7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Writer-director-producer Samuel Fuller's fascinating thriller about two L.A. cops, one Caucasian and one Japanese-American, who fall into an interracial love triangle with the woman they are protecting from a killer. While a deadly hunt for a stripper's murderer ensues, this film takes a daring look at interracial romance at a time when it was still a hot-button issue.
Starring: Victoria Shaw, Glenn Corbett (I), James Shigeta, Anna Lee (I), Paul DubovDrama | 100% |
Film-Noir | 47% |
Romance | 20% |
Crime | 20% |
Mystery | 7% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Note: This film is available as part of
Noir Archive Volume 3: 1956-1960.
Kit Parker Films and Mill Creek Entertainment continue their deep dive into what might be thought of as the substratum of film noir with
this
third collection culled from the Columbia catalog. The fact that this latest offering supposedly spans the years of 1956 through 1960 may give
some indication of
just how deep this particular dive is, since many film fans will probably (rightly or wrongly) feel like the late fifties and first year of the
sixties are decidedly past the heyday of film noir. (That "supposedly" is in the previous sentence because the earliest actual release date
for the films in this set seems to actually be 1957, not 1956, which perhaps makes my point even better.) Still, as with the first two collections,
there are some really interesting films in this set,
and genre aficionados will most likely find at least a few titles in this set, including some more British productions, that may well spark interest.
For an overview of the previous two releases in this series, please click on the following review links (which, like this one, will contain links of their
own pointing to reviews of the individual films in the set):
Noir Archive Volume 1: 1944-1954 Blu-
ray
review
Noir Archive Volume 2: 1954-1956 Blu-
ray
review
The Crimson Kimono is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Kit Parker Films and Mill Creek Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. While the vast majority of this transfer looks rather good, there are some odd interstitial moments where quality suddenly suffers, to the point that I'm wondering if two different source elements may have been utilized. To cite just two examples, a quick moment featuring Glenn Corbett crossing the street at slightly past the seven minute mark, and then another sequence with Corbett in his apartment that begins slightly past the thirteen minute mark are noticeably softer, with less fine detail and a rather dramatically increased grittiness in the grain field. A very late moment featuring a close-up during the film's climax seems like it might have been optically enlarged, rather than the product of a zoom lens, and it, too, looks considerably more ragged than the bulk of the presentation. Those anomalies aside, this transfer boasts good contrast, nice black levels and some appealing detail levels on some of the finery in terms of ethnic costumes that crop courtesy of the Japanese subplot. While there's not a ton of damage, the credits sequence looks pretty rough, and there are occasional issues with flickering and slight mottling that creeps through the frame.
The Crimson Kimono features a DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track that offers good support for the film's dialogue, along with some kind of fun cues courtesy of composer Harry Sukman. Kind of weirdly, Sukman's brass inflected opening music is used in the scene introducing Sugar Torch, where it sure looked to my eyes like she was supposed to be singing something. Sound effects dot the track on occasion, and reverberate with decent authenticity.
None of the three discs in this set feature any supplements.
The Crimson Kimono is a rather interesting film from a number of angles, and it manages to address some provocative issues within the context of a supposed murder mystery. The star trio all do fine work, and some of the location photography will delight armchair historians. Technical merits are generally solid, and The Crimson Kimono comes Recommended.
(Still not reliable for this title)
Limited Edition to 3000
1961
2006
1967
1995
1981
마더 / Madeo
2009
1955
Tengoku to jigoku / 天国と地獄
1963
1997
野良犬 / Nora inu
1949
1950
1946
4K Restoration
1973
1944
2014
1947
1944
Limited Edition to 3000 - SOLD OUT
1950
1950
1970