At the end of his very long career, the great Fritz Lang, made a few noir films for RKO. To me, his last great film was The Big Heat, for Columbia, in 1953.
The two final American productions, both 1956, were While the City Sleeps and Beyond a Reasonable Doubt. Of the two, I find Beyond a more interesting production.
There should be interest in this release from several angles.
Beyond being one of Mr. Lang’s swan songs, the film was shot by the great Ernest Laszlo, whose CV is far too long here to include. For those unaware, best to research. Suffice to say, he knew his way around cameras and optics, and his work here is no exception.
Those images have been harvested from a beautifully exposed fine grain master, struck at the time of release. Hence, Warner Archive’s new Blu-ray is a meticulous representation of the film, as it originally appeared.
Grain structure is velvety. Black levels, and shadow detail, are superb.
Mr. Lang’s cast must also be brought to the fore in these words, as it’s an incredible collection of talent:
Dana Andrews (also in Beyond), Rhonda Fleming, George Sanders, Howard Duff, Thomas Mitchell, Vincent Price, and Ida Lupino.
Rounding out the cast, and to me, one of the problems with the film, is John Barrymore, Jr. (aka John Drew Barrymore), who plays the serial killer.
You’ll find Mae Marsh, one of the great silent film stars, as his mother.
For fans of Mr. Lang, or noir, this will be an important release, not to be overlooked.
Aspect ratios, which I seldom discuss, is correct here for SuperScope at 2:1, but the point should be made that this is not from a scope dupe, but rather from an original 1.37 element.
Image – 5
Audio – 5
Pass / Fail – Pass
Upgrade from DVD – Absolutely
Recommended
RAH
Robert has been known in the film industry for his unmatched skill and passion in film preservation. Growing up around photography, his first home theater experience began at age ten with 16mm. Years later he was running 35 and 70mm at home.
His restoration projects have breathed new life into classic films like Lawrence of Arabia, Vertigo, My Fair Lady, Spartacus, and The Godfather series. Beyond his restoration work, he has also shared his expertise through publications, contributing to the academic discourse on film restoration. The Academy Film Archive houses the Robert A. Harris Collection, a testament to his significant contributions to film preservation.
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