A few words about…™ The Whole Town’s Talking – in Blu-ray

I’ve always loved this film, but have never seen it in the quality offered by Twilight Time, from Columbia’s latest video master.

To my mind, it’s always seemed to be film by Frank Capra, as channeled through John Ford. It has so many attributes of both filmmakers, that it’s difficult to see precisely where one ends and the other begins.

Mr. Ford moved around, from studio to studio, from Fox to RKO and Goldwyn, too Columbia.

The Whole Town’s Talking was released in 1935, between Judge Priest (1934-Fox), and The Informer (1935-RKO), and is unlike the rest of Ford’s huge catalog of productions.

Obviously, familiar with the photographic trickery used by David Swift, his DP, Joseph August adeptly combines rear-screen projection, with mattes and multiple exposures to create a world, in which we have two very different Edward G. Robinsons.

Just a wonderful film, from start to finish, and a gorgeous Blu-ray, down to every detail.

Image – 5

Audio – 5

Pass / Fail – Pass

Upgrade from DVD – Absolutely

Highly Recommended

RAH

Robert Harris

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.