Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

Flesh and Fury Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov February 22, 2023

Joseph Pevney's "Flesh and Fury" (1952) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The only bonus feature on the release is an exclusive new audio commentary by filmmaker and critic Daniel Kramer. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Flesh and Fury is a good film to show young athletes that are given the opportunity to go into professional sports and make a lot of money. There are quite a few terrific lessons in it. Most are cynical lessons, the kind of lessons that nowadays can cause a lot of drama, but they are not dated lessons. They exist because they describe a reality that never changes.

Tony Curtis is Paul Callan, a deaf and mute small-time boxer who has the potential to be a champion. One day, Callan impresses retired manager Jack ‘Pop’ Richardson (Wallace Ford) and the two begin working together. Callan also begins dating Sonya Bartow (Jan Sterling), an ambitious blonde who recognizes that her new boyfriend could go far and give her the lifestyle she desires. While Callan becomes a stronger and more experienced boxer, Bartow aggressively pushes him to keep facing the best opponents around the country, thus risking his career and life. Richardson easily figures out what Bartow is trying to accomplish and warns Callan to be careful with her.

But on the way to the top Callan meets Ann Hollis (Mona Freeman), an educated and classy reporter who exposes him to an entirely different world. In this world, Callan gets a taste of a brand new life too, not even remotely similar to the one he has enjoyed while in a relationship with Barstow, and begins to feel a lot more optimistic about the future. Soon after, Callan walks away from Bartow, and after a successful surgery regains his hearing and learns how to talk. The transformation surprises Hollis and later shocks and angers Bartow because she realizes that her former boy toy now has a completely different potential as a professional boxer and man. While Hollis and Bartow compete for him, Callan begins to reevaluate his entire system of beliefs.

Directed by Joseph Pevney, Flesh and Fury is impossible to profile as a film noir. (I mention this because it is introduced on Blu-ray via Kino Lorber’s ongoing series Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema). It is a classic drama about a boxer who is forced out of his native environment and re-educated through several personal triumphs and failures. This is not an original boxing story, but there is something rather special about the way Callan’s story is told in Flesh and Fury.

At the center of Callan’s re-education is the idea that one can never permanently walk away from one’s roots, which is why one’s past remains a key factor throughout one’s life. Recognizing early that it so allows one to avoid consequential failures and better prepare for what is to come on the way to success. In Callan’s story, the two women are used to validate this idea by resetting the boxer’s definition of success and, in the process, his understanding of identity. In other words, even though it may appear that Flesh and Fury is yet another film about an ambitious young boxer who gets stuck in some familiar drama, it is actually about understanding the true nature of identity. (Ironically, the class element in the story that is used to crush the boxer's beliefs very effectively helps the two women understand their identities as well. Why? Because at different points in Flesh and Fury they realize that they are not right for the boxer as well).

Even though Curtis is the undisputed star of Flesh and Fury Sterling occasionally overshadows him. She becomes the classic, very unlikable gold-digger that several popular stereotypes describe. Freeman is quite good but her performance is not of the same caliber.

Pevney reunited with cinematographer Irving Glassberg, who lensed his outstanding directorial debut, Shakedown, about an ambitious newspaper reporter dealing with some very shady characters in San Francisco.

Flesh and Fury Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.38:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Flesh and Fury arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release is sourced from a very beautiful new 2K master. Excluding a few light scratches and minor density inconsistencies, I think that the film looks as good as it can in 1080p. For example, virtually all close-ups boast great delineation and depth, while the footage from the boxing matches reveals terrific background nuances. Clarity and sharpness are very good, too. The grayscale has solid blacks and very nicely balanced grays and whites. Unsurprisingly, the overall perception of depth is always very, very good. Image stability is great. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Flesh and Fury Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

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

The dialog remains clear and easy to follow throughout the entire film. Dynamic balance is good, too. However, in a few areas I detected some extremely light background hiss, so there is room for some minor cosmetic improvements. There are no distortions or audio dropouts to report in our review.

Flesh and Fury Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - this exclusive audio commentary was recorded by critic and filmmaker Daniel Kramer.

Flesh and Fury Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Like so many of the other films that are introduced via Kino Lorber's Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema collection, Flesh and Fury is not a film noir. However, it is a wonderful drama about the re-education of a young boxer and his evolving understanding of identity. I enjoyed the film a lot and thought that Tony Curtis and Jan Sterling were outstanding together. The release we have reviewed here is sourced from a very solid new 2K master and is included in Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema X, a three-disc box set. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.