Double Indemnity (1944) - 25 June 2012

[Benchman]

Even though this is region B locked will it play on my ps3? or is there a hack I can do?

[KENTA]

Originally Posted by Benchman

Even though this is region B locked will it play on my ps3? or is there a hack I can do?

If you're not on Firmware 3.55, there's no way.
Region free players are quite inexpensive nowadays though.

[Hitchcock]

this has got to be one of the greatest movies ever made IMO.

[NordaRocks]

The BD of Double Indemnity arrived last week (from Play.com, UK).
The video looks great; more impressive is the audio though. Much more dynamic than with the S.E. region-1 DVD release. E.G. Robinson's voice is often too loud, sometimes even an annoying volume (almost garishly), tends to over-acting...

edit
The pictures in the enclosed 36 page booklet are rather faded by the way.

[DetroitSquirreL]

ordered my steelbook directly from Eureka over a week ago...cant wait to get it

[Filmbloke]

Originally Posted by Hitchcock

this has got to be one of the greatest movies ever made IMO.

I have to say that in my 34 years of film watching I hadn't seen this until last week. Can safely say 'socks were knocked off' and it's right up there with my best ever! What a script! AND it has one of my favourite classical music moment too - that snippet of Shuberts Unfinished Symphony. Man this film's good!!! Followed it with The Lost Weekend (which I also hadn't seen), and just after putting my socks back on, they got knocked off again!!! Billy Wilder, you owe me socks!

[nightcrawler]

Originally Posted by Filmbloke

I have to say that in my 34 years of film watching I hadn't seen this until last week. Can safely say 'socks were knocked off' and it's right up there with my best ever! What a script! AND it has one of my favourite classical music moment too - that snippet of Shuberts Unfinished Symphony. Man this film's good!!! Followed it with The Lost Weekend (which I also hadn't seen), and just after putting my socks back on, they got knocked off again!!! Billy Wilder, you owe me socks!

I'm in exactly the same boat. Only saw Double Indemnity for the first time a few weeks ago, followed up with Lost Weekend last week. I thoroughly enjoyed DI, despite having a few gripes with it - but not in terms of cast and script which were both great. I've only seen 2 films with Fred MacMurray (DI and The Apartment) and just think he's so watchable and oozes charisma. I really enjoyed TLW too.

[NordaRocks]

Weird:
- Walter Neff is unmarried, yet he wears a wedding ring throughout the movie (see the first scene in which Walter first kisses Phyllis...)
- Walter's appartment door opens away from, rather than toward his apartment (but helps Phyllis hiding).

[McCrutchy]

Originally Posted by NordaRocks

- Walter's appartment door opens away from, rather than toward his apartment (but helps Phyllis hiding).

I remember reading somewhere that this was done deliberately for the film, as fire regulations would never have allowed an apartment unit's front door to open outward--I think it was something on the DVD about having to re-install the hinge on the outside? I will have to watch the extras, as I think it's somewhere in there.

[NordaRocks]

Originally Posted by McCrutchy

I remember reading somewhere that this was done deliberately for the film, as fire regulations would never have allowed an apartment unit's front door to open outward--I think it was something on the DVD about having to re-install the hinge on the outside? I will have to watch the extras, as I think it's somewhere in there.

Walter had room 69... that's an innuendo?! (Or it's room 59?)

[nightcrawler]

Originally Posted by NordaRocks

Weird:
- Walter Neff is unmarried, yet he wears a wedding ring throughout the movie (see the first scene in which Walter first kisses Phyllis...)
- Walter's appartment door opens away from, rather than toward his apartment (but helps Phyllis hiding).

This was one of my gripes. Admittedly it's a great scene, but hugely contrived. If the door opened inward you obviously wouldn't have a scene!

My other major gripe is, well...the whole premise for the film! This guy (Stanwyck's husband) takes out this insurance policy (I know he didn't know he'd signed it) that specifically includes this "double indemnity" clause, and lo and behold within weeks he "dies" in the exact circumstances that pay out the double indemnity. Surely this would look suspicious from the get-go? Don't get me wrong I think the film's great - mainly for it's acting & script - it just has it's flaws.

[McCrutchy]

Originally Posted by nightcrawler

My other major gripe is, well...the whole premise for the film! This guy (Stanwyck's husband) takes out this insurance policy (I know he didn't know he'd signed it) that specifically includes this "double indemnity" clause, and lo and behold within weeks he "dies" in the exact circumstances that pay out the double indemnity. Surely this would look suspicious from the get-go? Don't get me wrong I think the film's great - mainly for it's acting & script - it just has it's flaws.

Did you watch the film? People are certainly suspicious of the death, right from the start...

[nightcrawler]

Originally Posted by McCrutchy

Did you watch the film? People are certainly suspicious of the death, right from the start...

That's what I'm saying...if everything is going to look suspicious from the start why would MacMurray's character even go through with it? Especially as he works in insurance so knows what to expect.

[adamhopelies]

Originally Posted by nightcrawler

That's what I'm saying...if everything is going to look suspicious from the start why would MacMurray's character even go through with it? Especially as he works in insurance so knows what to expect.

Because he's infatuated with Stanwyck. He knows the risks, and references how stupid he's being from the opening notes of the voice-over, but still goes thru with it because he's that in to her.

[L'armée des ombres]

I found this release good but not great, i can't agree with the review on this site that the video is 4.5
It's more like 3-3.5, i see too many fluctuations and in many darker scenes way too much noise.
Compare to what i've seen on many of these older films (The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Casablanca, Les vacances de M. Hulot,The Maltese Falcon and The Great Dictator too name a few) this transfer is mediocre at best.
Also why could they not port all the extras from the US 2-disc DVD over?
This film deserves the best in A/V department, it obviously did not get the treatment it needed in the V department.
Don't get me wrong i'm happy this movie is out but i expected more

[Le Samourai]

Agree with this, I'm happy with the transfer, but can't see it's had any additional restoration in comparison with the DVD. This deserves a transfer on a par with The Maltese Falcon blu ray. Film is amazing.

[DetroitSquirreL]

received the steelbook today....gonna watch it tonight

[lim.davidd]

Originally Posted by Cinemach

Universal is rumored to be releasing a blu of this later in the year in the US. This is according to a release list leaked earlier this year that has proven itself accurate.

I will not wait for the US release since this release by Masters of Cinema has been receiving great reviews, unless Criterion releases it in Region A

[lim.davidd]

Originally Posted by Hitchcock

this has got to be one of the greatest movies ever made IMO.

Mel Gibson's favorite movie

[Geode]

Originally Posted by Filmbloke

I have to say that in my 34 years of film watching I hadn't seen this until last week. Can safely say 'socks were knocked off' and it's right up there with my best ever! What a script! AND it has one of my favourite classical music moment too - that snippet of Shuberts Unfinished Symphony. Man this film's good!!! Followed it with The Lost Weekend (which I also hadn't seen), and just after putting my socks back on, they got knocked off again!!! Billy Wilder, you owe me socks!

About ten years ago I listened to a film critic who said that this film had the greatest love scene that ever appeared in a film. I thought this was kind of crazy until I thought about it more deeply.