7.2 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Vince Edwards stars as a hired assassin whose latest "assignment" is about to testify against the mob. But this particular target is not so easy to get at. So he waits...and waiting gives the assassin what he needs least: time to think.
Starring: Vince Edwards, Phillip Pine, Herschel Bernardi, Caprice Toriel, Michael GrangerDrama | 100% |
Crime | 33% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Irving Lerner's "Murder by Contract" (1958) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Indicator/Powerhouse Films. The supplemental features on the disc include vintage introduction to the film by Marty Scorsese; archival production and promotional materials for the film; trailer commentary by writer/producer Larry Karaszewski; new commentary by critic Farran Smith Nehme; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".
The human female is descended from the monkey, and the monkey is about the most curious animal in the world. Anything goes on, it just can't stand it not to know about it. She'll come out. Then I'll hit her.
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Murder by Contract arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Indicator/Powerhouse Films.
Murder by Contract gets the least impressive technical presentation in the Columbia Noir #2 six-disc box set, which is rather ironic because apparently it was restored in 2K. So, the problem here is that there are traces of digital work that has destabilized the film's grain structure and produced other anomalies. For example, there is plenty of footage where the grain is flattened and existing detail lost. Sometimes the missing detail is what I would usually describe as background or peripheral nuances, but sometimes it is big chunks of major details. Loss of nuances can be seen in screencapture #9 (see the door). Loss of major details can be seen in screencapture #20 (the face looks like it has been damaged by the sun, but it is actually filtered). On a larger screen, these anomalies are routinely impossible to ignore, plus it is very easy to see that many of them impact even the stability of the color scheme. The grays and whites are affected the most, which is why there is plenty of black crushing as well, but even existing ranges of whites can suffer rather dramatically. Quite predictably, delineation and depth are never impressive. Image stability is very good. There are no distracting large debris, cuts, damage marks, stains, warped or torn frames to report. My score is 3.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B 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 audio is clear and stable. However, there are a couple of areas where some very light background hiss sneaks in. It is not at all distracting, but my guess is that if in the future the film is fully restored in 4K, and in the same way the folks at Sony Pictures prepare their masters now, the hiss will be carefully eliminated with digital tools. There are no balance issues and and dynamic intensity is good.
Jean-Pierre Melville was a huge admirer of the classic American westerns and gangster films, which is why his popular gangster films look and function a lot like them. Melville directed Le Samourai less than a decade after Irving Lerner completed Murder by Contract, and there is enough material in the latter to make conspiracy theorists very comfortable speculating that it could have been the blueprint for the former. Marty Scorsese is on record admitting that he borrowed quite a bit from Murder by Contract while working on Taxi Driver, and later on even planned to use more but could not while putting together Mean Streets. So, while often described as a B-picture, Murder by Contract is a pretty big and influential film with a very special personality. This release is sourced from an older and shaky master that was supplied by Sony Pictures. It is included in Indicator/Powerhouse Films' Columbia Noir #2 six-disc box set, which will be out later this month. RECOMMENDED.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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