Official Film Noir on Blu-ray Thread

[MifuneFan]

Have Kino put any British noir films in their box sets? I think they're all American.

[Dailyan]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

Have Kino put any British noir films in their box sets? I think they're all American.

Off the top of my head, the closest would be “Thunder on the Hill”, set in England, but it’s American-produced. Kino have released British-noir centric boxes but DVD-only.

[MifuneFan]

Kino have just announced plans for a new release of Body and Soul (1947). the film was previously released on Blu-ray from Olive Films. This new release should feature a new scan and/or new extras.

Coming Soon on Blu-ray!

Body and Soul (1947) Starring John Garfield, Lilli Palmer, Hazel Brooks, Anne Revere, William Conrad & Canada Lee – Shot by James Wong Howe (The Rose Tattoo) – Written by Abraham Polonsky (Force of Evil) – Directed by Robert Rossen (The Hustler).

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

Kino have just announced plans for a new release of Body and Soul (1947). the film was previously released on Blu-ray from Olive Films. This new release should feature a new scan and/or new extras.

Of course I got the Olive disc when Olive went out of business and haven't even opened it yet.

Beaver just dropped screenshots for Kino's "Secret Beyond the Door": http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film12/blu-...or_blu-ray.htm
The new scan appears to be very soft. Not sure how accurate this is. Is the lack of grain inherent to the new master, or a result of Kino's encode? I will wait for more competent forum members to voice their opinion before I buy.

[Dailyan]

Originally Posted by Cecil B. DeMille

The new scan appears to be very soft. Not sure how accurate this is. Is the lack of grain inherent to the new master, or a result of Kino's encode? I will wait for more competent forum members to voice their opinion before I buy.

Paramount's 2020s restorations (Kino made it clear this was a Paramount-done master from 2022) tend to be moderate-heavy with filtering/DNR.

[Gunsnroses092789]

Yeah, these new masters aren't great, to be honest. Force of Evil is another one that isn't much of an upgrade from them.

[Cecil B. DeMille]

Originally Posted by Gunsnroses092789

Yeah, these new masters aren't great, to be honest. Force of Evil is another one that isn't much of an upgrade from them.

The question is, is the softness caused by a crappy encode from Kino's? And/or was the old master artificially sharpened? The film stock used for these low budget noirs like "Force of Evil" and "Secret Beyond the Door" was likely of lower quality, which would be an argument in favor of the softer look of the newer masters. In any case, the new Kino masters have better blacks than the old Olives.
If there is an issue, it is more likely to be a Paramount issue than a Kino issue, since Kino recently showed that they can deliver a superior master if they want to with "He Walked By Night" (really surprised, I thought the ClassicFlix blu couldn't be bested, given the low budget origins of the film).

[Gunsnroses092789]

Originally Posted by Cecil B. DeMille

The question is, is the softness caused by a crappy encode from Kino's? And/or was the old master artificially sharpened? The film stock used for these low budget noirs like "Force of Evil" and "Secret Beyond the Door" was likely of lower quality, which would be an argument in favor of the softer look of the newer masters. In any case, the new Kino masters have better blacks than the old Olives.
If there is an issue, it is more likely to be a Paramount issue than a Kino issue, since Kino recently showed that they can deliver a superior master if they want to with "He Walked By Night" (really surprised, I thought the ClassicFlix blu couldn't be bested, given the low budget origins of the film).

Oh I totally agree that it’s not Kino’s fault. They take what they are given. I don’t think the old masters are sharpened, they don’t have the usual artifacts left behind my edge enhancement. Paramount has been a fan of DNR lately with their releases, so I’m assuming it’s extended to these newer masters. They’re not terrible. If they were the first releases of these titles, they’d be awesome. It’s just that they’re not really worthy upgrades from previous releases a lot of the time in some respects. Theyre still the go-to releases for most titles

[Doomhunter]

Just watched the Japanese noir Invisible Avenger (1954) (that has a small sci fi element), excellent film. While I realize there is a non-English subbed Japanese blu, would be nice if this could be released over here as well

[Diorm]

So I'm gessing from the Next World Noir 2 set, since Black Gravel was released by Kino and Symphony for a massacre was released by Cohen, only Cruel gun story will be region free right?

[Gunsnroses092789]

Originally Posted by Diorm

So I'm gessing from the Next World Noir 2 set, since Black Gravel was released by Kino and Symphony for a massacre was released by Cohen, only Cruel gun story will be region free right?

I would guess, no. I think Cruel Gun Story is with Criterion in the US, so I doubt it will get a stateside release from Radiance.

[Diorm]

Originally Posted by Gunsnroses092789

I would guess, no. I think Cruel Gun Story is with Criterion in the US, so I doubt it will get a stateside release from Radiance.

You're right, I forgot about the DVD Nikkatsu Noir Released by Criterion.

[MifuneFan]

Sony have just announced a 4K for The Lady from Shanghai (1947), releasing on July 23rd.

SYNOPSIS

Baffling murders, fascinating plot twists, and remarkable camerawork all contribute to this spellbinding, time-honored film noir written, directed by, and starring Orson Welles. Hired to work on a yacht belonging to the disabled husband of femme fatale Elsa Bannister (Rita Hayworth), Michael O’Hara (Welles) is an innocent man drawn into a dangerous web of intrigue and murder.

The subject of great controversy and scandal upon its initial release, THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI shocked 1948 audiences by presenting Hayworth with her flaming red hair cut short and dyed champagne blonde. THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI is now considered vintage Welles, with his famous hall-of-mirrors climax hailed as one of the greatest scenes in cinematic history.
​
DISC DETAILS AND BONUS MATERIALS

4K ULTRA HD DISC

• Feature restored from the original camera negative and presented in 4K resolution with Dolby Vision
• English Mono
• Special Features:
• Commentary with Peter Bogdanovich
• A Conversation with Peter Bogdanovich
• Theatrical Trailer

​
CAST AND CREW

Screenplay and Production By: Orson Welles
Story Based on a Novel By: Sherwood King
Cast: Rita Hayworth, Orson Welles, Everett Sloane, Glenn Anders

SPECS

Run Time: Approx. 87 minutes
Rating: Not Rated
4K UHD Feature Picture: 2160p Ultra High Definition, 1.37:1
4K UHD Feature Audio: English, French (PAR), Spanish Mono DTS-HD MA

Credit to tama for the heads-up

[traths]

I’m really digging the cover art on that Lady From Shanghai 4K release.

[Noir Black Schwarz]

Watched The Tattered Dress tonight. It was good, but a bit hard to follow at times. It probably would have been better at like 80 minutes than 93.

[MifuneFan]

DVDBeaver review of Indicator's The Whistler Collection. Looks great

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film12/blu-...er_blu-ray.htm

[OceanBlue]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

DVDBeaver review of Indicator's The Whistler Collection. Looks great

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film12/blu-...er_blu-ray.htm

Thanks for posting the above link for the DVD Beaver review of the Whistler boxset, MifuneFan. Had been waiting for reviews of it (had forgotten how near the release date was (had in my head it was another month or two away (shows how fast the year has gone so far).

Doubt it will happen, but I had been hoping the TV series The Whistler would get a physical media release by a boutique label.

[Funktion]

Speaking of The Whistler, going slightly OT, but I saw a mention somewhere that a back issue of the Film Noir Foundation's Noir City Magazine includes an interesting article/dossier on the series.

Does anyone know by any chance in which issue it's in?

thank you

[Katatonia]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

DVDBeaver review of Indicator's The Whistler Collection. Looks great

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film12/blu-...er_blu-ray.htm

I received a shipment notification from Atomic yesterday for my pre-order, so I look forward to getting this one.

I have the old Critic's Choice/Mill Creek "budget" DVD set of the movies, but this looks like a huge improvement!

[fred25_Ca]

Just watched The Big Heat for the first time. Ever since I saw 3:10 to Yuma, I've been wanting to see more of Glenn Ford and holy crap was this good! I've been watching a few noir film lately. I recently watched Murder, my sweet and really enjoyed that one but was quite disappointed by Out of the past (just not my kind of movie) but nothing prepared me to how awesome the big heat would turn out to be. It's the original revenge flick and Glenn Ford is magnificent in it. Heck, the whole cast is really strong with Lee Marvin really vicious as one of the bad guy.

Easily one of the best detective movie i've seen and highly recommended. I haven't been a huge fan of Fritz Lang's Hollywood years so far (I love his German movies) but this is up there with his best movies, no doubt about it.