Beyond a Reasonable Doubt & While the City Sleeps - Warner Archive (1 Viewer)

[Andrew Budgell]

Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956)
New 2018 1080p HD Remaster
Run Time 80:00
Subtitles English SDH
DTS HD-Master Audio 2.0 Stereo - English
ORIGINAL ASPECT RATIO - 2.0:1, 16x9 Letterbox
B&W
BD 25
Special Feature: Theatrical Trailer (HD)

After director Fritz Lang vaulted to prominence with such masterpieces of German cinema as Metropolis and M, he brought his art to Hollywood films, including Fury, Ministry of Fear, The Woman in the Window and more trenchant tales of innocents caught in a web of seeming guilt. His last U.S. movie is this intriguing film noir about a novelist (Dana Andrews) out to expose the injustices of capital punishment. Working with his fiancée’s (Joan Fontaine) father, a newspaper publisher (Sidney Blackmer), he frames himself for murder, intending to produce exonerating evidence at the last moment.

 

[Thomas T]

Most welcome but here's hoping the Warner Archives does Lang's other 1956 (and a better film imo) While The City Sleeps soon!

 

[haineshisway]

I believe they just announced While the City Sleeps in this batch, too.

 

[Matt Hough]

I've never seen this and am greatly looking forward to it. Blind buy for sure.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Most welcome but here's hoping the Warner Archives does Lang's other 1956 (and a better film imo) While The City Sleeps soon!

While the City Sleeps is coming out too:

While the City Sleeps (1956)
New 2018 1080p HD Remaster
Run Time 99:00
Subtitles English SDH
DTS HD-Master Audio 2.0 Mono - English
ORIGINAL ASPECT RATIO - 2.0:1, 16x9 Letterbox
B&W
BD 50
Special Feature: Theatrical Trailer (HD)

“Ask mother,” says the message scrawled in lipstick at a murder scene, written by an unidentified serial killer who preys on women. It’s a sensational story — if it bleeds, it leads — and a news conglomerate offers a big promotion to any high-level company exec who solves the case. So begins the wheeling, dealing and backstabbing of the competing media hotshots as they vie to unmask the so-called Lipstick Killer. Fritz Lang (The Big Heat), whose early career expressionist works would strongly influence the film-noir genre, directs this stylistically understated noir that features an abundance of starpower rare for the genre: Dana Andrews, Rhonda Fleming, George Sanders, Thomas Mitchell, Vincent Price, Ida Lupino and other notables.

 

[Thomas T]

Robert Crawford and Haineshisway, thanks for the heads up on the While The City Sleeps blu ray! It would have been nice if they had included the 1.37 version since that was Lang's preference. But it's my favorite English language Lang and I'm excited about a blu release.

 

[Keith Cobby]

Looking forward to While the City Sleeps. I have the Archive DVD as well as the UK release which I prefer. It has better image quality and, as Thomas says, is 1.37. I usually discard the DVD when upgrading but will keep it in this instance. Hope a UK distributor puts out an upgrade to the Exposure DVD (which also has some supplements).

 

[Robert Crawford]

Preorder Links:

 

[Bob Furmanek]

Robert Crawford and Haineshisway, thanks for the heads up on the While The City Sleeps blu ray! It would have been nice if they had included the 1.37 version since that was Lang's preference. But it's my favorite English language Lang and I'm excited about a blu release.

Lang and Laszlo composed for 1.85:1. Here's more information.

https://www.hometheaterforum.com/community/posts/4582578/

 

[david hare]

I had an exchnage of correspondence with Lang scholar Bernard Eisenschitz in Paris about these several years ago after he had published his big Lang book (in French only, still no translataion, alas.) We both agreed both titles were filmed for widescreen masking but one has much more "dead " head room than the other, thus we thought While the CIty Sleeps looked fine in 1.85 but too tight masked to 2.00. Beyond a Reasonable looks fine in 2.00. As movies go I think they are among the most minor Langs in the canon. I only wish Warner had done Rancho Notorious and Moonfleet first.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Amazon is now selling both titles for $17.71 each.

 

[Rodney]

It's unfortunate that Warner is not releasing While the City Sleeps in 1.85, or better yet, give us both ratios.

 

[Craig Beam]

I really wish Warner would spring for some extras... commentary tracks, etc. Don't get me wrong---- I'm buying them no matter what, and the film is the most important thing...

 

[Matt Hough]

Mine are supposed to arrive today (pre-ordered from Amazon for a long time, but delivery was delayed for some reason). I'll watch one for sure today, but I haven't decided which one yet.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Mine are supposed to arrive today (pre-ordered from Amazon for a long time, but delivery was delayed for some reason). I'll watch one for sure today, but I haven't decided which one yet.

Amazon has been out of stock on both titles, but they do have Beyond the Reasonable Doubt in-stock now.

 

[Mike2001]

Mine came from Amazon yesterday (both titles).

 

[Matt Hough]

Mine didn't arrive until 4:15 this afternoon, so I haven't had a chance to check one out yet, but later on tonight for sure.

(I watched a bunch of season four episodes of Have Gun - Will Travel this afternoon to fill the time.)

 

[Matt Hough]

I watched While the City Sleeps this evening. While it certainly won't rank at the top of the WA Blu-ray transfers, most of it looked fine. It was my first time viewing, so I'll need to think some more about its positives and negatives. It did remind me a little of Executive Suite and Woman's World with men vying for a top position with various women helping or hindering their advancement. What a cast! Loved Thomas Mitchell. And Barrymore was most effectively creepy. I feel sure if this had been made today, his character would have gone through with killing his mother. I'm sure the Production Code wouldn't have allowed it back then even with his being a lunatic.

 

[Matt Hough]

I watched Beyond a Reasonable Doubt this afternoon. I had thought I hadn't seen it before, but fifteen or twenty minutes in, I remembered I had seen it (probably on TCM) years ago, and I really like the movie. Some nice twists, and the transfer is for the most part just fine. Yes, I'd rather have had it and the other in 1.85 rather than 2:1, but I can live with it.

 

[revgen]

The only film of the two that bothered me in the 2:1 aspect ratio was While the City Sleeps. And it's that one scene where Vincent Price' character points to a portrait of his father, and I can barely see his father's eyes at the top of the picture. The eyes would have been visible in 1.85:1. It's a minor setback. I still enjoy both discs.