Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Edge of Eternity Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov January 6, 2025

Don Siegel's "Edge of Eternity" (1959) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Indicator/Powerhouse Films. The supplemental features on the release include new audio commentary by critic and author Jason A. Ney; new program featuring critic Stephen Morgan; vintage promotional materials for the film; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Soleil noir. The French use this phrase to describe films exactly like Don Siegel’s Edge of Eternity. These films behave like conventional film noirs but reject their classic stylistic identity. Very few of them are shot in black-and-white, and instead of emphasizing hugely atmospheric shadows, they enthusiastically play with light and bright colors.

The first and most effective of these films emerged when producers realized that TV viewers and cinemagoers would be part of the same big paying audience. Siegel made a couple of very good soleil noir films, both in black-and-white and in color. For example, The Lineup, a black-and-white film noir, follows a small crew of aging gangsters attempting to do a job in a perpetually sunny San Francisco. The Lineup has a wonderful, very familiar noirish atmosphere. However, it does not have any of the thick and long shadows that are so common in the classic film noirs. The Killers, Siegel’s loose remake of Robert Siodmak’s classic film noir, is a TV project shot in color. Like The Lineup, this film has a very familiar noirish atmosphere, but enthusiastically plays with a wide range of lush, distinctly natural colors.

Edge of Eternity fits between The Lineup and The Killers and is the least known of the three. However, it is the most deserving to be described as a soleil noir film.

Siegel shot Edge of Eternity in the perfect film noir state, Arizona, while taking full advantage of the stunning ambiance of a couple of areas near the Grand Canyon that once had bustling mining towns. The star of his film is Deputy Lee Martin (Cornel Wilde), a middle-aged bachelor with an imperfect past, who is forced out of his comfort zone when a series of murders rock the small community he is paid to protect. While closely monitored by an aging Sheriff (Edgar Buchanan) and several local politicians hoping to get reelected, Martin goes looking for the killer, but finds it difficult to make progress because a young beauty (Victoria Shaw) who has recently earned a speeding ticket from him begins melting his heart.

While technically Wilde is the undisputed star, the real magnet is Mother Nature, whose beauty, as captured by Siegel’s camera, is impossible to exaggerate. So, while the murder mystery and character transformations attached to it are pretty good, the main reason to see Edge of Eternity is its appreciation of Mother Nature’s beauty and ability to create a great noirish environment with it that is not easy to forget.

The narrative is broken into three parts. The first two have various loose ends, effectively keeping the audience in a guessing mode until the killer’s possible motives are revealed. Some of this material could have been polished better as several sections, like the ones where the drunken antics of the young beauty’s brother (Rian Garrick) become the focus of attention, feel slightly out of sync, but the tempo remains consistent and drama coherent. The final part has all the typical of Siegel’s film noirs thrills. But with one major addition. Once the action moves to the old mine, the visuals become grandiose. As a result, even though Edge of Eternity was not a big-budget production, in the end it begins to look like one.

The supporting cast includes Mickey Shaughnessy, Jack Elam, Alexander Lockwood, Tom Fadden, and Wendell Holmes.

Siegel worked with one of the most distinguished American cinematographers of the last century, Burnett Guffey, whose credits include such great films as The Harder They Fall, Bonnie and Clyde, and In a Lonely Place.

Edge of Eternity Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presenetd in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Edge of Eternity arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Indicator/Powerhouse Films.

The release is sourced from an older master supplied by Sony Pictures. However, despite some rather obvious limitations, I think that this master produced visuals whose overall quality is very good. For example, virtually all of the wide panoramic shots boast lovely depth and clarity. Delineation could be a little bit better, but I think that improved density levels would be more consequential because some of the grain spikes and drops are the ones that produce the biggest unevenness. Color balance and reproduction are very good. There is room for some minor improvements, but I like how all primaries and nuances are set. A few highlights here and there could be strengthened, but there are no distracting anomalies. Image stability is very good. Finally, I did not see any large cuts, debris, damage marks, warped or torn frames to report in our review. My score is 4.25/.5.00. (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).

Edge of Eternity Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 1.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

Clarity and stability are very good. In a few areas, depth fluctuates a bit, but the unevenness is not introduced by aging. It is part of the original sound design. The upper register is stable and free of anomalies. In a few areas, I noticed light thinning, so if there is any room for improvements, it will be here, to address what I heard. However, I do not think that the overall quality of the audio will be impacted in a meaningful way.

Edge of Eternity Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critic and author Jason A. Ney. The commentary features plenty of interesting information about the different locations in Arizona where Edge of Eternity was shot, the history of the mining industry in the area, Don Siegel's cinematic legacy and his contribution to film noir, etc.

• Into the Canyon: Jose Arroyo on Don Siegel - in this new program, critic Jose Arroyo discusses Edge of Eternity and its placement in Don Siegel's oeuvre. In English, not subtitled. (17 min).

• Closer to the Edge: Jose Arroyo on Edge of Eternity - in this new program, critic Jose Arroyo discusses the visual style of Edge of Eternity. In English, not subtitled. (30 min).

• An Australian Cinderella: Stephen Morgan on Victoria Shaw - in this new program, critic Stephen Morgan discusses the life and career of actress Victoria Shaw. In English, not subtitled. (17 min).

• Image Gallery - presented here is a collection of original promotional materials for Edge of Eternity.

• Booklet - an exclusive booklet with a new essay by Peter Cowie, an archival piece on the making of the film by producer Kendrick Sweet, an extract from Don Siegel's autobiography, and technical credits.

Edge of Eternity Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

While not a great film noir, Edge of Eternity is frequently a breathtakingly beautiful film noir. It is a different film noir, too. The French describe films like it as soleil noir because they are drenched in sunlight and often remarkably colorful. Don Siegel made a couple of such films, one of them in black-and-white, too. These soleil noir films are the closest relatives of the popular neo-noir films that emerged during the 1980s and 1990s. Indicator/Powershose Films' release is sourced from an old but very good organic master supplied by Sony Pictures. If you decide to add it to your library, please keep in mind that it is Region-B "locked". HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.