Night and the City Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.5

Night and the City Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 25, 2015

Jules Dassin's "Night and the City" (1950) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of the British Film Institute. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; audio commentaries by noir expert Paul Duncan and film expert Adrian Martin; archival Q&A sessions with director Jules Dassin and Richard Widmark, and the British Version of the film. The release also arrives with a 20-page illustrated booklet featuring essays by Lee Server, Paul Duncan, and James Hahn, and full film credits. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles. Region-B "locked".

The man who ran out of time

His name is Harry Fabian (Richard Widmark) and he is a dreamer with a bad luck. He knows it. Years ago he had big dreams and tried to change his life many times, but never got the break other guys around him had early in their lives.

Now Harry has a plan that may finally work. In fact, he can already tell that it will. At a wrestling match in the heart of London, Harry has met the legendary Greek wrestler Gregorius (real Polish wresting veteran Stanislaus Zbyszko) and with his help he is going to make a small fortune. Gregorius has come to England with his son, Nikolas of Athens (British wrestler Ken Richmond), to see how his other son, Kristo (Herbert Lom), is promoting his Greco-Roman legacy, but he is disappointed and ready to go home. In front of the arena, Harry befriends Gregorius and asks him to allow Nikolas to appear in a special Greco-Roman event which the city will never forget. If Gregorius agrees, Harry will set up the event and immediately start promoting it.

Kristo warns Gregorius not to trust Harry, but he scolds him and walks away. Soon after, in a local wrestling club Gregorius begins preparing Nikolas for the event.

Harry also goes to work. First he steals some money from his naïve girlfriend, Mary (Gene Tierney), and then asks the owner of the popular night club Silver Fox, Philip Nosseross (Francis L. Sullivan), to become his partner. He agrees, but not because he wants to do business with Harry. Through Harry, he hopes to expose his wife, Helen (Googie Withers), a former prostitute, whom he believes is cheating on him.

For a while everything goes according to Harry’s brilliant plant, but then his lies are exposed and he is forced to run for his life.

Jules Dassin’s Night and the City is one of the most cynical noir films ever made. There literally isn’t a single character in it that one can side with and hope that at the end it will emerge victorious. Almost immediately after the opening credits roll, it becomes painfully obvious that they are either shady players ready to hurt anyone, even those that truly love them, or naïve souls who have chosen to suffer even though they could easily walk away from the misery that is plaguing their lives.

Widmark is unquestionably the heart and soul of the film. When he appears in front of the camera, one can immediately feel that he is a desperate man who is running out of time. So the mistakes he makes aren’t difficult to understand, what surprises is the fact that no one around him actually cares to help him out. Even his girlfriend, who sees him stealing her money and realizes that his lies will destroy him, effectively abandons him.

The men and women around Widmark’s character are also left to hang themselves. Initially they appear strong and level-headed, but a series of events expose their weaknesses and many get exactly what they deserve. Those who survive are left to ponder the consequences of their actions and suffer for the rest of their lives.

Dassin shot the film with cinematographer Mutz Greenbaum (Max Greene) on location in London. The footage from and around Soho, in particular, is very atmospheric. While in London, however, Dassin was blacklisted by Hollywood because he was once a member of the Communist Party. Later on, two very different versions of the film were created, both with different soundtracks -- the American Version was scored by Franz Waxman while the British Version was scored by Benjamin Frankel -- and featuring different footage. Dassin was not involved in the editing sessions, but preferred the shorter American Version.

Night and the City Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Jules Dassin's Night and the City arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of the British Film Institute.

Two versions of Night and the City are included on this release. The American Version, which was scored by Franz Waxman, and the British Version. which was scored by Benjamin Frankel. The former was recently scanned and restored in 4K, while the latter was recently scanned and restored in 2K.

Please note that the screencaptures included with our review appear in the following order:

1. Screencaptures #1-19: American Version.
2. Screencaptures #21-31: British Version.

The American Version of Night and the City, which Jules Dassin preferred, looks fantastic in high-definition, but this should not be surprising because it has been sourced from the same excellent restoration which Criterion initially accessed when they prepared their release. Indeed, depth and clarity are simply terrific and image fluidity is about as good as one can expect from a black and white film from the early 1950s. Also, the color gradation is excellent and as a result all of the important nuances that give the film its identity are really quite striking. There are no traces of problematic degraining or sharpening adjustments. Finally, there are a few inherited density fluctuations, but there are no problematic transitions or stability issues. All in all, this is a terrific restoration and presentation of Night and the City that is guaranteed to please fans of the film and younger viewers who are going to experience it for the first time on Blu-ray. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Night and the City Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 1.0 (American Version) and English LPCM 1.0 (British Version). Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the two versions.

The lossless track on the American Version is very good. The music is well rounded and balanced with the dialog and there is a good range of nuanced dynamics. There are no audio dropouts or distortions. Also, there is no distracting background hiss.

The lossless track on the British Version is quite good, but the overall dynamic intensity is quite different (this version of the film has a different score). Clarity isn't as good as that on the American Version and there is actually a whiff of background hiss that is felt from time to time. I did some direct comparisons with the lossy track from the Criterion release and could not hear a notable gap in quality.

Night and the City Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original trailer for Nigh and the City. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• British Version - director Jules Dassin was blacklisted in Hollywood while shooting Night and the City in England. Later on, two different versions of the film were created, both with different soundtracks, and featuring different footage. The director was not involved in the editing sessions, but preferred the American Version. Presented here is the longer British Version of the film (2K transfer). (English LPCM 1.0/1080p/101 min).

• American Version Audio Commentary - writer and film noir expert Paul Duncan discusses in great detail the production history of Night and the City, some of the main differences between the American and British versions of the film, how and where various sequences were shot, the nature of the relationships between the main protagonists, the soundtrack, etc.

• British Version Audio Commentary - film expert Adrian Martin deconstructs the British version of Night and the City and points out the main differences with the American version of the film, the various dilemmas the main protagonists face, the iconic London locations that are seen in the film, the novel that inspired the film, Jules Dassin's career, etc.

• The Guardian Lecture: Jules Dassin Interviewed by Alexander Walker - in this long Q&A session, Jules Dassin explains how the original idea for Night and the City emerged, and discusses his childhood years in Middletown, CT, his theater work and time in Hollywood, his political views and troubles, etc. In English, not subtitled. (52 min).

• Richard Widmark Interviewed by Adrian Wootton at the National Film Theatre - in this Q&A session, Richard Widmark discusses his career (from his early days in Chicago to his move to New York and eventually his work in Los Angeles), his seven-year contract with Twentieth Century Fox and relationship with Darryl F. Zanuck, his work with directors Elia Kazan and Sam Fuller (with a hilarious comment about the latter's directing methods), his interactions and work with Marilyn Monroe, his work with John Wayne, his initial reaction to the films the French critics described as "film noir", etc. In English, not subtitled. (72 min).

• Booklet - a 20-page illustrated booklet featuring essays by Lee Server, Paul Duncan, and James Hahn, and full film credits.

Night and the City Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

A desperate hustler is forced to run for his life in Jules Dassin's remarkably cynical noir masterpiece Night and the City. Richard Widmark is spectacular as the hustler, but the film also features an unforgettable performance by professional wrestler and two-time World Heavyweight Champion Stanislaus Zbyszko as Gregorius the Great. The BFI's upcoming release is sourced from the terrific recent 4K restoration of the film and has a wonderful selection of supplemental features. I especially enjoyed the archival Q&A session with Richard Widmark. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.