7.2 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Stigmatized from infancy by the fate of his criminal father, young Danny is bruised and bullied until one night, in a fit of rage, he kills his most persistent tormenter. As the police close in around him, Danny makes a desperate bid for the love of the dead man’s fiancée, a schoolteacher who sees the wounded soul behind his aggression.
Starring: Dane Clark, Gail Russell, Ethel Barrymore, Allyn Joslyn, Rex Ingram (I)Drama | 100% |
Film-Noir | 45% |
Crime | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.37:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
English: LPCM Mono
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Frank Borzage's "Moonrise" (1948) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The only bonus feature on the disc is a filmed conversation between Herve Dumont, writer and former director of the Cinematheque suisse, and critic Peter Cowie. The release also arrives with an illustrated leaflet featuring critic Philip Kemp's essay "Dark of the Moon" and technical credits. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A.
The fugitive
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Frank Borzage's Moonshine arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.
The following text appears inside the leaflet provided with this Blu-ray release:
"This new digital transfer was created in 4K resolution on a DFT Scanity film scanner from the original 35mm nitrate original camera negative. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, and warps were manually removed using MTI Film's DRS, while Digital Vision's Phoenix was used for jitter, flicker, small dirt, grain and noise management. The monaural soundtrack was remastered from the 35mm nitrate original soundtrack negative. Clicks, thumps, hiss, hum, and crackle were manually removed using Pro Tools HD and iZotope RX.
Colorist: Sheri Eisenberg/Deluxe, Culver City, CA.
Audio transfer: Deluxe Audio Services, Los Angeles."
I've acquired every single Borzage film that has been released on Blu-ray and Moonshine is by far the best looking one. Obviously earlier titles like Lucky Star present entirely different challenges when they are transferred to Blu-ray, but the stability of the density and the overall consistency of the fluidity on display here are really quite remarkable. Additionally, this is a very, very healthy presentation of the film, with excellent organic qualities in all major areas that we scrutinize in our reviews. There are no traces of problematic degraining or sharpening adjustments. The grading is also very convincing, supporting strong primaries and at the same time allowing plenty of healthy nuances to emerge. Very impressive. (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 LPCM 1.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.
The lossless track will almost certainly surprise most viewers because it has an outstanding range of nuanced dynamics that are quite rare for a period film of this caliber. William Lava's dramatic score is particularly effective, though as mentioned in the review it is also arguably the best one used in a Frank Borzage film. There are no audio dropouts or digital distortions to report in our review.
The thing that I usually find most attractive about Frank Borzage's films is their ability to remain casual and authentic even when their stories channel very powerful feelings and emotions. I think that this is also the main quality that makes them appear so fresh today because it is clear that Borzage allowed them to evolve on their own like a lot of great contemporary films do, rather than in the cliched ways that during his time the studios favored. Moonrise is exactly that kind of a powerful personal drama whose messages have not aged at all. Criterion's new release is sourced from a great new 4K restoration, which is also the best presentation of a Borzage film that I have seen to date. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Rundskop
2011
Warner Archive Collection
1951
1955
2015
1950
1945
1948
Il Conformista | 4K Restoration
1970
1976
1949
1955
1947
1948
1946
1951
1955
2016
버닝 / Beoning
2018
2019
Víctimas del pecado
1951