He Ran All the Way Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.5

He Ran All the Way Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf August 3, 2015

“He Ran All the Way” is a crime picture (adapted from a book by Sam Ross), but it finds a special position of paranoia to keep tensions taut. Hit with political troubles during its initial 1951 release due to Red Scare interest with screenwriters Dalton Trumbo and Hugo Butler, and star John Garfield, the feature emerges today as a fascinating look at claustrophobic intimidation, using guns and chases to provide entrance into a disquieting psychological thriller, supported by wonderful performances and an atypical sense of escalation for the moviemaking era.

“He Ran All the Way” commences with pure energy, tracking crook Nick (Garfield) as he hunts for sanctuary after pulling off a deadly robbery. He’s on the run, but unsure if anyone is truly after him, soon making contact with Peggy (Shelley Winters), a shy young woman craving a lover but reluctant to engage the opposite sex. A hostage situation is soon underway with Peggy’s family, but instead of working familiar beats of pistol-gripping intimidation, the production looks to acts of emasculation and seduction to unnerve the viewer, getting under the skin instead of indulging brutish behavior. It’s highly effective, preserving pace as Nick’s paranoia intensifies and Peggy begins to consider her options with this violent man.

He Ran All the Way Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Some concern arises during the main titles, with pronounced vertical scratches popping into view, and the initial transition into the feature is marred by severe macroblocking. Once settled into movie, the AVC encoded image (1.37:1 aspect ratio) presentation calms down, with only debris and milder scratches detected. Detail is capable, delivering sweaty close-ups with strong facial particulars, and apartment decoration is relatively crisp and easily surveyed. Stable contrast holds balance, while delineation is satisfactory, keeping shadows communicative. Grain is filmic.

He Ran All the Way Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The DTS-HD MA sound mix manages period levels comfortably, with only a few sharper surges in intensity, rendering some highs on the crispy side. Dialogue exchanges are deep and secure, balanced well with scoring needs, finding music bolder but never distracting, holding a sense of instrumentation. Street atmospherics are eager, and the group dynamic during pool scenes is never cluttered. Hiss and pops are present throughout the listening experience, but rarely distract.

He Ran All the Way Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• A Theatrical Trailer (2:13, HD) is included.

He Ran All the Way Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Helping "He Ran All the Way" reach heights of suspense is cinematography by James Wong Howe, who captures shadowy fear and tight spaces of conflict amongst the family, generating a pressure cooker environment inside Peggy's apartment. Performances are also communicative, with Winters capably delivering a complex reading of Peggy's headspace, which is clouded with fear and lust, and Garfield (in what would be his final role) isolates behavioral nuances within Nick, who vacillates between a gun-waving goon and a master conductor of fear. "He Ran All the Way" works toward a satisfying finale, but the opening act is its true achievement, mastering a set-up that's exciting and frightening, giving the rest of the movie plenty of subplots to explore.