6.5 | / 10 |
Users | 4.5 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.2 |
Bill Saunders, disturbed ex-soldier, kills a man in a postwar London pub brawl. Fleeing, he hides out in the apartment of lonely nurse Jane Wharton. Later, despite misgivings about his violent nature, Jane becomes involved with Bill, who resolves to reform. She gets him a job driving a medical supplies truck. But racketeer Harry Carter, who witnessed the killing, wants to use Bill's talents for crime.
Starring: Joan Fontaine, Burt Lancaster, Robert Newton, Jay Novello, Reginald SheffieldFilm-Noir | 100% |
Drama | 88% |
Crime | 25% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.37:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 16-bit)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Norman Foster's "Kiss the Blood Off My Hands" (1948) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include exclusive new audio commentary by critic Jeremy Arnold and vintage trailer. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Kiss the Blood Off My Hands arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.
The release is sourced from the same recent 2K master that British distributors Indicator/Powerhouse Films used to produce this release of the film. However, Kino Lorber were the first to introduce the 2K master.
Even though the film looks slightly softer than it should, I think that the overall quality of the visuals is very good. There is room for minor cosmetic improvements that could make the surface of the visuals more attractive, plus a few stabilization enhancements. An elaborate restoration could improve the dynamic range of the visuals as well. But the basics that we address in our reviews are strong, so even on a very large screen the entire film boasts a fine organic appearance. The grayscale is very convincing, though in a couple of areas some light crushing is easy to spot. The encoding is good. (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).
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.
Excluding some minor unevenness in a couple of areas. The dialog is very easy to follow. I revisited the film the other night and to be honest I am unsure whether there is any room for meaningful improvements even in the areas where the unevenness is present. I suspect that this is probably how the original soundtrack was finalized. There are no encoding anomalies to report in our review.
A different, more restrained male star would have made Kiss the Blood Off My Hands appear a lot like It Always Rains on Sunday and Odd Man Out. (Is it a coincidence that the three films were made between 1947 and 1948? I don't think so). Burt Lancaster was not the right actor to play the traumatized war veteran who becomes a fugitive and accidentally falls in love with the perfect girl in post-war London. His performance is so exaggerated that for nearly ninety minutes it creates the impression that he is trying to dazzle a panel of judges that would soon be handing prestigious awards. It is too bad because Russell Metty's lensing produces some pretty striking visuals. Kino Lorber's release is sourced from a very good recent 2K master.
1954
1955
1941
I Became a Criminal / Kino Classics Presents
1947
Warner Archive Collection
1951
1949
1950
Warner Archive Collection
1944
1950
1948
1950
1957
Deluxe Edition
1949
1955
1950
1955
1950
Reissue | Special Edition
1948
1955
1947