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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |
directed
by Ida Lupino
USA 1953
Ida Lupino, Hollywood's sole female filmmaker of the 1950s, directs an all-male cast in a taut, 70-minute thriller. Frank Lovejoy and Edmund O'Brien are two war buddies taking a break from the wives for a Mexican fishing trip; a hitchhiker they pick up turns out to be a crazed killer wanted in nine states (William Talman, later the perennially defeated district attorney on Perry Mason) who forces them at gunpoint to drive him through the desert. Talman's Everett Myers is a fascinatingly abstract creation, filmed by Lupino first as a discorporate flurry of hands and feet, then as a satanic figure whose grinning, key-lighted face seems to float by itself in space. With his paralyzed right eye (he sleeps with it wide open), Myers may represent the return of the fascist evil the two men confronted during the war; he may also represent something inherently violent in the American male that, having been liberated by the war, has to be faced down and defeated by the two vets before they can return to a normal life. Lupino's use of the desert setting, rich with associations of nuclear devastation, seems to look forward to the science fiction films that would flourish later in the decade. --Dave Kehr |
Posters
Theatrical Release: April 29th, 1953 - USA
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
Comparison:
Roan Group - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Kino - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Wild Side Video - Region 2 - PAL vs. Kino (2013) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray vs. Kino (2019) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray |
Big thanks to Gregory Meshman for the Kino DVD screen captures.
1) Roan Group - Region 0 - NTSC - LEFT 2) Kino - Region 0 - NTSC - SECOND3) Wild Side Video - Region 2 - PAL THIRD4) Kino (2013) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray FOURTH
5)
Kino (2019) -
Region 'A' - Blu-ray
RIGHT |
Box Covers |
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and as part of an Ida Lupino Blu-ray Boxset (with Not Wanted / Never Fear / The Hitch-Hiker / The Bigamist): | ||||
Distribution |
Roan Film Group Region 0 - NTSC |
Kino
Video
Region 0 - NTSC |
Wild
Side Video Region 2 - PAL |
Kino (2013) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray | Kino (2019) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray |
Runtime | 1:10:40 | 1:10:36 | 1:10:45 | 1:11:02.466 | 1:11:06.637 |
Video |
1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio |
1.33:1
Original Aspect Ratio |
1.33:1
Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 7.3 PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s |
1080P
Single-layered
Blu-ray Disc Size: 21,801,691,579 bytesFeature: 20,176,244,544 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 33.77 Mbps |
1080P
Single-layered
Blu-ray Disc Size: 21,585,585,886 bytesFeature: 19,538,620,416 bytesCodec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 32.99 Mbps |
NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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Bitrate:
Roan
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Bitrate:
Kino
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Bitrate:
Wild Side |
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Bitrate
Kino (2013):
Blu-ray |
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Bitrate
Kino (2019):
Blu-ray |
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Audio | English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono) |
English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono) |
English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono) | LPCM Audio English 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit |
DTS-HD Master Audio English
1553 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1553 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz /
1509 kbps / 16-bit) Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps |
Subtitles | None | None | French, None | None | English (SDH), None |
Features |
Release Information: Studio: Roan Group Aspect Ratio: Full Screen (Standard) - 1.33:1 Edition Details: Chapters 20 |
Release Information: Studio: Kino Video Aspect Ratio): Edition Details:
DVD
Release Date: January 18, 2000 Chapters 10 |
Release
Information: Studio: Wild Side Video Aspect Ratio: Fullscreen - 1.33:1 Edition Details: • None
DVD
Release Date: January
5th. 2010 Chapters 12 |
Release Information: Studio: Kino Video (2013)
Aspect Ratio): 1.33:1
1080P
Single-layered
Blu-ray
Disc Size: Feature: 20,176,244,544 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 33.77 Mbps
Edition Details: • Image gallery
Blu-ray
Release Date: October 15th, 2013 Chapters 10 |
Release Information: Studio: Kino Video (2019)
Aspect Ratio): 1.33:1
1080P
Single-layered
Blu-ray
Disc Size: Feature: 19,538,620,416 bytesCodec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 32.99 Mbps
Edition Details:
Blu-ray
Release Date:
September 24th, 2019 Chapters 9 |
Comments: |
NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc. ADDITION: Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - October 19': Well... this is a 'new' transfer (cited as a "Brand New 2K Restoration") from Kino - differing quite a bit from their 2013 Blu-ray of The Hitch-Hiker. Strangely, it is slightly less technically robust - but also remains single-layered. It has narrowed the frame - making the characters slightly 'thinner' but it seems to have lost all the grain texture or marginal scanner noise - now appearing waxy by comparison. Some vertical scratches still remain but the overall image appears somewhat softer than on their 2013 1080P transfer. Surprising. I prefer the 2013 HD appearance. A lso the audio has dropped a notch, technically, we a 16-bit DTS-HD Master track transfer. I couldn't say that I noticed much difference but the linear PCM (24-bit) always seems more suitable to flat mono tracks. The new Kino does include English (SDH) subtitles (appropriately, not for the Spanish dialogue.) It remains a Region 'A' Blu-ray release.Extras significantly advance as this Noir masterpiece finally get an audio commentary. This is by Film Historian Imogen Sara Smith (author of In Lonely Places: Film Noir Beyond the City) and it is at her excellent, fully-prepared, and insightfully analytic standard. She is magnificent in offering many details of the production, Lupino (and her anti-feminist stance), the real Billy Cook (murderer), the actors, screenwriter, cinematographer, desert and Mexican setting and much much more. This is well worth the very reasonable price of this lone Blu-ray edition. There are also some trailers of similar genre and era efforts - although none for The Hitch-Hiker.
The value is almost solely in the essential
commentary as the HD presentation, both audio and video, seems to have
fallen slightly short of the 2013
Blu-ray
release. We will review the
rest of the Lupino set soon.
*
ADDITION:
Kino - Region 'A' -
Blu-ray -
September 13':
Wow - this is way beyond what I was expecting. The
Hitch-Hiker - the only true Noir directed by
a woman - is a favorite of the cycle and I'm very
impressed with what 1080P has done for this image that
existed in Public Domain third-generation SD softness for years.
Contrast has really advanced - detail has risen and I
think there is less damage (although some vertical
scratches still remain). I see no noise or artifacts
that propagate the DVDs. Audio has the weaknesses of the
production but via the linear PCM lossless - it sounds
improved and clearer. There are no subtitles and only
Kino trailers and a stills gallery as extras. For
Noir devotees - this is pure gold.
***
ADDITION (Wild Side Video - August 2010) - Single-layered and
still an incorrect standards conversion (unconverted NTSC - see running time -
on a PAL encoded disc) with all those associated deficiencies (ghosting/combing,
artifacts etc.). It is boosted, hazy, pictureboxed (less than the Roan) has
chroma and there are no extras. I'd still get the Roan, although none are
acceptable - a
Blu-ray for this
noir gem seems unlikely as source elements appear very poor and a restoration
would be costly. NOTE: The French subs are
not 'burned-in" but some players may 'force' them. You can get around this by
-'re-burning' without loss of the image as it is a DVD5 - see
HERE. *** The Roan Group transfer is pictureboxed - potentially with the excuse to overcome 'overscan' on commercially made tube television sets (overscan can be up to a 15% loss of image and this is significant!). Pictureboxing leaves a black border around the edge of the image and most players automatically zoom-in to fill the screen - it limits resolution making the image slightly less detailed than it might be able to achieve. The benefit of pictureboxing is that it adds more visible viewing area so that the majority of DVD purchasers (or for most people own and watch through tubes) can see even more of what is on the negative - the way the film was meant to be viewed. It has some Extras (to the Kino's none), and we, of course, give the overall to the Roan - despite the chroma. Kino has done a real cheapo job with this. |
Recommended Reading in Film Noir (CLICK COVERS or TITLES for more information)
Film Noir: An Encyclopedia Reference to the American
Style by Alain Silver, Elizabeth Ward |
The Dark Side of the Screen: Film Noir by Foster Hirsch |
Somewhere in the Night: Film Noir and the American City by Nicholas Christopher |
Film Noir Reader 4 : The Crucial Films and Themes
(Film Noir Reader) by Alain Silver |
The Art of Noir: The Posters and Graphics from the
Classic Era of Film Noir by Eddie Muller |
The Little Black and White Book of Film Noir:
Quotations from Films of the 40's and 50's by Peg Thompson, Saeko Usukawa |
Film Noir by Alain Silver |
Film Noir Guide: 745 Films of the Classic Era,
1940-1959 by Michael F. Keaney |
Detours and Lost Highways: A Map of Neo-Noir by Foster Hirsch |
More Than Night: Film Noir in Its Contexts by James Naremore |
DVD Menus
(Roan
Group - Region 0 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Kino - Region 0 - NTSC - RIGHT)
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Wild Side Video - Region 2 - PAL
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Kino (2013) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
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Kino (2019) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
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CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
S
ubtitle Sample - Kino (2019) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
1) Roan Group - Region 0 - NTSC - TOP 2) Kino - Region 0 - NTSC - SECOND3) Wild Side Video - Region 2 - PAL THIRD4) Kino (2013) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray FOURTH 5) Kino (2019) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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1) Roan Group - Region 0 - NTSC - TOP 2) Kino - Region 0 - NTSC - SECOND3) Wild Side Video - Region 2 - PAL THIRD4) Kino (2013) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray FOURTH 5) Kino (2019) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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1) Roan Group - Region 0 - NTSC - TOP 2) Kino - Region 0 - NTSC - SECOND3) Wild Side Video - Region 2 - PAL THIRD4) Kino (2013) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray FOURTH 5) Kino (2019) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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Report Card:
Image: |
2013 Blu-ray |
Sound: |
2013 Blu-ray |
Extras: |
2019 Blu-ray |
Box Covers |
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and as part of an Ida Lupino Blu-ray Boxset (with Not Wanted / Never Fear / The Hitch-Hiker / The Bigamist): |
||||
Distribution |
Roan Film Group Region 0 - NTSC |
Kino
Video
Region 0 - NTSC |
Wild
Side Video Region 2 - PAL |
Kino (2013) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray | Kino (2019) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray |
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