Odd Man Out Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Odd Man Out Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 29, 2012

Nominated for the prestigious Golden Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival and winner of BAFTA Award for Best British Film, Carol Reed's "Odd Man Out" (1947) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Network. The supplemental features on the disc include an archival unedited interview with James Mason; a documentary film on the acclaimed actor; and various stills. The disc also arrives with a a 23-page illustrated booklet. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Johnny

Johnny McQueen (James Mason, Lolita, Cross of Iron) and his boys have been working hard to make sure that nothing could go wrong with their next job -- robbing a big mill. They know that it won’t be an easy one, but The Organization needs the money. Before they leave, Johnny promises Kathleen (Kathleen Ryan, The Yellow Balloon), the woman he loves, that he and the boys will be back in no time.

At first, it seems like everything would go according to plan. Johnny and the boys enter the mill and take the money without much trouble. But on the way out a man fires his gun, and Johnny is forced to kill him. Seriously wounded, Johnny jumps in the getaway car -- but then falls from it. His boys decide to leave him behind and quickly disappear.

Exhausted and bleeding, Johnny hides in an empty basement not too far away from the mill. Soon after, he begins hallucinating. Meanwhile, his boys go back to their hideout and start debating what to do to help Johnny.

The police begin searching for Johnny around the mill and later on in the heart of the city. Checkpoints are erected and people are asked to show their identity cards. Eventually, it becomes virtually impossible to get out of the city.

Realizing that help isn’t coming, Johnny leaves the basement and starts making his way back to Kathleen and his friends. He tries to stay in the back alleys, where no one could recognize him, but the cold snow, his bleeding wound and the patrolling cops make the journey a tricky one.

The film has a fabulous atmosphere. Once Johnny begins his journey those big noir shadows come alive and the tone of the film changes dramatically. There is a very heavy sense of fatalism in the air that also gives the film quite an edge.

'The Organization' is clearly the IRA and the dangerous city Belfast, but neither of the two is identified in the film. There are no specific political messages either. However, there is a whiff of pro-British propaganda, primarily detectable through the actions of the secondary characters, which are either not overly enthusiastic about 'The Organization' and its fight or simply side with the police because it is supposedly the right thing to do.

The entire cast is excellent, but Mason clearly deserves the most credit. His facial expressions are so good they ought to be studied. Ryan’s time in front of the camera is limited, but she also leaves a memorable impression. There is also a strong cameo by the great Robert Newton (This Happy Breed), who plays an extravagant artist with a serious drinking problem.

Odd Man Out was lensed by cinematographer Robert Krasker, who had previously worked with Laurence Olivier on Henry V and David Lean on Brief Encounter. In 1949, Krasker once again collaborated with director Reed, this time on the excellent The Third Man.

William Alwyn’s (A Night to Remember) score deserves a special mention as it is arguably one of the very best ever done for a noir film. The main theme, in particular, which often appears as Johnny wanders through the back alleys, is terrific.

Note: In 1947, Odd Man Out was nominated for the prestigious Golden Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival. A year later, the film earned BAFTA Award for Best British Film.

Odd Man Out Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Carol Reed's Odd Man Out arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Network.

The following text was supplied by Network:

"The video transfer was made by Granada International from the best available safety element - a 35mm Dupe Negative - after it was compared to original nitrate fine grain master (held by the BFI) and found to be in superior condition. It had a slightly sharper image and better stability than the nitrate material although the usual film defects inherent in 1940's material were still present. They included: picture weave; distortion; dirt and scratches; water marks; and splice jumps. The transfer was carried out by Technicolor on a Spirit Datacine in High Definition (Colourist - Dave Mason) and then the image restored digitally using Teranex and Edifis. The soundtrack was taken from a 35mm Sound Master Positive Print and then restored, removing any noticeable hiss, crackle, and audio defects. The film was shown at the 2006 Cannes International Film Festival as part of the centenary celebrations for director Carol Reed."

The presentation is quite impressive. Most close-ups convey very pleasing depth (see screencapture #5), while the noirish dark sequences with the long shadows boast excellent clarity (see screencapture #3). Contrast levels are well balanced and stable. The color grading does not disappoint either - there is a good range of nuanced grays, while the blacks look lush but never boosted. The best news, however, is that there are no traces of excessive denoising. Grain does fluctuate from time to time, but it is clear that these fluctuations are inherited from the elements the restorers had to work with. The same could be said about image stability - there are no serious stability issues, though occasionally some frame transitions could be a bit shaky. Lastly, there are some very light scratches that could not be effectively removed with digital tools, but large damage marks, cuts, splices, and warps are indeed nowhere to be seen. All in all, the restoration has produced some marvelous results, and I must speculate that this is indeed the very best Carol Reed's film has ever looked. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Odd Man Out Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one audio track on this Blui-ray disc: English LPCM 2.0. For the record, Network have provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature.

The audio treatment is even more impressive than the video treatment. The dialog is consistently crisp, clean, and stable. The outstanding outscore by William Alwyn (The Fallen Idol, A Night to Remember) has also benefited enormously from the lossless treatment. Some of the very best sequences in the film are the ones where the rather long and quite atmospheric main theme. For the record, there is no problematic hiss, crackle, or audio dropouts to report in this review.

Odd Man Out Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Interview - an archival unedited interview with James Mason from 1972 in which he discusses his career, post-war British cinema, etc. The interview was conducted for Granada Television. In English, not subtitled. (13 min, PAL).

• Home, James - a wonderful documentary film on James Mason. The film is narrated by the acclaimed actor, who travels back to his home town of Huddersfield. In English, not subtitled. (52 min, PAL).

• Image Galleries -
  
  1. Behind the Scenes (2 min, 1080p)
  2. Portraits (3 min, 1080p)
  3. Production (8 min, 1080p)
  4. Publicity (4 min, 1080p)

• Booklet - a 23-page illustrated booklet featuring Steve Rogers' essay "A Soldier in the Snow: A look at the making of Odd Man Out, its key players and critical recognition."

• Script - presented in PDF format.

Odd Man Out Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Carol Reed's stylish Odd Man Out has been recently restored and now brought to Blu-ray by British distributors Network. I personally think that it is as atmospheric and entertaining as Reed's famous The Third Man, and featuring one of the best soundtracks ever done for a noir film. If you could play Region-B "locked" releases, consider adding this one to your collections. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.