8.2 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
A police detective whose wife was killed by the mob teams with a scarred gangster's moll to bring down a powerful gangster.
Starring: Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, Jocelyn Brando, Alexander Scourby, Lee MarvinDrama | 100% |
Film-Noir | 85% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Crime | Insignificant |
Mystery | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
French: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
French
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
DVD copy
Region B (locked)
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Fritz Lang's "The Big Heat" (1953) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French label Wild Side Video. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; video interview with director Martin Scorsese; and video interview with director Michael Mann. The release also arrives with a lavish 208-page book with writings on "The Big Heat" and film noir, film analysis, and archival stills and posters from French actor, writer and film historian Jean Douchet. In English, with optional French subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".
"Do you remember what he looked like?"
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Fritz Lang's The Big Heat arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French label Wild Side Video.
The release uses as a foundation the same restoration of the film that was accessed for the U.S. Blu-ray release. (Unless I am mistaken, it is the one which Martin Scorsese and The Film Foundation and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment initially introduced with the Columbia Pictures Film Noir Classics Vol. I DVD box set in 2009). Its basic characteristics are quite similar to those of the high-definition transfer Sony Pictures used for the Italian release of Gilda. Generally speaking, detail and clarity are very good, while contrast levels remain stable throughout the entire film. Color saturation and stability are also good. Perhaps the best news, however, is that there are no traces of problematic degraining and sharpening adjustments. Unsurprisingly, grain is visible and from start to finish the film has a pleasing organic appearance. As it was the case with the release of Gilda, however, there are areas of the film where the grain isn't as well resolved/tight as it should be (see screencapture #17). So, even though there are some inherited source limitations, there is also room for some encoding optimizations. (Exactly the same fluctuations are also present on the U.S. release). Lastly, there are no serious stability issues to report in this review. All in all, The Big Heat could look even better in high-definition, but the current presentation is indeed very pleasing. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).
There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. For the record, Wild Side Video have provided optional French subtitles for the main feature. (You have to use your remote control to turn them off).
Generally speaking depth and clarity are very good. Where music is used to further enhance the tense atmosphere dynamic balance is well managed -- there are no sudden spikes or drops in dynamic activity. Some unevenness is occasionally noticeable, but it is clear that it was not introduced during the remastering of the audio track. The dialog is stable and easy to follow. Some extremely mild hiss occasionally makes its presence felt, but it never becomes distracting. (I would like to mention that a couple of times where newspaper titles are displayed a line of French text also appears. However, the text isn't imposed/forced).
I like this release quite a lot -- Fritz Lang's classic noir film The Big Heat looks good in high-definition and there are two excellent interviews with Martin Scorsese and Michael Mann. The release also comes with an outstanding 208-page book with excellent writings on The Big Heat and film noir as well as plenty of archival stills. A similar release from Sony Pictures most certainly would have been appreciated by noir fans in the U.S. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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