The Woman in the Window Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

The Woman in the Window Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov May 21, 2019

Fritz Lang's "The Woman in the Window" (1944) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include a vintage trailer for the film; audio commentary by critic Imogen Sara Smithl and exclusive video essay by critic David Cairns. The release also arrives with a collector's booklet featuring new essays by film journalist and writer Amy Simmons and film writer Samm Deighan, alongside rare archival imagery. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

For an in-depth analysis of The Woman in the Window, please see my colleague Dr. Stephen Larson's review of the North American release from Kino Lorber here.

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

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.34:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Fritz Lang's Woman in the Window arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment.

I have not seen the recent U.S. release that Kino Lorber produced, but I assume that it was sourced from the same MGM remaster.

The film has pleasing organic appearance. There are a few areas where density fluctuations are noticeable, but I don't think that they would bother viewers because they are too small and not exactly uncommon for these types of older films. The grading is also good, supporting strong blacks and whites and decent ranges of gray nuances. Stability is the one area where further work is definitely needed -- there are minor but noticeable jumps within the frame, plus some light weaving-like effects. On a large screen these are issues that cannot be ignored. Small blemishes, some flecks, and tiny vertical line also pop up here and there. So, while still good, with some targeted stabilization work I think that this master actually could have looked quite wonderful. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

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

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The audio is clean and stable. Balance is also good. I turned up the volume quite a bit while viewing the film and I did not detect any annoying distortions in the upper register either. There are no audio dropouts or other encoding anomalies to report.

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

• Audio Commentary - in this audio commentary, critic Imogen Sara Smith focuses on the production history of The Woman in the Window, its stylistic identity, the careers of director Fritz Lang and the film's stars, the critical reception of the film, etc. The commentary also appears on the U.S. Blu-ray release from Kino Lorber.

• Trailer - a vintage trailer for The Woman in the Window. In English, not subtitled. (2 min, 1080p).

• Framed - this new video essay by critic David Cairns focuses on the visual style of The Woman in the Window. In English, not subtitled. (23 min, 1080p).

• Booklet - a collector s booklet featuring new essays by film journalist and writer Amy Simmons and film writer Samm Deighan, alongside rare archival imagery.

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

Fritz Lang's The Woman in the Window is a very fine film that I think deserves all of the praise that it has received over the years, so if you have not seen it yet now is a good time to discover it on Blu-ray. The master that was used to produce this new release from Eureka Entertainment comes via MGM and has decent organic qualities, but with some stabilization enhancements it could have been quite wonderful. RECOMMENDED.