7.7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Spies (Spione) was the first independent production of German "thriller" director Fritz Lang. The years-ahead-of-its-time plotline involves Russian espionage activity in London. The mastermind is Haghi (Rudolph Klein-Rogge), a supposedly respectable carnival sideshow entertainer. Heading the good guys is Agent 326 (Willy Fritsch), with the help of defecting Russian spy Sonya (Gerda Maurus). The film moves swiftly to several potential climaxes, each one more exciting than its predecessor. Haghi's ultimate demise is a superbly staged Pirandellian vignette. Anticipating Citizen Kane by a dozen years, director Lang dispenses with all transitional dissolves and fade-outs, flat-cutting territory from one scene to another. The film was co-scripted by Lang and his then-wife Thea Von Harbou.
Starring: Rudolf Klein-Rogge, Willy Fritsch, Fritz Rasp, Gerda Maurus, Lien DeyersForeign | 100% |
Romance | 15% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.28:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Music: Dolby Digital 2.0
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 2.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Fritz Lang's "Spione" a.k.a. "Spies" (1928) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy Kino Video. The supplemental features on the disc include an original German trailer for the film and a wonderful documentary film produced by the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung in Wiesbaden. With German intertitles and optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
In action
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.28:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Fritz Lang's Spies arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Video.
The release is sourced from the 2K restoration of the Spies by the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung in Wiesbaden. The restoration work was carried out at L'immagine Ritrovata and was completed in 2004.
As it was the case with the release of Georg Wilhelm Pabst's Diary of a Lost Girl there is some minor stretching, but I am unsure why. We reviewed Eureka Entertainment's Blu-ray release of Spies in 2014 and on it the film is properly framed in 1.33:1; here the film is framed in approximately 1.28:1. You can see the stretching if you compare screencapture #10 and screencapture #8 from our review of the Region-B release. Furthermore, there are light chroma-like effects that pop up throughout the entire film. Most of these effects can be seen during footage with plenty of light, but even during footage where light is restricted small traces occasionally pop up. (You can see the chroma-like effects all over the black leather jacket in screencapture #10). These are very unfortunate technical anomalies because the actual restoration is very good and a lot of the basics we typically address in our reviews are in fact solid. (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).
There is only one audio track on this Blu-ray release: Music Dolby Digital 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the German subtitles.
The only score on this release comes from Neil Brand and it is the one that I prefer. (On the Region-B release of Spies there is a second score from Donald Sosin). Despite the fact that there isn't a lossless track, depth and clarity are very good. Dynamic movement is also very good, though I would give the edge to the lossless track. There are no pops, audio dropouts, or distortions to report.
Kino Video's upcoming Blu-ray release of Fritz Lang's Spies is sourced from the very good 2K restoration of the film by the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung in Wiesbaden. Unfortunately, the release comes with the same issue that plagued the recent release of Georg Wilhelm Pabst's Diary of a Lost Girl -- there is some unusual stretching that is present throughout the entire film. I don't want to speculate why, but I would like to point out that both of these releases have the films framed in 1.28:1 as opposed to 1.33:1. (Eureka Entertainment's Region-B releases of the same films offer proper presentations in 1.33:1).
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