D.O.A. Film Noir

directed by Rudolph Maté
U.S. 1950

Delirious descent into the maelstrom of '40s film noir as a small town businessman trades dull days and a loyal lover for a fling in the jazz nights of San Francisco. How he becomes enmeshed in the crueller, deadlier corruption of LA, solving the case of his own murder, involves a succession of ingenious twists too good to give away. Maté shoots fast and always to the point as he drives his protagonist through endless doorways and rooms which are like trapdoors and boxes in an accelerating nightmare. Maté, whose credits as cameraman include Vampyr, Foreign Correspondent and Gilda, holds it all together with no trouble, and without the slightest appeal to art gives the images the intensity of a dying man's last story. Breathless, indeed.

Excerpt from TimeOut Film Guide located HERE

Poster

Theatrical Release: April 30th, 1950 - USA

Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews

DVD Comparison:

Roan Group - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Alpha, Gotham Distribution - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Image - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Siren - Region All - PAL

Big thanks to Bill Coleman, Ole of DVD-Basen and Gregory Meshman for the screen Caps !!

(Roan Group - Region 0 - NTSC LEFT vs. Alpha - Region 0 - NTSC 2nd vs. Image - Region 0 - NTSC - 3rd vs. - Siren - Region All - PAL - RIGHT)

DVD Box Covers
Distribution	Roan Group Region 0 - NTSC	Alpha, Gotham Distribution Region 0 - NTSC	Image Region 0 - NTSC	Siren Region All - PAL
Runtime	1:23:28	1:23:24	1:23:48	1:23:37
Video	1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: ? mb/s NTSC 704x480 29.97 f/s	1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 5.44 mb/s NTSC 704x480 29.97 f/s	1.37:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 6.56 mb/s NTSC 704x480 29.97 f/s	1.37:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 6.30 PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes
Bitrate: Roan
Bitrate: Alpha
Bitrate: Image .
Bitrate: Siren
Audio	English (Dolby Digital 2.0 mono)	English (Dolby Digital 2.0 mono)	English (Dolby Digital 2.0 mono)	English (Dolby Digital 2.0 mono)
Subtitles	None	None	None	None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Roan Film Group Aspect Ratio: Fullscreen - 1.33:1 Edition Details: •introduction by Beverley Garland DVD Release Date: September 6th, 2001 Keepcase Chapters 18	Release Information: Studio: Alpha, Gotham Distribution Aspect Ratio: Fullscreen - 1.33:1 Edition Details: •none DVD Release Date: March 18, 2003 Keepcase Chapters 6	Release Information: Studio: Image Aspect Ratio: Fullscreen - 1.33:1 Edition Details: •none DVD Release Date: March 7th, 2000 Snapper Case Chapters 15	Release Information: Studio: Siren Aspect Ratio: Fullscreen - 1.33:1 Edition Details: • "The Fast and the Furious" (1954) and "Detour" is included in the Box Set. DVD Release Date: February 3, 2003 Fold out Box Set. Chapters 12

Comments:

ADDITION (Roan Group - Jan -05) - This Roan release must have slipped through our radar. Big thanks to Bill for alerting us to it. It looks to be on par image-wise with the Image Entertainment release, with perhaps a better grey-scale. The Image Entertainment DVD appears to have superior contrast and shows some film grain. Looking closely (see 'zoomed in' captures at bottom) I would give a slight edge to the Image disc for sharpness (look behind his ear), although it is very close. The Image disc is slightly cropped. Overall, the Roan is a little cheaper, has better extras and if you don't mind the lower contrast then that is what I recommend overall. True fans may feel the extra bucks are worth the Image Entertainment disc, even though it is marginally cropped.

*****

ADDITION (July - 04) - Again the Alpha edition is quite poor. Hazy tinge over the image. No extras. It is also Picture Boxed like a silent film. Very poor resolution. Stick with the Image Entertainment again.

****

The Image Entertainment version claims to be "beautifully restored from the Producer's negative" and in comparison to the Siren PAL version, I would tend to find that statement very true. Neither edition has any advanced audio options, or subtitles or elaborate menu system. There is quite a strong difference in the picture quality though and we have some evidence that when the transfer is telecine'd in one standard, if it is not redone for the opposing standard we have a "ghosting" or "blurring" effect in motion scenes that we were previously aware of in PAL ->NTSC conversions. We now know it goes both ways. The time similarity ( no PAL speedup for the Siren) is an indication that the PAL version did not do their own transfer and it shows up with artifacts and hazy resolution. Buy the Image Entertainment DVD until someone really puts some effort into releasing this classic Noir film with substantial Extras.

- Gary W. Tooze

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

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 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

Check out more in "The Library"

DVD Menus

(Roan Group - Region 0 - NTSC LEFT vs. Alpha - Region 0 - NTSC 2nd vs. Image - Region 0 - NTSC - 3rd vs. - Siren - Region All - PAL - RIGHT)

Screen Captures