8.2 | / 10 |
Users | 4.4 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.4 |
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: 1.34:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
Music: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Fritz Lang is certainly one of the more fascinating figures in twentieth century film, one who traversed everything from the early silent era to German Expressionism to the Golden Age of the Hollywood studio system, to a burgeoning quasi- independent approach as that selfsame studio system started to falter and crumble. Just recounting some of the films for which Lang is best remembered is a thrilling exercise in incredible diversity: Metropolis, at least two of his three Dr. Mabuse films, M, Die Nibelungen, Liliom, Fury, Western Union, The Woman in the Window, Scarlet Street, Clash by Night, and a film which still retains an incredibly visceral impact almost sixty years after its initial release, The Big Heat. Lang was often called “the Master (or Prince) of Darkness,” both for his figurative tonal sense and for his literal tendency to evoke the foreboding shadows of the Expressionist movement, even in fare that is not on its face in that particular genre. Lang’s predilection for that darkness is probably what made him so well suited to helm noir and noir-esque outings, and indeed many of his forties and fifties output at least flirts with that idiom. The Big Heat is often lumped whole cloth into the film noir category, but it’s a surprisingly versatile piece of filmmaking that also subtly upends several tropes of the noir genre while also wrapping its twisted tentacles around several other genres, part of what has made it such an enduringly iconic experience. Younger viewers who have never seen The Big Heat may well be reminded of a more recent film that traffics in the same general set up of a decent man out to avenge the senseless murder of his wife, the 1974 Charles Bronson opus Death Wish (which of course spawned several sequels). The “revenge film” was nothing new even when Lang came to it in 1953 for The Big Heat, but as with so many of Lang’s efforts, it’s reinvented here in a bristling new landscape of brute force, aberrant behavior and a general feeling of moral turpitude that is quite remarkable, even within the usually unseemly environment of film noir.
The Big Heat is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Twilight Time with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.34:1. This is yet another stunning looking catalog release culled from HD masters provided to Twilight Time by Sony – Columbia. The elements utilized here are crisp and brilliantly delineated, with wonderfully rich and lustrous blacks and an appealing and very subtly variegated gray scale. While this film doesn't wallow in the shadows as much as many traditional noirs, there's still an appealing feeling of gloom overhanging the proceedings, and that is eminently well represented in this high definition presentation, one which offers excellent contrast and completely natural looking grain structure. Some of the dimly lit interior scenes present just a few problems with shadow detail, problems that were most likely inherent in the source elements to begin with. Otherwise, this is yet another incredibly solid looking release that continues Twilight Time's winning ways with Columbia catalog product.
The Big Heat features a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio Mono mix which is surprisingly fulsome considering its age and narrowness. Fidelity is very strong, and there's no egregious damage or even hiss to report. The midrange is very full and convincing, and some semblance of LFE blasts through in one spectacular explosion and a couple of instances of gunfire. Dialogue is cleanly presented and is also well prioritized in the mix. This isn't an overly showy soundtrack, but in this lossless environment there's a stripped down, bare feeling to this mix that works extremely well with the gritty ambience of the film.
The Big Heat is an incredibly breathless, bracing experience and one which rather brilliantly revises several noir traditions. Lang was nearing the end of his major studio involvement, moving more and more toward quasi- independent fare, but he elevates the material here well above what could have been a kind of smarmy offering, proving that he had lost none of the power and facility that marked his earlier iconic work. With incredibly evocative cinematography by Charles Lang supporting some devastatingly effective performances (especially by Grahame, who really deserved an Oscar nomination for this film), The Big Heat remains one of the finest fifties offerings in what was then the dying noir genre. This Blu-ray offers superior video and excellent audio, and it comes Highly recommended.
1955
1967
1955
Warner Archive Collection
1951
Rundskop
2011
Limited Edition to 3000
1961
1950
1946
1968
Limited Edition to 3000 - SOLD OUT
1950
4K Restoration
1948
Includes They Call Me MISTER Tibbs! and The Organization on standard BD
1967
1944
1950
1986
1957
1942
1947
Includes Elia Kazan: Outsider 1982 Documentary
1954
1997