The Big Heat Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		5.0

The Big Heat Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 9, 2025

Fritz Lang's "The Big Heat" (1953) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the release include archival program with Martin Scorsese; archival program with Michael Mann; new audio commentary by film noir experts Alain Silver and James Ursini; new video essay by critic Farran Smith Nehme; vintage trailer; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Detective Dave Bannion (Glenn Ford, 3:10 to Yuma) is sent to investigate the suicide of veteran cop Tom Duncan. He arrives at his home and quickly concludes that the man did indeed take his own life.

Shortly after, however, Bannion is contacted by Lucy Chapman (Dorothy Green, No Time To Be Young), a call girl, who assures him that Duncan, with whom she had an affair, wasn’t thinking of blowing his brains out. Intrigued, Bannion heads back to Duncan’s home where his widow, Bertha (Jeanette Nolan, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance), assures him that her husband was unable to cope with the fact that he was terminally ill.

Without a medical report to prove it, Bannion begins asking questions and quickly annoys several very important people. Amongst them are the influential crime boss Mike Lagana (Alexander Scourby, Affair in Trinidad), his right-hand man Vince Stone (Lee Marvin, Point Blank) and even the Police Commissioner Higgins (Howard Wendell, How to Murder Your Wife). When Bannion is promptly warned to stop sniffing around and complicating people’s lives but refuses to terminate his investigation, someone plants a bomb in his car.

At a chic nightclub, Bannion then confronts Stone after he hurts an innocent girl. The gangster walks away, but later, after he discovers that Bannion has met his beautiful toy, Debby (Gloria Grahame, In a Lonely Place), he goes berserk and all hell breaks loose.

Fritz Lang’s The Big Heat is rightfully regarded as one of the greatest film noirs ever made. It is remarkably bleak and overflowing with the type of atmosphere that made these genre films special.

At the core of its story is a big and quite dramatic transformation -- Bannion is slowly taken out of his comfort zone and then forced to become exactly like the men he has confronted. And as soon as the transformation is initiated, The Big Heat becomes unusually cynical, openly suggesting that in the real world, where good and bad are engaged in a seemingly never-ending battle for dominance, the process is essentially unavoidable because people with moral values are either forced to abandon them and adopt a new lifestyle or promptly destroyed.

The atmosphere and especially the illuminating cynicism permeating The Big Heat are extremely similar to those of Michael Cimino’s Year of the Dragon. Indeed, if one compares the manner in which women and immigrants are treated in them, and then how both expose the ruthlessness of the worlds their protagonists exist in -- they are are identical nonconformists who gradually discover how hopelessly corrupt everyone around them is -- one would innevitably realize that they are concerned with much bigger issues, many of which are still relevant today.

The cast is fantastic. Ford is predictably spectacular, but the supporting actors are outstanding too. Grahame, in particular, looks astonishing as the ill-treated beauty who decides to teach Marvin’s psychopath a lesson he won’t forget.

The Big Heat was lensed by the great American cinematographer Charles Lang, whose credits also include such classic films as Billy Wilder’s Ace in the Hole and Some Like It Hot, Anthony Mann's The Man from Laramie, and John Sturges’ Gunfight at the O.K. Corral and The Magnificent Seven.

The Big Heat 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, The Big Heat arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The following text appears inside the leaflet provided with this release:

"This new 4K restoration was undertaken by Sony Pictures Entertainment and was created from the 35mm camera negative and a 35mm fine-grain master positive. The monaural soundtrack was remastered from the 35mm original magnetic track.

Restoration supervisor: Gover Crisp.
Colorist: Sheri Eisenberg/Motion Picture Imaging, Burbank, CA.
Image restoration: Cineric Inc., New York, with additional restoration by Motion Picture Imaging.
Audio restoration: Deluxe Audio Services, Hollywood."

The new 4K restoration is also made available on 4K Blu-ray in this combo pack release. I viewed the 4K restoration in native 4K and later did some comparisons with two older European releases I have in my library. The first is this release from British label Indicator/Powerhouse Films. The second is this release from French label Wild Side Video. Both are sourced from a good but older master supplied by Sony Pictures.

The new 4K restoration is a meaningful upgrade in quality that looks great on 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray. On my system, while comparing the previous presentation and the new 1080p presentation of the 4K restoration, the improvements in quality were very easy to recognize and appreciate. For example, sharpness was substantially better, while grain exposure was more convincing and consistent. (Even in areas with density fluctuations, grain exposure still looked better). As you could probably easily tell while looking at the escreencaptures we have provided, the grayscale is terrific as well. On the 4K Blu-ray, the Dolby Vision grade does not change much, so the overall balance between the blacks, grays, and whites remains the same. There are no traces of problematic digital corrections. Image stability is excellent. The entire film looks very, very healthy, too. In summary, the new 4K restoration is equally easy to recommend on 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray, and regardless of the size of your screen, or whether you view it in native 4K Blu-ray or Blu-ray, you will be satisfied with the improvements it brings. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a Reigon-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

The Big Heat Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this release: English LPCM 1.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I viewed The Big Heat on 4K Blu-ray and later spent time with its 1080p presentation on this Blu-ray release. The comments below are from our review of the 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack.

On the other two releases of The Big Heat that I keep in my library, occasionally, very light background hiss can be noticed. It is never distracting, but it is there. The 4K restoration, which has restored audio as well, I did not notice any of this light hiss. However, some of the small unevenness that is present on the previous track is retained. Obviously, this is how the original soundtrack was finalized.

The Big Heat Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - this new audio commentary was recorded by film noir experts Alain Silver and James Ursini. The commentators share a wealth of information, the majority of which addresses the conception, production, rating history, and success of The Big Heat. However, there is plenty of interesting information about the careers and personal lives of the stars, as well as the tremendouns influence The Big Heat had on important European directors, such as Lindsay Anderson (If....).

• Martin Scorsese - in this archival program, Martin Scorsese quickly explains why The Big Heat is a special film noir and recalls his first viewing of it. In English, not subtitled. (6 min).

• Michael Mann - in this archival program, Michael Mann discusses the expressionistic qualities of The Big Heat, the unique qualities of the female characters, the framing/lensing of different sequences, the cultural, social and economic climate in the United States at the time when the film was shot, some of the similarities between Dave Bannion's world and the city of Chicago (where Michael Mann grew up), etc. In English, not subtitled. In English, not subtitled. (11 min).

• Fritz Lang - presented here are excerpts from two audio interviews with Fritz Lang in which he discusses his background, interest in cinema, career, and some of the themes that defined his films. In English, not subtitled.
  
  1. Interview conducted by critic Gideon Bachmann in 1956. (17 min).
  2. Interview conducted by Peter Bogdanovich in 1965. (7 min).

• The Women of "The Big Heat" - this new video essay was created by critic Farran Smith Nehme. In English, not subtitled. (29 min).

• Trailer - presented here is a remastered vintage trailer for The Big Heat. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Leaflet - an illustrated leaflet featuring critic Jonathan Lethem's essay "Fate's Network" and technical credits.

The Big Heat Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

While it has taken a bit longer than many would have preferred, the greatest film noirs are receiving the perfect home video releases they deserve. The Big Heat joins Double Indemnity, Touch of Evil, and The Killing, and Sunset Boulevard is on the way. Hopefully, the folks at Sony Pictures will soon prepare 4K restorations of In a Lonely Place and Gilda that are as jaw-droppingly beautiful as the one presented on this Blu-ray release of The Big Heat. A 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack release is available for purchase as well. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.