6.5 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Newspaperman helps girl find her sister's illegitimate baby, gets mixed up in baby-adoption racket.
Starring: Dennis O'Keefe, Gale Storm, Jeff Chandler, Meg Randall, Raymond BurrDrama | 100% |
Film-Noir | 95% |
Crime | 47% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.36:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
English: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
BDInfo verified
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B (locked)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Joseph M. Newman's "Abandoned" (1949) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Indicator/Powerhouse Films. The supplemental features on the release include an exclusive new audio commentary by critics Barry Forshaw and Kim Newman; the short film "Easy to Get"; and vintage promotional materials. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.36:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Abandoned arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Indicator/Powerhouse Films.
In the United States, Kino Lorber released Abandoned on Blu-ray in 2020. The release was included in this three-disc box set. This Region-B release is sourced from the same older master that the folks at Kino Lorber used to prepare their release. This master comes from Universal's vaults.
I think that the master is good, but the film looks slightly softer than it should. Does this mean that you should be worried? No. Even on a larger screen, the visuals tend to look quite good. Ideally, grain should be a tad healthier and better exposed, but I think that they still have a fine organic appearance. The grayscale is convincing. Image stability is good. All in all, while the film could look better, the current presentation is perfectly fine. ((Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 1.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.
The exchanges throughout the film are easy to follow. However, as I noted in our review of Kino Lorber's release, the audio becomes a bit thin at times. A good example is the sequence from the hospital at around the 1:10.45 mark. I did not find it distracting, but it is something that gives up the age of the film makes it easy to conclude that a proper restoration could eliminate the thinness. Dynamic intensity is very modest.
The noir genre produced a wide range of films with a social conscience that are quite interesting to deconstruct because they reveal very particular biases, concerns, and fears. I really enjoy the ones that were influenced by unique developments from the Cold War era because they are capable of placing many contemporary events in a proper context. Abandoned is one such early genre film with a social conscience that puts the spotlight on an illegal business that most definitively isn't a thing of the past. It is a bit overly melodramatic but works well because its message is very clear and two leads quite good together. This release is sourced from an older but decent master that was supplied by Universal Pictures. It is included in Indicator/Powerhouse Films' upcoming six-disc box set Universal Noir #1. RECOMMENDED.
(Still not reliable for this title)
Indicator Series
1954
Premium Collection
1951
1950
Indicator Series
1948
Indicator Series | Standard Edition
1954
Indicator Series | Standard Edition
1945
Indicator Series
1951
Arrow Academy
1955
Indicator Series
1947
1950
Arrow Academy
1942
Arrow Academy
1946
Indicator Series
1948
Premium Collection
1947
Limited Edition
1950
Indicator Series | Limited Edition
1948
1946
Warner Archive Collection
1978
Masters of Cinema
1947
1955