Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Secret Beyond the Door Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov May 16, 2024

Fritz Lang's "Secret Beyond the Door" (1947) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The only supplemental feature on the release is an exclusive new audio commentary by author and film historian Alan K. Rode. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

While on vacation in Mexico, the young, beautiful and wealthy Celia (Joan Bennett, Scarlet Street, Father of the Bride) meets the handsome architect Mark Lamphere (Michael Redgrave, The Lady Vanishes, The Innocents). Almost immediately, she can tell that he is The One. Soon after, the two marry in a beautiful cathedral.

But when Celia moves into Mark’s mansion in New York, she is shocked to learn from his sister (Anne Revere, A Place in the Sun) that he is a widower with a teenage son whom he can barely stand because he has accused him of murdering his mother. Celia also discovers that her husband has a strange hobby – he 'collects' replicas of rooms in which something terrible has happened. There are seven rooms in his precious collection, but he readily shows to his friends and guests only the first six. The last room in the collection remains locked at all times.

While trying to find a way to unlock the mysterious room, Celia gradually realizes that she has married an emotionally unstable man who is fascinated with death. Nevertheless, she decides to remain loyal to Mark because her heart still desires him while her mind insists that if she tries hard enough, she could help him overcome his personal demons.

Completed by Fritz Lang in 1947, Secret Beyond the Door is likely to appeal primarily to viewers who enjoy thrillers in which the atmosphere is far more important than logic and structure. This isn’t to imply that the film is hopelessly illogical or incoherent, but there are some quite unusual surrealist overtones in it which slowly yet very effectively change its identity.

By the time Celia figures out how to unlock the secret door, Lang is no longer interested in the progression of her relationship with Mark. This seems rather strange because the more Celia learns about Mark’s past, the more unpredictable he becomes, forcing the viewer to speculate about the real motives behind his decision to marry her. Instead, Lang spends more time exploring the dark corners of the large mansion, which quickly becomes a key character in the film.

The second half of the film is firmly in Gothic territory. As Celia explores the mansion, Lang and the great cinematographer Stanley Cortez (The Night of the Hunter, Shock Corridor) use light and shadow in a variety of ways to enhance the already very tense atmosphere. An appropriately lush score by Miklos Rozsa (Ben-Hur, Double Indemnity) also adds an extra dose of flavor to the visuals.

The finale is undoubtedly the film’s Achilles’ heel -- a quick character transformation is used to bring solid logic to the narrative, but it is virtually impossible to take it seriously. Frankly, from the moment Celia arrives in New York it becomes painfully obvious that such a character transformation is to be expected; the only question that remains is when and how Lang will introduce it.

Secret Beyond the Door was Redgrave's first American film. The British actor’s next appearance was in Anthony Asquith’s The Browning Version (1951), for which he won Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival.

Secret Beyond the Door 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, Secret Beyond the Door arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

In the United States, Secret Beyond the Door made its high-definition debut with this release from Olive Films in 2012. I do not have this release in my library. However, I have in my library this French Region-B release, which Carlotta Films produced in 2014. I was able to do some comparisons between the two.

Kino Lorber's release is sourced from a new 4K master, which was prepared at Paramount Pictures in 2022. Unfortunately, I have to report that this master is quite disappointing. It makes the entire film look soft and in many areas unnaturally flat. The most obvious drops in quality occur during indoor and darker outdoor footage, but even well-lit close-ups do not look particularly convincing. The softness is of the kind that digital filtering can introduce. I compared different areas of the film on the two releases, and most of the time the discrepancy in quality was pretty dramatic. The older release produces sharper, not sharpened, grainier and better detailed visuals, often with superior clarity as well. There is one exception. The new master clearly handles a wide range of shadows and shadow nuances better, but the missing grain and proper delineation make this improvement meaningless. Image stability is good. I noticed a few minor blemishes and dark spots, but there are no large distracting cuts, warped or torn frames. (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).

Secret Beyond the Door Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are included for the main feature.

The quality of the audio track is not easy to judge. There are small yet noticeable fluctuations in terms of dynamic intensity and even balance, which I assume are inherited. However, I suspect that time has also left its mark. The upper register is healthy, but in a few spots some extremely light background hiss sneaks in. There are no audio dropouts or distortions to report.

Secret Beyond the Door Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by author and film historian Alan K. Rode.

Secret Beyond the Door Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

To some extent, Fritz Lang's Secret Beyond the Door might have been influenced by Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca, but it clearly has an identity of its own, and it is a strange one. There is a very strong Gothic atmosphere in it, which almost feels mismanaged. Still, Stanley Cortez's superb lensing makes this film very easy to recommend. Unfortunate, Kino Lorber's release is not easy to recommend because it is sourced from a recent 4K master that could and should have been a lot more convincing.