Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Crossfire Blu-ray Movie Review

Jewdunit.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III March 15, 2021

Not to be confused with the awesome board game my former friend "borrowed" and never gave back in 1988, Edward Dmytryk's Crossfire is a quality film noir often credited as the first post-WWII Hollywood film to address anti-Semitism. (It wasn't, really: that honor technically belongs to Gentleman's Agreement, but Dmytryk's film was rushed through production specifically for the purpose of beating it to theaters.) Crossfire was shot in just 20 days on an extremely modest $500,000 budget, yet its outstanding cast and ultra-moody noir lighting give it an A-list appearance for pennies on the dollar. Its core story features several major changes from the source novel, Richard Brooks' The Brick Foxhole, which instead dealt with homophobia -- a topic strictly off-limits in the cinematic landscape of 1947.

The story goes like this: Jewish man Joseph Samuels (Sam Levene, After the Thin Man) is found beaten to death in his Washington D.C. hotel room by his girlfriend Miss Lewis (Marlo Dwyer), and police captain Finlay (Robert Young, Father Knows Best) is heading up the investigation. He's got two solid leads: a group of soldiers "Sammy" met in a bar earlier that evening, and a wallet belonging to one of them found at the scene. Some of these men -- Montgomery (Robert Ryan, The Dirty Dozen), Floyd Bowers (Steve Brodie, Out of the Past), and Floyd's friend Leroy (William Phipps, The War of the Worlds) -- are brought in for questioning, but prime suspect Arthur Mitchell (George Cooper, Blood on the Moon) proves to be elusive. His friend and bunkmate Sergeant Keeley (Robert Mitchum, Rachel and the Stranger), extremely skeptical of Mitchell's guilt, organizes his own investigation to hopefully catch the real killer.

The end result is an extremely talky and somewhat tangled picture. While Crossfire's story remains largely compelling from start to finish, it's not an easy watch due to its non-stop (and often overlapping) investigations, some of which prove to be unreliable due to their varying perspectives. It almost feels like a simple, straightforward narrative whose pretzel-twisted presentation sometimes works against it. (Maybe Christopher Nolan watched this as a kid and took notes.) Yet Crossfire still plays very well due to the strength of its performances and an atmosphere that absolutely drips with style, practically begging the viewer to stick around for its satisfying conclusion. All three Roberts -- Young, Mitchum, and Ryan -- are at the top of their game, with great supporting roles filled out by the likes of Gloria Grahame (It's a Wonderful Life) and Jacqueline White (The Narrow Margin). Edward Dmytryk and cinematographer J. Roy Hunt also serve up interesting visual flourishes beyond noir shadows, including filters to emulate drunkenness (screenshot #13) and even different lenses on Robert Ryan's character to change the audience's perception of him.

Crossfire was nominated for five Oscars including Best Picture (where it somewhat ironically lost to Gentleman's Agreement), and has the distinct honor of being the first B-movie to do so. It really is a fairly solid picture, narrative flaws aside, and certainly earns bonus points for being assembled so well during such a narrow time window. Time has been reasonably kind to it and Warner Archive's sterling Blu-ray presentation makes Crossfire ripe for re-evaluation, as it offers yet another top-tier transfer that deftly supports the film's extremely potent atmosphere.

Crossfire Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Crossfire's prime film noir visuals make it an ideal candidate for Warner Archive's restoration process, which as usual takes the purist-friendly approach with a careful touch and dazzling results. This 1080p transfer is reportedly sourced from a recent 4K scan of the original camera negative, yielding a terrific amount of image detail that really shows off the film's stylish cinematography. True to the genre, shadows play a big role in Crossfire's overall aesthetic from it's unforgettable opening scene onward, with silvery greys and black levels showing a tremendous amount of depth and density. On the other end of the spectrum, lighter contrast levels and stray bright whites also shine with no apparent blooming, while its suitably strong mid-range details and strong gradients don't suffer from banding or other harsh compression-related issues. Film grain, as always, is readily apparent and has not been scrubbed away with excessive noise reduction. It's more great work, as usual, from one of the most reliable boutique labels in the business.

As usual, Warner Archive has uploaded a few YouTube videos showing off the new transfer, including the three-minute opening sequence and two clips highlighting the performances of Robert Mitchum and Robert Ryan.

Crossfire Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The film's DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mix cleanly showcases one-channel source material that's obviously been kept in great shape. Conversations are clean and crisp with no sync issues or other defects, whether they're held in a bustling coffee shop or a near-empty moonlit street. There's not much action, gunshots or otherwise, but those moments pack a reasonable punch that sporadically livens up this dialogue-driven production. The moody original score by prolific RKO composer Roy Webb (Out of the Past, Notorious) sounds terrific as well with a somewhat thin but dynamic presence that supports many of Crossfire's most memorable scenes. Although this two-channel split mono track will never be confused for a true stereo presentation, it's a capable effort that gets the job done nicely.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included during the main feature, but unfortunately not the extras.

Crossfire Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray ships in a standard keepcase with original one-sheet poster art and two DVD-era bonus features.

• Audio Commentary - This track, originally recorded for WB's 2005 DVD edition, pairs up film historians Alain Silver and James Ursini; they're occasionally "joined" by director Edward Dmytryk, thanks to a few shrewdly cut-and-pasted archival audio interview clips. It's an engaging commentary that picks up steam as it goes in, with all three participants shedding some light on the film's anti-anti-Semitic message and fallout from the House Un-American Activities Committee with its infamous blacklist practices, Dmytryk's escape to England and his later film Christ in Concrete, 1940s politics, and more traditional behind-the-scenes topics such as cinematography, staging, the script, and much more. This one's certainly worth a listen if you haven't heard it yet.

• Hate is Like a Gun (8:47) - Another 2005 piece, this short but informative featurette further examines Crossfire's moral themes and quick production while adding in a few behind-the-scenes stills, some featuring Dmytryk and the three leads. As an unintentional bonus, clips from the finished film are almost VHS-grade quality so you'll appreciate Warner Archive's outstanding new restoration even more.

Crossfire Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Edward Dmytryk's Crossfire is a solid film noir that borders on greatness, thanks to its heavy atmosphere and strong performances. The story lags slightly behind, as a few elements of its narrative are cobbled together or structurally disorganized. As a whole, this is still a compelling film with a great ending that will leave a strong impression on first-time viewers. Newcomers and die-hard fans alike should really be impressed with Warner Archive's terrific Blu-ray treatment, which as usual combines a top-tier restoration with lossless original audio and a small but interesting collection of vintage bonus features. Recommended, and even more so for those familiar with the film.