The Woman in the Window Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

The Woman in the Window Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Stephen Larson July 18, 2018

In her scholarly and not-too-dry commentary included on this disc, film noir expert Imogen Sara Smith talks about the ultra-precision in which Fritz Lang directed The Woman in the Window. Lang would deploy specific markers that he wanted his actors to stand and also coach co-star Joan Bennett about how to enunciate certain words in her inflection. Press reports circa 1944 confirm Smith's claim that the shoot was not a pleasant experience for the actors. However, Lang's attention to detail and micro-management of his actors produced one of the finest noirs of the war era. The Woman in the Window was Lang's thirteenth credited sound film. Adapted from J. H. Wallis's 1942 novel Once Off Guard by Nunnally Johnson, the film was made independently at International Pictures. To the chagrin of Johnson, Lang made some significant changes to the book and script that I'd advise you to learn about after you've watched the film.

Assistant Professor of Psychology Richard Wanley (Edward G. Robinson) is bidding his wife (Dorothy Peterson) and two kids goodbye before their trip to Maine. Wanley goes to his favorite hangout (a gentleman's club) where he enjoys drinks and cigars with his friends, District Attorney Frank Lalor (Raymond Massey) and Dr. Michael Barkstane (Edmund Breon). It is getting late and as Wanley exits the club, he stops at a store display window where a mysterious female mannequin stands. Wanley notices a reflection in the window glass and voilà! a woman closely resembling the figure emerges from the outside to speak to the professor. Wanley is transfixed and the lady, who goes by Alice Reed (Joan Bennett), invites him to come join her for drinks. Wanley later accompanies Alice to her apartment complex where the two chill. Before long, a man bursts through Alice's door and attacks Wanley. An altercation ensues and I'll withhold from revealing what happens for those who haven't seen it.

The woman in the window comes alive.

International Pictures requested exhibitors to impose specific restrictions when it screened The Woman in the Window. For instance, theater owners stipulated that patrons would not be admitted into the theater during the last 5-20 minutes. In addition, the distributor requested that reviewers not divulge the surprise ending. The latter is where the movie differs from the novel and screenplay, which fomented disagreements between Johnson and Lang. Critics honored IP's edict and also encouraged cinephiles to see the picture from the very beginning.

As Smith explains in her commentary, The Woman in the Window is regarded as a portrait noir. At the time of the film's release, critics rated it high among contemporaries in its genre. The Harrisburg Telegraph stated: "Every once in a while there comes to the screen a melodrama bearing a mark of distinction. Such a picture is The Woman in the Window one of the most adult psychological murder mysteries we've ever seen. Even in comparison with top-ranking Double Indemnity, Laura and The Uninvited it rates on a par with all of them." The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Harold V. Cohen proclaimed: "Even the excellent Laura of ever so recent memory can't be mentioned in the same breath with this ding-dong dandy, which grabs the hair fast in the first five minutes and holds it on end for nearly two taut and tingling hours." Gilbert Kanour of The Evening Sun (NY) placed it in the upper echelon: "In its category, is is far and away the best we have encountered since Double Indemnity, with which it has a certain kinship, and we unhesitatingly award it our Blue Ribbon with Palms as one of the outstanding photoplays of the year." Jack O'Brian, a drama editor for the AP, wrote, "one of the most gripping and intense psychological murder films of any year. For sheer scariness, it ranks with one of the best provokers of the creeps ever turned out in Hollywood: The Uninvited."

The Woman in the Window Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

When The Woman in the Window reached DVD belatedly in the summer of 2007, Blu-ray had been around for nearly a year and MGM apparently wasn't ready to release it on HD. Flash forward eleven years later and Kino Classics has finally put it out on Blu-ray courtesy of a distribution deal with UA/MGM/Fox. I've watched the SD DVD and this print seems to derive from similar elements, although the Blu-ray shows more information on the left side. The Kino has been newly remastered in HD so clarity and detail are improved substantially. The grayscale and inky blacks shine in the nighttime street scenes (e.g., see the rainstorm outside Alice's apartment in Screenshot #5). There are a few instances where the print show heavy print damage or thick scratches. In particular, watch the scene where Wanley goes in Alice's bedroom and picks up the phone (there's a large blip in #19, although my capture looks pretty clean). Most problematic are thin tramlines that creep in the middle of the frame and come inside the right edges. These are frequent and hopefully a future restoration can wipe them out. The film boasts coarse grain and a fairly even grain structure. There is some flickering during the first two reels. Around the 29:43 mark, the telecine wobbles. The MPEG-4 AVC-encoded transfer on this BD-25 sports an average video bitrate of 21926 kbps. My video score is 3.75.

Kino Lorber has provided eight chapter selections.

The Woman in the Window Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Kino Lorber has supplied the film's original monaural sound track in a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Dual Mono mix. (1559 kbps, 16-bit). The master is in very good shape as I didn't notice any pops, crackles, or other major source-related defects. However, there is some background hiss and that made me have the volume up to hear the dialogue. Arthur Lange's score shows some good pitch on the front speakers.

There are optional English subtitles available for the main feature. They appear largely complete although I wish Kino had given them a larger default font.

The Woman in the Window Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historian Imogen Sara Smith - author of In Lonely Places: Film Noir Beyond the City, Smith delivers a highly informative track contextualizing her discussion around some of the other noir features of the period but devoting the most time to discussing filmographies and careers of Fritz Lang, Edward G. Robinson, Joan Bennett, Dan Duryea, Raymond Massey, and Nunnally Johnson (who also produced the picture). Smith is scripted and her commentary alternates between analyzing on-screen action with film biographical portraits. She goes away for a scene between Bennett and Duryea. There's also a lull toward the end. In English, not subtitled.

• Original Theatrical Trailer (1:55) - a unrestored original trailer for The Woman in the Window presented in full-frame.

• Bonus Trailers - previews for other classic noir titles.

The Woman in the Window Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Woman in the Window remains not only classic noir but also one of the great films Fritz Lang made while in Hollywood. In his commentary on Kino's Scarlet Street, David Kalat argues why he believes Lang's 1945 film is superior to The Woman in the Window. I tend to prefer the latter for different reasons and don't think anyone could wrong with either of these great films. Kino Classics has given TWITW a solid transfer but there's definite room for improvement. I'm hoping that the BFI will also release it. Imogen Sara Smith's commentary is a must listen, both perceptive and instructional. While we wait for a new restoration, the KL release comes HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.