6.9 | / 10 |
Users | 3.5 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
A woman is found murdered in a house along the coast from Brighton. Local detectives Fellows and Wilks lead an investigation methodically following up leads and clues mostly in Brighton and Hove but also further afield.
Starring: Jack Warner (I), Ronald Lewis, Yolande Donlan, Michael Goodliffe, John Le MesurierFilm-Noir | 100% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Crime | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Mystery | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.44:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1
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 | 3.5 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 0.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Life in an English country village would seem to be the very definition of relaxed, civilized living, and yet as any fan of St. Mary Mead and a certain Miss Marple may tell you, it can also be the very definition of horrifying death. Jigsaw has some of the "small town" vibe that often accompanied Agatha Christie's tales involving the elderly female sleuth, but in this case there are two male police detectives trying to track down someone who has murdered and then butchered the corpse of a woman in the real life seaside burg of Saltdean. The opening vignette of the film (which kind of interestingly plays out sans underscore and with credits appearing as the scene develops, both kind of unusual for a 1962 opus) documents the neurotic tendencies of the woman one soon presumes is about to become a victim, a troubled lass named Joan Sherman (Moira Redmond) who is dallying with a lover and who informs him (as he's about to pay her and leave) that she's pregnant and he really should consider leaving his wife. In typically "polite" British fashion, director Val Guest cuts to an alarming train whistle just as the unseen man moves in to kill Joan, obviously playing on the subliminal link between that wailing sound and a scream.
Jigsaw is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Cohen Film Collection, an imprint of Cohen Media Group, with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.44:1. Cohen is typically fairly mum on technical aspects of its releases, and once again offers only a generic "new 2K restoration" on the back cover of this release, without any information about the provenance of whatever element was utilized. This is a kind of interesting looking presentation where I have to assume there may have been inherent deficits in the source element that whatever restoration effort was undertaken couldn't totally ameliorate, let alone eliminate. There is some noticeable damage that includes relatively minor things like hairline scratches (see screenshots 18 and 19), but the presentation is also afflicted with larger blemishes on a number of occasions, and a number of optical dissolves are especially rough looking. There are also some kind of curious deficits in clarity that kind of ebb and flow. For example, pay attention to the "fine print" of the smaller fonts in the credits sequence and you can actually see things initially look a bit blurry but then start to come into focus as that particular credit fades. A later sequence featuring Yolande Dolan almost looks out of focus in passing. Some of the outdoor material in particular struck me as a bit too bright, without sufficient contrast. If you freeze frame, there's a clearly visible grain field, but kind of interestingly it, too, tends to ebb and flow when watching the film in motion. All of this said, this is certainly watchable and without further information on the shape of the source element, my hunch is at least some of what's on display is due to less than optimal original condition. My score is 3.25.
Jigsaw features a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono track. This sounded just a tad shrill to me in some of the upper registers, as for example with regard to the ringing police bell (I guess the equivalent to sirens on this side of the pond) that recurs in the film. One of the interesting things about Jigsaw, especially when one considers one of Val Guest's then relatively recent triumphs would have been the musical Expresso Bongo, is that there isn't underscore here. There is some good attention to ambient environmental sounds in the seascape scenes, and all dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.
Jigsaw should appeal to those who like procedurals without a bunch of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation-esque bells and whistles. There's a bit of presentational subterfuge that Val Guest engages in, and some may find the wrap up on the silly side, but engaging performances and a generally believable storyline keep things moving apace. Video has some iffy moments, and audio is just a bit brash on the high end, but with caveats noted, Jigsaw comes Recommended.
Indicator Series | Limited Edition
1949
Warner Archive Collection
1946
1942
1944
Warner Archive Collection
1947
1975
Limited Edition to 3000
1968
Includes They Call Me MISTER Tibbs! and The Organization on standard BD
1967-1971
1957
Limited Edition to 3000 - SOLD OUT
1950
Warner Archive Collection
1953
Fox Studio Classics
1944
1996
1942
1946
1955
Warner Archive Collection
1975
2018
1996
1944