7.3 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Diane Tremayne (Jean Simmons) is just about the loveliest thing Frank Jessup (Robert Mitchum) has ever seen. Well-to-do, cultured and delicate, she has the face of an angel. And the heart of a devil. Otto Preminger, who showed how to mix a beautiful woman with murder in the landmark LAURA, directs this tale of passion gone haywire. Frank's a regular guy with a steady girl and a dream of owning his own garage when he crosses paths with Diane. She wants him. Or does she want a fall guy to blame when Diane's stepmother plunges off a high cliff and leaves her fortune to Diane? Alibis, betrayals, courtroom thrills and the fire of a woman too dangerous to trust and too alluring to resist make ANGEL FACE a film-noir classic.
Starring: Robert Mitchum, Jean Simmons, Mona Freeman, Herbert Marshall (I), Leon AmesFilm-Noir | 100% |
Crime | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.37:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Otto Preminger's twisted little film noir Angel Face is led by a disturbing femme fatale performance from post-Hamlet star Jean Simmons, with portions of its overcooked, character-driven plot and nasty behind-the-scenes studio politics bleeding together into a soapy stew. One mostly agreed-upon account of this production even details that Preminger was chosen by RKO boss Howard Hughes to "torture" the married Simmons after his failed advances, which culminated in co-star Robert Mitchum slapping the director after one too many takes of a scene where she's attacked.
To spoil the rest of Angel Face by even outlining its remaining plot would do a grave disservice to first-time viewers, who will likely be floored by, in the words of an Internet click-baiter, what happens next. (Let's just say that the two young lovers don't drive off into the sunset -- forwards, at least -- and leave it at that.) But while the soapy twists and turns suggest a wildly entertaining ride, Angel Face is almost painfully slow during long stretches of its mostly one-on-one dialogue, well-shot and composed as they are. Its woefully uneven script, home to more than a few questionable character motivations and unbelievable developments, makes for a borderline frustrating watch between admittedly potent highlights that also include Dimitri Tiomkin's original score. I still like Angel Face well enough to consider it time well spent, but the film's dizzyingly high reputation in recent decades -- including multiple prominent directors and critics placing it on personal Top 10 lists, including Robin Wood and Jean-Luc Godard -- may cause some newcomers to set their expectations unreasonably high. I'd recommend taking the opposite approach, actually.
Ever the champion of deep catalog cuts, Warner Archive presents Angel Face as one of their typically well-appointed Blu-ray packages,
headlined by a top-tier 1080p transfer that strongly outpaces previous home video (and likely most theatrical) presentations with carefully
polished restoration work. While it may not be the best blind buy for curious newcomers, this one's at least an interesting slice of film noir history
with a few tricks up its sleeve.
Angel Face looks predictably great on Blu-ray thanks to the restoration work of Warner Archive, who advertised this new 1080p transfer as being sourced from a new 4K scan of the best available preservation elements. This typically indicates a mixture of surviving resources, which can occasionally lead to slight drops in quality from scene to scene, but any perceivable shifts are smoothed over relatively well. Only slight downturns in overall contrast levels and fine detail could be spotted here and there, with the majority of Harry Stradling's cinematography looking sharp and crisp. The natural texture of its native film stock has likewise been preserved, although grain levels unavoidably vary along the way. But thanks to Warner Archive's always-careful approach towards manual cleanup, the picture as a whole looks extremely clean and their excellent disc encoding prevents any compression-related anomalies like banding, artifacts, and macro blocking. A solid effort for sure, and one that easily supplants earlier home video presentations including WAC's own 2014 DVD edition (which you don't even have to own to compare, as we'll learn soon enough) that was reportedly sourced from a fourth-generation fine grain positive and certainly looked the part.
The DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mono mix isn't quite as impressive... though depending on the condition of its source material(s), it's possibly that this is as good as it gets. What we have here is a largely satisfactory track with an overall clean dynamic range, once that balances mostly crisp dialogue with sporadic outbursts of action such as the infamous piano decrescendo that plays during the first of two brutal sequences. Yet there's a prevailing level of hiss and crackle that can be heard sporadically along the way; it's by no means a major flaw but can certainly be a little bit distracting at key moments. I'll still give this track the benefit of the doubt; it's not only an overall solid effort by the reliably great Warner Archive, but it clearly improves upon the older DVD's Dolby Digital presentation.
Optional English (SDH) subtitles are offered during the main feature only, not the extras.
This one-disc release ships in a keepcase with great vintage poster-themed cover art and no inserts. The extras are ported over from previous DVDs and, though there are few surprising A/V quibbles here, they're worth a look.
Otto Preminger's Angel Face is a psychologically iffy film noir whose uneven script doesn't necessarily sink the ship, thanks in part to solid lead performances, excellent cinematography, and a memorable score. It wasn't unanimously well-received in 1953 but has garnered something of a second life in recent decades, although this shift in reputation may have taken it from underrated to slightly overrated. As such, die-hard fans will love Warner Archive's Blu-ray (particularly its sparkling new 1080p transfer), but curious newcomers should probably try before they buy.
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