7.7 | / 10 |
Users | 5.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
A pickpocket unwittingly lifts a message destined for enemy agents and becomes a target for a Communist spy ring.
Starring: Richard Widmark, Jean Peters, Thelma Ritter, Murvyn Vye, Richard KileyFilm-Noir | 100% |
Crime | Insignificant |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
English: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
DVD copy
Region B (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Sam Fuller's "Pickup on South Street" (1953) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Eureka Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; video interview with critic Kent Jones; video interview with writer and film historian Francois Guerif; and archival video interview with Sam Fuller. The release also arrives with a 36-page booklet featuring writing by Sam Fuller archival interviews, and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".
"Stop using your hands, Skip, and... start using your head. The kid loves you."
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Samuel Fuller's Pickup on South Street arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Eureka Entertainment.
The release is sourced from a new, very strong 4K restoration and unsurprisingly the film looks beautiful in high-definition. Indeed, the overwhelming majority of the close-ups boast striking depth and clarity, making it incredibly easy to see even exceptionally small details (see screencaptures #2 and 7). It is the darker footage, however, that shows the major improvements the new restoration has introduced -- shadow definition is vastly superior and as a result the areas of the film that used to look flat (on DVD) now have wonderful depth (see screencaptures #17 and 18). Furthermore, there is an entirely new range of nuanced grays and blacks that give the film a richer and ultimately far better balanced appearance. Grain is well distributed and resolved. Some careful grain adjustments have been performed, but there are no troubling anomalies. Also, there are no traces of sharpening corrections. This being said, there are select scenes where some density fluctuations affect clarity and sharpness, but it is very easy to tell that they are not a byproduct of compromising digital work (examples can be seen in screencaptures #3 and 14). There are no serious stability issues. Finally, there are no large debris, cuts, damage marks, or stains to report in our review. My score is 4.75/5.00. (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).
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.
It is very easy to tell that the audio has been fully remastered. During the opening credits the music has excellent depth and there are absolutely no high-frequency distortions. Separation is also excellent and as a result random sounds and noises are very easy to identify (listen to the moving water as Jean Peters approaches Richard Widmark around the 37-minute mark). Clicks, thumps, background hiss, and crackle have been carefully removed. Finally, there are no audio dropouts or digital distortions to report in our review.
An arrogant thief accidentally steals a microfilm with some government secrets and then gets involved with federal agents, communist spies and a bubbly stoolie in Sam Fuller's intense thriller Pickup on South Street. The film has been recently restored in 4K by Twentieth Century Fox and looks very beautiful in high-definition. Hopefully, Criterion will soon upgrade their DVD release in the United States. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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