Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.0

Journey Into Fear Blu-ray Movie Review

Three strikes and you're out.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III October 20, 2024

UPDATE 10/20: An earlier version of this review incorrectly stated that the version of Journey Into Fear presented on Warner Archive's Blu-ray was sourced from a version of the film heavily altered by RKO while co-star (and uncredited co-writer) Orson Welles was in South America. Multiple versions of the film do indeed exist as mentioned below, but the version included on this Blu-ray most closely resembles the one re-edited by Welles after seeing RKO's cut of the film, which was shipped for European distribution. Welles' slightly salvaged version was shown in American theaters in 1943 and, though not the one Welles fully envisioned, can be best described as a compromise between creator and studio. Slight changes have been made to the review below to correct any previously-made mistakes.

Arriving in theaters after Citizen Kane and The Magnificent Ambersons, Norman Foster's Journey Into Fear has more in common with the latter film. This is the first RKO production that co-star (and uncredited co-writer) Orson Welles acted in but didn't direct due to editing conflicts with the studio during Ambersons' production and, much like that film, it was cut to ribbons during post-production and failed to turn a profit at the box office, even after being re-edited by Welles for its American theatrical run. Needless to say, it was yet another production by the legendary director and actor that could politely be described as turbulent, yet also one of the few that barely scratches at the surface of its full potential. Interestingly enough, later "fan edits" of Journey Into Fear, such as an attempted recreation by the Munich Film Archive (which has been screened at venues including NY's Museum of Modern Art), attempted to fill in the remaining blanks using production stills and low-grade elements of cut material, but a complete version will likely never exist.

It's a real shame, too, because there's a solid film hiding under Journey Into Fear's confusing narrative, which follows hapless American armaments engineer Howard Graham (Joseph Cotton, who co-wrote the screenplay with Welles and collaborated often with him) on business with the Turkish Navy. We quickly learn that trouble is brewing in Howard's letter to wife Stephanie (Ruth Warrick) once they're separated during a stop in Istanbul after meeting his Turkish co-worker Kopeiken (Everett Sloane, seen above with the skeptical couple). The catalyst for their separation appears be a mysterious, rotund assailant named Banat (Jack Moss), whose failed attempt to murder Howard at a local nightclub is witnessed by many including lovely dancer Josette Martel (Dolores del Río) and her partner Gogo (Jack Durant). Taken to the Turkish secret police, Howard is confronted by brusque Colonel Haki (Welles), who shares that Banat was hired by the Nazis to kill him and arranges safe transport for Howard, Josette, Gogo, and others by ship.

What follows is something of an attempted murder mystery involving assumed identities, shadowy secrets, and even something of a quasi-romantic relationship between Howard and Josette, who doesn't realize that the businessman has a wife waiting for him back at their hotel. Collectively this all amounts to a serviceable setup for riveting noir-infused mystery but Journey Into Fear is too messy and disorganized to work as well as it wants to, no doubt a result of those creative differences in the editing room. (The painfully flat voice-over narration, also added later in post-production, is another fairly major strike against it.) Journey Into Fear still works intermittently well as a close-quarters thriller with more than a few obvious Welles-branded touches along the way, but this slightly salvaged cut seen by 1943 American theatrical audiences is still similar to a skilled fighter forced to compete with one hand tied behind their back. It's quite obviously been compromised, and the end result can't help but struggle to land any knockout punches.

It's commendable that we get to have perhaps the most complete version of Journey Into Fear (except for that longer reconstruction by the Munich Film Archive) on a nicely-restored Blu-ray... but even in its semi-salvaged form, this isn't exactly a bulletproof thriller and only shows fleeting signs of greatness. I'd still imagine that this version of Journey Into Fear still has its fans, though, and they'll of course be pleased with the boutique label's efforts to preserve it in HD.

Journey Into Fear Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Warner Archive's Blu-ray is sourced from a recent 4K scan of safety preservation master positives on loan from the Library of Congress, with the end result being a fairly satisfying one that likely outperforms pervious showings of this theatrical cut by a wide margin. Nonetheless, density and fine detail are prone to fluctuation from scene to scene and contrast levels follow closely behind, as more than a few scenes and shots reveal an obvious dip in source quality. The boutique label's near-spotless track record suggests that WAC did what they could with the material, and as a whole Journey Into Fear is extremely watchable with plenty of striking compositions and stunning sights along the way. Film grain likewise tends to waver during those moments described above but holds steady otherwise, boasting a texture and look that simulates the appearance of nitrate film with a sporadically silver appearance to match. Black levels often run nice and deep, which is all but necessary for some of the film's darkly suspenseful moments. Disc encoding shows a few hiccups, though: bright light sources don't always play nice with noise levels, while trace amounts of posterization can also be spotted here and there. Overall this is still a fine effort under the circumstances (especially since it was never even released on DVD domestically), and one whose highlights absolutely can't be ignored.

Journey Into Fear Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

This DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track is more or less in line with the visuals, a solidly restored split-channel presentation of the original mono track that has been carefully cleaned of most imperfections but not over-scrubbed to interfere with its dynamic range. As such, trace levels of hiss and gauziness remain, but only the occasional regional dialects make certain conversations a little tough to understand although the included English (SDH) subtitles will help with that. Elsewhere, background elements and the original score by RKO mainstay Roy Webb are well-mixed and sound decently crisp and dynamic, each contributing to an overwhelmingly good track that should please fans of the film.

Journey Into Fear Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a standard keepcase with vintage poster-themed cover artwork and no inserts. A few vintage bonus features are on board but none are film-specific, which isn't all that surprising since even most RKO theatrical trailers from this era are nowhere to be found.

• Mercury Theater On the Air - Fear not, Welles fans, because at the very least we get a sequential trio of classic Mercury Theater radio broadcasts enthusiastically narrated by you-know-who.

• Dracula (59:29) - Originally broadcast on July 11, 1938
• Treasure Island (64:05) - Originally broadcast on July 18, 1938
• A Tale of Two Cities (59:26) - Originally broadcast on July 25, 1938

Journey Into Fear Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Journey Into Fear was the third and final film that Orson Welles helped to make for RKO Pictures, all of which were notoriously turbulent productions with controversies related to their completion and theatrical release. Citizen Kane obviously survived and the almost great The Magnificent Ambersons is still well-regarded, but Journey Into Fear (which was butchered by RKO in post-production, much like Ambersons) was the first true casualty, even if Welles was able to salvage it somewhat for the version released in American theaters and presented here. The narrative still suffers due to those creative differences, so anyone hoping for another terrific collaboration between Welles and his frequent creative partner Joseph Cotten might walk away disappointed. Warner Archive's Blu-ray has decent A/V merits considering its source material, so Journey Into Fear is nonetheless recommended to established fans of the film.