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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |
directed
by Gordon Douglas
USA 1950
Right after the success of White Heat, James Cagney established his own company to tell the story of Ralph Cotter. While not as solid as the previous film, this is still a worthy entry in film noir genre and Cagney shines in the role of this other public enemy. Film starts with a trial on eight individuals who are complicit in a murder and then goes back in time where Cotter escaped from prison and ruthlessly killed his cellmate. The story continues then with crooked cops, double-crossing thugs, easy dames, sleazy lawyers and number of other characters that make those crime dramas of 1950's so wonderful. And of cause, James Cagney is on top of the world. Almost. |
Poster
Theatrical Release: 4 August 1950
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
Comparison:
Artisan - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Olive Films - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Big thanks to Gregory Meshman for the DVD Review!
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Artisan - Region 1 - NTSC LEFT
2) Olive Film - Region 'A' -
Blu-ray
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Box Cover |
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Distribution |
Artisan Region 1 - NTSC |
Olive Films - Region 'A' - Blu-ray |
Runtime | 1:42:21 | 11:42:47.161 |
Video |
1.33:1
Original Aspect Ratio |
1080P Single-layered
Blu-ray Disc Size: 20,186,345,181 bytes Feature: 20,127,418,368 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 23.98 Mbps |
NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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Bitrate Blu-ray |
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Audio | Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono | DTS-HD Master Audio English 850 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 850 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 1.0 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 16-bit) |
Subtitles | None | None |
Features |
Release Information: Studio: Artisan Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details: Chapters 24 |
Release Information: Disc Size: 20,186,345,181 bytes Feature: 20,127,418,368 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 23.98 Mbps Edition Details:
• none Standard Blu-ray Case Chapters: 9 |
Comments |
NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc. ADDITION: Olive Films - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - August 13': Different scratches and different marks lead me to believe this may very well be a different print source from the 2002 DVD. It has far less artifacts than the SD but still have some speckles and minor scratches. Contrast is strong - it is brighter and shows more detail although it is still a fairly thick image. The 1080P has more information in the frame. Bottom line it is a definite improvement. Typical Olive - lossless, authentically, mono sound (sounds great!), no subtitles or extras. Great to see Barbara Payton and it's not a Noirish bad film at all. Nice to see the improved presentation.*** ON THE DVD: The DVD was released in 2002 and went out of print for a short period, but is currently available at many on-line stores (Amazon still only list it as a Marketplace item). The film starts with a few scratches, but immediately settles into better shape. It's an OK transfer for an older film, but not as good as White Heat from Warner. Theatrically distributed by Warner, the film is currently owned by Republic Pictures and hopefully Paramount will release a better DVD once they get back Republic library in 2006. There's minor noise on the soundtrack during the whole film, but it's not distracting and original mono comes out fine. There're no subtitle options, but for those who has capability, the closed captioning is provided. |
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Artisan - Region 1 - NTSC LEFT
2) Olive Film - Region 'A' -
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CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Screen Captures
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Artisan - Region 1 - NTSC TOP
2) Olive Film - Region 'A' -
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Artisan - Region 1 - NTSC TOP
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Artisan - Region 1 - NTSC TOP
2) Olive Film - Region 'A' -
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Artisan - Region 1 - NTSC TOP
2) Olive Film - Region 'A' -
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Artisan - Region 1 - NTSC TOP
2) Olive Film - Region 'A' -
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Artisan - Region 1 - NTSC TOP
2) Olive Film - Region 'A' -
Blu-ray BOTTOM
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More Blu-ray Captures
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 |
Box Cover |
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Distribution |
Artisan Region 1 - NTSC |
Olive Films - Region 'A' - Blu-ray |