8.4 | / 10 |
Users | 4.9 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Powerful but unethical Broadway columnist J.J. Hunsecker coerces unscrupulous press agent Sidney Falco into breaking up his sister's romance with a jazz musician.
Starring: Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, Susan Harrison, Martin Milner, Jeff DonnellDrama | 100% |
Film-Noir | 28% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.67:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Alexander Mackendrick's "Sweet Smell of Success" (1957) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include the film's original theatrical trailer; audio commentary with film scholar James Naremore; "Mackendrick: The Man Who Walked Away", a documentary film, produced for Scottish Television; "James Wong Howe: Cinematographer", a 1973 documentary about the Oscar-winning director of photography; and video interview with film historian Neal Gabler. The disc also arrives with a 56-page illustrated booklet. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
Sidney Falco
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.67:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Alexander Mackendrick's Sweet Smell of Success arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.
The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this Blu-ray disc:
"This new digital transfer was created on a SCANITY Film Scanner in 4K resolution from the original 35mm camera negative. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, warps, jitter, and flicker were manually removed using MTI's DRS system and Pixel Farm's PFClean system, while Digital Vision's DVNR system was used for small dirt, grain, and noise reduction.
Telecine supervisor: Lee Kline.
Telecine colorist: Sheri Eisenberg/Colorworks, Los Angeles."
Great looking transfer! I have seen this film more than a dozen times and without a shadow of a doubt this is the best it has ever looked. Fine object detail is excellent, clarity very pleasing, and contrast levels dramatically improved. Color reproduction is also very impressive -- now the variety of blacks, grays, and whites finally look rich and healthy. Edge-enhancement is not a serious issue of concern; the background shimmer and fuzziness (especially around the edges) that are present on the very old R1 DVD release are also gone. Some small noise corrections have been applied, but a light, healthy layer of grain is very easy to see at all times. There are no serious stability issues either. Blown through a digital projector, the transfer conveys wonderful depth and fluidity. Finally, I did not see any large damage marks, cuts, stains, or debris to report in this review. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).
There is only one audio track on this Blu-ray disc: English LPCM 1.0. For the record, Criterion have provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature.
The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this Blu-ray disc:
"The monaural soundtrack was remastered at 24-bit from the original 35mm magnetic soundtrack. Clicks, thumps, hiss, and hum were manually removed using Pro Tools HD. Crackle was attenuated using Audio Cube's integrated audio workstation. "
The English LPCM 1.0 is also impressive - there are various improvements in terms of stability and dynamics. Generally speaking, the dialog is crisp, clean, stable, and exceptionally easy to follow. There are no balance issues with Elmer Bernstein's music score either. Finally, I did not detect any disturbing pops, cracks, or audio dropouts to report in this review.
Criterion have delivered yet another must-own package. This time around it is Alexander Mackendrick's thought-provoking and hugely entertaining Sweet Smell of Success that gets the special treatment. The supplemental features are also very good. Make sure you find the time to listen to film scholar James Naremore's audio commentary. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
1951
1958
1955
1956
1950
1971
1955
À bout de souffle
1960
1947
Includes Elia Kazan: Outsider 1982 Documentary
1954
1981
1963
1972
1948
1945
1970
1984
1977
Vivre sa vie: Film en douze tableaux / My Life to Live
1962
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