directed by André
De Toth
USA 19
Filled with the strength of the Film Noir genre, Hungarian director De Toth's 1944, Dark Waters has abundant atmospheric assistance with the N'awlins ultra-wet, vine covered landscape brimming over with old-south plantation charm and people wearing 3-piece suits for breakfast. Reminiscences of Lang and Hitch fill the 90 minutes and although I found Merle Oberon fraught with the same deer-in-headlights expression too often while the support players were all top notch - Franchot Tone as the smitten Doctor, Thomas Mitchell as the seedy mastermind and Elisha Cook Jr. as a see-thru lothario/henchman on the make. This is an intelligent and hidden Noir gem that deserves an audience. Great late-night viewing. out of |
Poster
Theatrical Release: September 21st, 1944
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DVD Review: Image Entertainment - Region 0 - NTSC
DVD Box Cover |
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Distribution | Image Entertainment - Region 0 - NTSC | |
Runtime | 1:29:42 | |
Video | 1.33:1
Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 6.1 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s |
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NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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Audio | English (Dolby Digital 2.0) | |
Subtitles | None | |
Features |
Release Information: Edition Details: • none |
Comments: |
Typical fare from early release Image Entertainment - no subtitles, only Chapter navigation as a menu and tube-watchable image with fine grain visible in spots. Chroma reared its ugly head briefly but I think the biggest drawback was the audio with a consistent background hiss. Still we have become very accepting as Noir-hungry aficionados and I would say this is superior to many I own and rewatch of this genre. out of |
DVD Menus
Screen Captures
Chroma Bug evident
Recommended Reading in Film Noir (CLICK COVERS or TITLES for more information)
The Dark Side of the Screen: Film Noir by Foster Hirsch |
Somewhere in the Night: Film Noir and the American City by Nicholas Christopher |
Shades of Noir: A Reader by Joan Copjec |
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 |
DVD Box Cover |
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Distribution | Image Entertainment - Region 0 - NTSC |