Experiment in Terror

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

(aka "The Grip of Fear" )

directed by Blake Edwards
USA 1962

Writer/ director Blake Edwards followed up the enormous success of the chic and sophisticated Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961) with a decided change-of-pace: Experiment in Terror (1962), a Neo-Noir character-driven thriller featuring non-clichéd, nuanced performances from Lee Remick, Glenn Ford, and Ross Martin as a calculating psychopath. It was the first film Blake produced as well as directed, and his first effort to be filmed in black-and-white.

The film boasts one of the most memorable opening scenes of any thriller: Kelly Sherwood (Lee Remick), an attractive single woman living in the suburbs of San Francisco, drives home from her job as a bank teller. After getting out of her Ford Fairlane convertible, she becomes aware of another person waiting for her in the dark of the garage; she hears a heavy asthmatic wheeze in his voice. The man grabs her from behind and, disturbingly, tells her, "I know a good deal about you, almost everything there is to know," and to prove it he recites her measurements.

Excerpt from TCM located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: 13 April 1962 (New York City, New York)

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DVD Comparison:

Columbia Pictures - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC vs. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment - Region 2,4,5 - PAL

Big thanks to Gregory Meshman for the Review!

Columbia Pictures - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC LEFT vs. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment - Region 2,4,5 - PAL RIGHT

DVD Box Cover
Distribution	Columbia Pictures Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC	Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Region 2,4,5 - PAL
Runtime	2:03:16	1:58:16 (4% PAL Speedup)
Video	1.79:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 4.29 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	1.79:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 4.68 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate NTSC
Bitrate PAL
Audio	Dolby Digital 2.0 (English)	Dolby Digital 2.0 (English), Dolby Digital 2.0 (German), Dolby Digital 2.0 (Italian)
Subtitles	English, Japanese, French, None	English, English (SDH), German, Italian, Greek, Hindi, Portuguese, Turkish, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Columbia Pictures Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.79:1 Edition Details: • Experiment in Terror Trailer (2:49) • The Big Heat Trailer (1:44) • The Lady from Shanghai Trailer (1:49) DVD Release Date: June 10th, 2003 Keep Case Chapters 28	Release Information: Studio: Columbia Pictures Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.79:1 Edition Details: • None DVD Release Date: February 11th, 2010 Keep Case Chapters 28

Comments

ADDITION: Sony (Germany) - Region 2, 4, 5 - PAL (August 2010): Seems like the exact same strong, progressive, anamorphic and single-layered transfer. Even the menus are in English. Differences being:

1) a, converted, PAL transfer (see 4% faster running time)

2) Many subtitle and 2 foreign language DUB options

3) No trailers or extras of any kind

4) Subtitle font size and color (white as opposed to yellow)

That is about it. This is, undoubtedly, the same MovieMail edition available in the UK, but fans with region freedom should nab this as the NTSC is out-of-print. It may happen to this one as well...

Gary W. Tooze

***

Experiment in Terror is an excellent thriller from Columbia Pictures from 1962 that was shot utilizing some noir stylistics. Even better, it was released on DVD back in 2003 with an excellent transfer. The anamorphic image is slightly windowboxed (black bars on side edges) but it is not as extreme as on Criterion's full screen releases (to see how much it is, see the subtitle capture below against the white background). It is still a very impressive transfer with few marks and no prominent damage.

The Dolby Digital sound is adequate, but the large yellow subtitles provided are gaudy. The only extra is a trailer for this film and 2 other noirs from Columbia (The Big Heat and The Lady from Shanghai). Unfortunately, Sony Pictures took this disc out of print and now it is selling for a hefty price, but if you are lucky to find Experiment in Terror cheap, don't hesitate to snatch it up.

NOTE: There is an edition from MovieMail in the UK HERE but we have no details on it.

- Gregory Meshman

DVD Menus
Columbia Pictures - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC LEFT vs. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment - Region 2,4,5 - PAL RIGHT

Screen Captures