. I hope these new releases will be remastered and will leave the films' grain structures intact.

I have to say that I was hoping that maybe Cary Roan was behind this new venture. The Roan Group was one of the best of the P.D. labels on DVD, and their edition of D.O.A. was top-notch.

I haven't seen any of the Film Chest releases, which is just as well, given the comments I've seen about them. The fact that Hopkins seems proud of the work at Film Chest doesn't bode well.

The linked article is a bit confusing, though. In some places, it reads as if Film Detective is a brand-new company, but in other places it seems like Film Detective is an off-shoot or re-branding of Film Chest.

[Blu-Velvet]

Originally Posted by noirjunkie

While I'm happy that these titles are getting released on blu-ray, the fact that The Film Detective was founded by the co-founder of Film Chest makes me nervous, as Film Chest is notorious for its excessive use of DNR. The company's previous releases of Kansas City Confidential, The Red House, and The Stranger all look terrible, with KCC being basically unwatchable. I hope these new releases will be remastered and will leave the films' grain structures intact.

I actually thought that KANSAS CITY CONFIDENTIAL was one of the best-looking of all the Film Chest titles. It's way too soft to watch on a big screen from a close distance, but the contrast is excellent, and the image looks very clean. The digital cleanup is what ruined the crisp clarity that should have been there, and I can't stand watching it from my preferred front-row position but it's not bad from the second row and quite effective from the last two rows in my home theatre (where most of my friends prefer to sit anyway). Most of the other Film Chest releases really aren't watchable on screens much bigger than five inches or so.

I'll certainly wait for the reviews and hope for the best, but I really wish that somebody like Kino or Olive would do KCC and D.O.A. and BEAT THE DEVIL right on Blu-ray.

[Sinep]

KCC looked terrible , the DVD is way better .. most of the Film Chest movies on blu ray were just garbage..

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by Blu-Velvet

I actually thought that KANSAS CITY CONFIDENTIAL was one of the best-looking of all the Film Chest titles. .

I feel the same way. To my eyes, the Film Chest Blu-ray of Kansas City Confidential looks better than the Film Chest Blu-rays of The Strange Love of Martha Ivers and The Red House. None of them look good, but they're all passable, considering the source material.

I was reasonably happy with all three discs, considering that I bought them for less than five dollars apiece, but all three movies deserve better presentations by a long mile.

[kuro_sawa]

I'm wondering if well ever see ANGEL FACE on blu
After IN A LONELY PLACE I'd say it's my most anticipated noir upgrade
Any other fans of this one? One of my favourites

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by kuro_sawa

I'm wondering if well ever see ANGEL FACE on blu
After IN A LONELY PLACE I'd say it's my most anticipated noir upgrade
Any other fans of this one? One of my favourites

I've got Angel Face on DVD, and I love it. Otto Preminger is such a great director.

[RiFiFi1955]

I as well love Angel Face...got it on DVD as well.

[kuro_sawa]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I've got Angel Face on DVD, and I love it. Otto Preminger is such a great director.

Originally Posted by RiFiFi1955

I as well love Angel Face...got it on DVD as well.

This is one of my top 10 or so noir films, do you guys rank it as high as I do? It's got some perfect noir characters where everyone in this is being exploited or can be exploited, and it has this odd editing to it that adds a certain element that i really love. Also one of the grimmest endings I've ever seen, probably in history of cinema! It's kind of perfection to me. It has a bit of Anatomy of a Murder as well, where it sort of switched to courtroom drama, again the editing in this film is a bit ambiguous and it really works.

[javi92]

Angel Face is great. Definitely has one of the better down beat endings in cinema history. One of my favorite Jean Simmons performances too. Another Mitchum vehicle I'd love to see issued on blu from around that time is His Kind of Women, which I think is just a riot of a good time. Vincent Price is just great in that one.

[Leonidas King]

Wouldn't Hitchcock's Psycho be considered a tad bit film noir?

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by Leonidas_King

Wouldn't Hitchcock's Psycho be considered a tad bit film noir?

I would say, like many Hitchock films, there are some elements of noir in it (particularly at the start), but overall I wouldn't say it's enough to classify it as one. Hitchcock is sort of a league of his own as his films can weave together noir, suspense, thrillers, and even a little horror all in one.

[Arkadin]

you want to see what good public domain looks like?--check out Digicomtv.com's dvds.
They are the best company doing pd without a doubt.
If any company should start a releasing bds it should be them, but unfortunately it doesn't appear they are interested.
their dvd of Beat The Devil is absolutely the best one out there.

[Leonidas King]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

I would say, like many Hitchock films, there are some elements of noir in it (particularly at the start), but overall I wouldn't say it's enough to classify it as one. Hitchcock is sort of a league of his own as his films can weave together noir, suspense, thrillers, and even a little horror all in one.

I agree. All his films have a little bit of everything. I saw Psycho for the first time recently and noticed a a big chunk of film noir towards the beginning, you're right.