Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

Black Gravel Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman August 23, 2024

Note: This version of this film is available on Blu-ray as part of Radiance Films' World Noir Vol. 2 collection.

Radiance Films has been curating some really interesting titles since its inception, and is now offering what might be called "gritty global cinema" fans a second volume of noir features, after 2023's World Noir Vol. 1 (which I was not sent to review). This trio of films may frankly offer titles that are not that well known beyond a certain fan base, but each of the three films has interesting, sometimes compelling, elements, and as usual Radiance is providing generally secure technical merits and some outstanding supplements. Of the three films in this set, Kino Lorber has released a previous Region A version of Black Gravel, which as of the writing of this review hasn't been reviewed here yet. It looks like Symphony for a Massacre has had two prior releases on Blu-ray, including the Region A Symphony for a Massacre release from Cohen Media Group that I reviewed, and the Region B (albeit French) Symphony for a Massacre release from Pathe Distribution reviewed by Svet Atanasov. For those interested, of the three check discs sent to me for purposes of this review, Black Gravel played fine in my Region A player, while both Symphony for a Massacre and Cruel Gun Story are locked Region B.

As fascinating as Black Gravel undeniably is, it may be some of the "meta" aspects covered in some detail in the supplements on this disc which will be of special interest to some. As Margaret Deriaz's really interesting piece on the film and director Helmut Käutner gets into, as seemingly "modern" and even prescient as Black Gravel may seem to contemporary sensibilities, it (or at least Käutner) engendered absolute opprobrium from the newly minted Oberhausen Group, which awarded (?) its own version of the Golden Raspberry. Things only got worse for the film when Jewish groups derided certain depictions in the film (there's verbiage from the disc included in some of the sections below which give more information on this). All of that may have led to the relative "burial" of the film at the time of its release, but which may actually add to its interest now.

The basic story is a frankly soap operatic outing that details the effects of a large United States military base taking up residence next to a tiny German village. The film attempts to get into a "ripped from the headlines" approach (some elements of the story, including the very "infiltration" of American armed units into rural German locations, are based on actual facts), but it ultimately may try to offer a florid, almost Peyton Place-esque, take on various characters and their interrelationships.

Black Gravel Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Black Gravel is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Radiance Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.66:1. While Radiance sent only checks discs for purposes of this review, and I'm therefore not privy to any information contained in an insert booklet about the transfer, Radiance's website states this is a 2K restoration by the Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau Stiftung, presented on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK. Additionally, there are a number of salient informational text cards accompanying the two versions of this release, as follows:

After its premiere in 1961, Black Gravel was criticized for its bleak tone and brutally honest depiction of anti-Semitism. These instances of anti-Semitism, along with the original ending, were edited out of the cut that would later be distributed in Germany. Both versions have been restored by the Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau Stiftung and are presented here.

The so-called Premiere Cut comes with this prefatory text:

Shortly after its release of Black Gravel in April 1961, the Central Council of Jews in Germany filed a criminal complaint against production company Ufa Film Hansa and director Helmut kautner, for publicly insulting the Jewish community. The case was eventually dropped by prosecutors. For distribution in Germany, Ufa removed the offending scenes against kautner's objections. In addition, two scenes were inserted, which were not included in the premiere version, and which significantly affect the ending of the film. These cuts and changes were made in the camera negative. The Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau Stiftung owns a copy that corresponds to the unchanged Premiere Cut. This copy was used to recreate the longer cut during the 2016 restoration, when the original camera negative was scanned. The missing shots and the original ending were restored.

The co-called Distribution Cut comes with this prefatory text:

Shortly after its release of Black Gravel in April 1961, the Central Council of Jews in Germany filed a criminal complaint against production company Ufa Film Hansa and director Helmut kautner, for publicly insulting the Jewish community. The case was eventually dropped by prosecutors. For distribution in Germany, Ufa removed the offending scenes against kautner's objections. In addition, two scenes were inserted, which were not included in the premiere version, and which significantly affect the ending of the film. These cuts and changes were made in the camera negative, which was the source for this presentation of the distribution version of Black Gravel.

All of this is to say that while both versions offer generally great looking video, there are some very slight changes in quality (mostly contrast to my eyes) with the re-integrated sections of the Premiere Cut, but that's probably splitting pretty fine hairs. Aside from what looks like some fairly ragged looking stock footage, as in some opening material under the credits, both the "narrative" and "quasi-documentary" sides of this tale offer nice detail levels and a healthy, organic looking grain field. Fine detail is typically excellent on practical items, especially some of the fabrics the women wear. Outdoor material may occasionally not offer the same general detail levels as some of what I'm assuming were more easily controlled studio set shots.

Black Gravel Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Black Gravel features a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono track in the original German. The track is not overly ambitious, but some of the outdoor material can offer reasonable ambience and the bar material in particular offers some relatively good depth and layering. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

Black Gravel Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Premiere Cut (1:54:31) and Distribution Cut (1:53:14) are accessible under the Play Menu.


• Audio Commentary with Olaf Moller


• Margaret Deriaz (HD; 19:23) offers a really interesting a worthwhile examination of both the film and its controversial history as well as director Helmut Käutner's overall output.


• Behind the Scenes Footage (HD; 3:50) is from a German newsreel. Subtitled in English.


• Trailer (HD; 3:06)

Black Gravel Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Black Gravel ends up packing quite a wallop (at least in its original version), but what may make this disc so appealing is some of the supplemental material, as well as the chance to compare and contrast the two versions, which differ in running time surprisingly little, but which couldn't ultimately offer a more variant tone. Technical merits are generally solid. Recommended.