Cloak and Dagger Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

Cloak and Dagger Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov January 22, 2020

Fritz Lang's "Cloak and Dagger" (1946) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include new visual essay by critic David Cairns; new audio commentary by critic and writer Alexandra Heller-Nicholas; archival radio materials; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Fritz Lang's film made its debut on Blu-ray via Olive Films in 2013. For an in-depth analysis of the film, please see Jeffrey Kauffman's review of the North American release here.

Cloak and Dagger Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Cloak and Dagger arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment.

The release is sourced from the same master that the folks at Olive Films licensed from Paramount to produce this North American release of Cloak and Dagger in 2013. Even though this master has a few rough spots, I actually like it quite a lot. Here's why:

It does not have any traces of digital tinkering, which basically ensures that it replicates the organic qualities of the element that was used to produce it. Also, this master is graded very well, which is the reason why all of the darker/nighttime looks so good. (Take a look at the many screencaptures that are provided with the review, and see the wide ranges of black and gray nuances). Despite some minor density inconsistencies, the fluidity is very pleasing as well. Now, some manual cleanup work could have removed the various specks, tiny scratches and even vertical lines that pop up here and there, but they are not a deal-breaker for me. The organic appearance of the master is, and I like it a lot. So, yes, there is some room for cosmetic improvements, but I find the overall appearance of the film quite attractive. (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).

Cloak and Dagger Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The dialog is clear and stable, plus dynamic intensity and balance are very good for a period film. The best news, however, is that there are no age-related anomalies, like upper range distortions and pops. I do think that with modern digital tools some meaningful rebalancing of the mid-/high registers could be done, but I don't think that the impact on clarity and stability would be dramatic. This is a good lossless audio track.

Cloak and Dagger Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• The Radio Series - original broadcast from May 7 to October 22, 1950, Cloak and Dagger was advertised as presenting allegedly true stories from the history of O.S.S. during WWII. 26 episode were ordered, however current record cite the stores as "complete" at 22 episodes, all of which are presented here. It is unclear if the additional 4 episodes were ever aired. If they did, no record of them exists. Sourced from online archives.
  
  1. Frank Baker's Story
  2. The Trojan Horse
  3. The Brenner Pass Story
  4. The People in the Fores
  5. The Kuchin Story
  6. Direct line to Bombers
  7. The Eyes of Buddha
  8. The Trap
  9. The Secret Box
  10. Swastika on the Windmill
  11. Recommendation from Rommel
  12. The Roof of the World
  13. Norwegian Incident
  14. The Black Radio
  15. War of Words
  16. Over Ground Railroad
  17. Seeds of Doubt
  18. Operation Sellout
  19. The Last Mission
  20. Delay on Route
  20. Wine of Freedom
  22. Windfall

• Spycraft - a new video essay on the film by critic David Cairns. In English, not subtitled. (20 min).

• Lux Radio Theater Episode Episode - presented here is an archival episode from Lux Radio Theater, which aired on May 3, 1948. In English, not subtitled. (59 min).

• Commentary - an exclusive new audio commentary by critic Alexandra Heller-Nicholas.

• Booklet - an illustrated collector's booklet featuring a new essay by Samm Deighan.

Cloak and Dagger Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Eureka Entertainment's upcoming release of Fritz Lang's Cloak and Dagger is sourced from the same maser that Olive Films utilized to prepare its North American release of the film in 2013. Even though this master has some rough spots, I like it quite a lot. It has a vastly superior organic appearance than what we see on many older and newer releases of vintage films. This release also has some bonus features that might be of interest to fans of the film. RECOMMENDED.