Official Film Noir on Blu-ray Thread

[DaBargainHunta]

Originally Posted by koberulz

I saw Crime of Passion on Criterion Channel recently

Same here.

I love Barbara Stanwyck, but this is easily the worst film I've seen her in. The concept sounds great on paper, but it's mostly dull until the last 10-15 minutes. IMO, of course.

I almost blind-bought it over the weekend, forgetting it was on the Channel. I'm glad I was able to see it before parting with my money.

(It's also on Prime streaming, but the print there is oddly inferior, even though Amazon owns MGM.)

Definitely try before you buy, if you can.

[DavidRoylance]

Call Northside 777 has been a favourite of mine since one Sunday evening when I was around 8, when it was on TV.

Unfortunately, none of the people who licensed Fox titles did it when they had the chance and right now Disney are doing nothing with their spectacular library of Fox.

Originally Posted by randian

Anybody know the quality of the iTunes version of Call Northside 777? The German disc appears to be OOP, and of course there's no US or UK disc (rather oddly I might add), so that might be a good alternative.

[Gunsnroses092789]

Originally Posted by DavidRoylance

Call Northside 777 has been a favourite of mine since one Sunday evening when I was around 8, when it was on TV.

Unfortunately, none of the people who licensed Fox titles did it when they had the chance and right now Disney are doing nothing with their spectacular library of Fox.

And Fox did do a 4K restoration of it before the sale to Disney. Extra shame

[randian]

Originally Posted by Gunsnroses092789

And Fox did do a 4K restoration of it before the sale to Disney. Extra shame

Any idea if the iTunes version is based on that restoration?

[Gunsnroses092789]

Originally Posted by randian

Any idea if the iTunes version is based on that restoration?

Sorry, I don't I generally don't do digital... Not yet, at least

[randian]

Originally Posted by Gunsnroses092789

Sorry, I don't I generally don't do digital... Not yet, at least

I'd rather have a disc, but that is not an option.

[BlueRagtop]

Originally Posted by playingphysicist

Really wish we'd get a US release of The Sniper, looks awesome.

The Sniper is one of my favorite noirs. I just picked up the Australian Blu-ray at deepdiscount. Like the original Columbia DVD (which I own) and the Indicator release, it includes the Eddie Muller commentary and the Scorsese featurette. Region FREE - and less than $17 (after coupon).

Originally Posted by randian

Anybody know the quality of the iTunes version of Call Northside 777? The German disc appears to be OOP, and of course there's no US or UK disc (rather oddly I might add), so that might be a good alternative.

The preview on iTunes looks pretty good, once you get past some of the archival footage at the beginning. (It's listed as the trailer, but isn't.) It's also a Movies Anywhere title, so you might find that one of the other etailers stream a higher quality version. Doubtful, but possible.

[playingphysicist]

Originally Posted by BlueRagtop

The Sniper is one of my favorite noirs. I just picked up the Australian Blu-ray at deepdiscount. Like the original Columbia DVD (which I own) and the Indicator release, it includes the Eddie Muller commentary and the Scorsese featurette. Region FREE - and less than $17 (after coupon).

I've considered it, but just like Sorry, Wrong Number (also got a Oz release region free) I am going to hold out for a couple more years in hopes we get a proper US release. I've been had more than once after getting a region free foreign only for a US release to happen a few months later.

[koberulz]

Who cares where it's from? You still own the film.

[playingphysicist]

Originally Posted by koberulz

Who cares where it's from? You still own the film.

Hassle to import (shipping $$$), and most of the people who import them usually have them for high mark ups.

Plus, gives me something to look forward to.

[EVERYONE LIES]

Originally Posted by randian

Anybody know the quality of the iTunes version of Call Northside 777? The German disc appears to be OOP, and of course there's no US or UK disc (rather oddly I might add), so that might be a good alternative.

I had the German disc, the audio was crap with a hissing noise throughout the entire movie. Just a heads up if anyone is looking for it.

[BlueRagtop]

Originally Posted by playingphysicist

Hassle to import (shipping $$$), and most of the people who import them usually have them for high mark ups.

I ordered The Sniper through Deep Discount, so there was no "hassle to import". It was priced at $19.46, so there was no "high mark up". (The list price in Australia is AU$29.95.) By ordering it with another title and using a 15% off coupon, its price dropped to $16.54 and I got free shipping.

It's also Region Free, has lossless mono audio and includes worthwhile extras -- including over an hour and a half of noir trailers. Lastly the cover is reversible, so you can even remove the "M" rating label.

Originally Posted by playingphysicist

Plus, gives me something to look forward to.

I'm looking forward to the disc arriving in the next couple of days.

[koberulz]

FWIW $AU29.95 is around $22 US, so even bearing the exchange rate in mind it's still cheaper.

[playingphysicist]

Since it doesn't have its own thread, wanted to post my thoughts on Shakedown, which I got today and just watched.

It's very good, there are strong shades of things to come of Ace in the Hole, which came out a year later. I am surprised this film isn't better known; it doesn't appear to have ever had a prior home video release of any kind.

Picture is good but not great - some speckling throughout the movie, but not too horrible. Especially bad are the very dark scenes at the start of the movie, where Howard Duff is being chased through a railyard (during the daytime, so no excuse for the darkness), the scene is so dark that the lettering on the boxcars cannot be read at all. But after the first 10 minutes or so, it improves. Very much worth a look, not only for noir fans, but also for fans of the 'cynical journalism' type of film, of which there were several noirs covering.

[noirjunkie]

Originally Posted by playingphysicist

Since it doesn't have its own thread, wanted to post my thoughts on Shakedown, which I got today and just watched.

It's very good, there are strong shades of things to come of Ace in the Hole, which came out a year later. I am surprised this film isn't better known; it doesn't appear to have ever had a prior home video release of any kind.

Picture is good but not great - some speckling throughout the movie, but not too horrible. Especially bad are the very dark scenes at the start of the movie, where Howard Duff is being chased through a railyard (during the daytime, so no excuse for the darkness), the scene is so dark that the lettering on the boxcars cannot be read at all. But after the first 10 minutes or so, it improves. Very much worth a look, not only for noir fans, but also for fans of the 'cynical journalism' type of film, of which there were several noirs covering.

Universal was actively pushing filmmakers to shoot many scenes on their lower-budget films during the day with infrared film to try to present the image as taking place at night without actually shooting at night. It was a cost-cutting measure, and that scene was shot with infrared. The establishing pan over San Francisco is obviously at night, and the transition into that chase is intended to maintain those nighttime visuals. But as you've noted, it's not a perfect match.

[playingphysicist]

Originally Posted by noirjunkie

Universal was actively pushing filmmakers to shoot many scenes on their lower-budget films during the day with infrared film to try to present the image as taking place at night without actually shooting at night. It was a cost-cutting measure, and that scene was shot with infrared. The establishing pan over San Francisco is obviously at night, and the transition into that chase is intended to maintain those nighttime visuals. But as you've noted, it's not a perfect match.

Thanks, I've seen a few other films like this that had really poorly lit 'day' scenes and now I am starting to wonder if this same technique was used.

It's still a very likable and underrated noir. Maybe my only "complaint" (if we can call it that) is that they didn't interview either of the still living ladies, Mrs. Peggy Helmerich and the French actress Anne Vernon, both still kicking in their 90s.



(Mrs. Helmerich signing a poster of it)

[randian]

Is infrared film why I often see older films with "night" scenes that have sharply delineated shadows giving away that the scene was actually filmed during daylight hours, or is that a different process?

[RegressiveScan]

I’ve always heard that practice referred to as shooting “day for night”. Once I first heard about it, I notice it right away whenever it’s used.

I’m not sure if filming with an infrared camera is the only way to accomplish this effect.

[GeoffOliver]

I might pick up The Sniper, and there’s plenty of other Australian region-free noir discs I want to get (I won’t bother importing Sorry, Wrong Number since it looks so awful), but I might hold out and see if it’s in Kino’s Sony deal first.

And down the line, I might get some of the Fox noirs on DVD that didn’t get released on Blu-ray, if I can find them cheap.

[Dailyan]

Originally Posted by GeoffOliver

I might pick up The Sniper, and there’s plenty of other Australian region-free noir discs I want to get (I won’t bother importing Sorry, Wrong Number since it looks so awful), but I might hold out and see if it’s in Kino’s Sony deal first.

KLI confirmed that they didn't have it.