7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
A man falls in love with a beautiful young woman and begins to suspect that he may have also loved her in a previous life.
Starring: Eric Portman, Edana Romney, Barbara Mullen, Hugh Sinclair, Bruce BelfrageSupernatural | 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, 16-bit)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 0.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Corridor of Mirrors is another one of those films where both the backstage finagling to get the film made as well as some "meta" information about various participants may frankly be of more interest than the actual story being depicted. My hunch is few if any viewers, even diehard movie trivia fans, will have much acquaintance with the name of star Edana Romney (I know I didn't), but one of the first things even casual perusers of the credits will notice, and which will probably raise an eyebrow or two, is that Romney didn't just star in this film, she also co-wrote and co-produced it, certainly something at least a bit unusual for the film's 1940s production era. Corridor of Mirrors was evidently a pet project for Romney and her producing partner Rudolph Cartier, who was evidently initially supposed to direct as part of their deal. Cartier was reportedly nixed in that role due to a lack of experience, which might beg the question as to why another newcomer to film directing, Terence Young, was appointed to the task, though Young had amassed at least a few screenwriting credits by that point. As Cohen touts in its trailer for the film (included as this disc's sole supplement), Young went on to find considerable acclaim decades later as the director of three of the best remembered James Bond films from the Sean Connery era, including franchise opener Dr. No , From Russia with Love and Thunderball, as well as the equally well remembered film version of Wait Until Dark. Cohen's trailer makes a perhaps fitful attempt to link Young's work on Corridor of Mirrors to such iconic pieces as Beauty and the Beast, but while there is a certain fantasy element to some of the visuals, the story is really more of a tale of psychological obsession that in some ways is rather reminiscent of another film from 1948, Portrait of Jennie.
Corridor of Mirrors is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Cohen Film Collection, an imprint of Cohen Media Group, with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.37:1. Cohen tends not to provide any definitive information on its restorations and simply states this is "newly restored" on the back cover of this release. This is by and large another rather impressive looking presentation, especially given the scarcity of this film, and there's a nicely organic look to the grain field, as well as generally consistent contrast which helps to support the really evocative chiaroscuro lighting the film employs (some may feel the overall look of this presentation is just a bit too dark). Fine detail levels can also be excellent on things like fabrics. There is some damage on hand, some of which looks like it's been ameliorated (i.e., scratches that look minimized if not outright eliminated), and there are some curious recurrences of blurriness in the very corners of the frame at times that are perhaps due to some kind of faulty lens during the shoot.
Corridor of Mirrors features a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono track which capably supports this dialogue heavy film. Occasional sound effects like trains or horse hooves are rendered without any issues, and the film's increasingly manic score by Georges Auric also sounds fine for the most part, if just a tad brash in the uppermost registers. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.
There are a number of plot elements at play in Corridor of Mirrors that would seem to be at cross purposes with each other, some of which I have to assume were inherent in the source novel the screenplay is based on. The underlying premise here would seem to be a woman trying to prove that her erstwhile lover was not a mad serial killer, but instead the film tips over into the completely peculiar sidebar of a 15th century painting and Mangin's obsessions with it and Mifanwy. That unusual name for the heroine along with a few passing establishing shots would seem like Wales is supposed to play some kind of part in the story, but if it was, that particular aspect eluded me. If the film's narrative is a little fractured at times, Terence Young and cinematographer Andre Thomas have style to spare throughout the feature. Technical merits are generally solid for those who are considering a purchase.
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