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Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz
USA 1950

 

The Biddle brothers, shot while robbing a gas station, are taken to the prison ward of the County Hospital; Ray Biddle, a rabid racist, wants no treatment from black resident Dr. Luther Brooks. When brother John dies while Luther tries to save him, Ray is certain it's murder and becomes obsessed with vengeance. But there are black racists around too, and the situation slides rapidly toward violence.

****

Although it is film written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz between his triumphs "A Letter to Three Women" and "All About Eve," (for which Mankiewicz won Oscars for his direction and for his screenplays in both 1950 and 1951), "No Way Out" is best known as the site of Sidney Poitier's screen debut. Poitier plays the part of a young doctor in a public hospital accused by Ray Biddle, a psychotic "white trash" racist (played with all the stops out by Richard Widmark) of killing his brother after the two of them had been shot during a failed robbery. Playing Dr. Brooks's brother John, a mail carrier who jokes that his brother may be able to deliver babies but is not qualified to deliver mail (because he does not know what the capital of South Dakota is), Ossie Davis also made his screen debut in "No Way Out," as did his real-life and often-time screen wife, Ruby Dee.

Excerpt from Stephen O. Muray's review at EOpinions located HERE

 

Posters

Theatrical Release: August 16th, 1950

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Comparison:

20th Century Fox - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Masters of Cinema - Region 'B' - Blu-ray

1) 20th Century Fox  - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT

2) Masters of Cinema - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - RIGHT

 

 Box Cover

   

 

Distribution 20th Century Fox Home Video - Spine # 13 - Region 1 - NTSC Masters of Cinema - Spine #191 - Region 'B' - Blu-ray
Runtime 1:46:32  1:46:39.309  
Video 1.33:1 Aspect Ratio
Average Bitrate: 8.56  mb/s
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s 

1.37:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 47,784,818,395 bytes

Feature: 32,657,022,336 bytes

Video Bitrate: 34.87 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Bitrate:

Bitrate:  Blu-ray

Audio English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo), English (Dolby Digital 1.0)

LPCM Audio English 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit
Commentary:

LPCM Audio English 1536 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit

Subtitles English, Spanish, None English (SDH), None
Features

Release Information:
Studio: 20th Century Fox Home Video

Aspect Ratio:
Original Aspect Ratio 1.33:1

Edition Details:

• Commentary by film noir historian Eddie Muller
• Still gallery
• Fox Movietone News: "Movie Star in Dual Role," "Richard Widmark Puts Imprint in Cement"
• Trailer  

DVD Release Date: March 7th, 2006

Keep Case
Chapters: 20

Release Information:
Studio:
Masters of Cinema

 

1.37:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 47,784,818,395 bytes

Feature: 32,657,022,336 bytes

Video Bitrate: 34.87 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Edition Details:

• Audio Commentary by film noir historian Eddie Muller
• Archival Fox Movietone Newsreels (0:33)(0:22)
• All About Mankiewicz (103 mins) a two part documentary on the legendary director, originally broadcast on French television in 1983 (pt 1 : 53:51 + pt 2 : 52:50)
• Original theatrical trailer (02:34)
• A collector's booklet featuring a new essay by Glenn Kenny
• Reversible Sleeve


Blu-ray Release Date: June 11th, 2018
Standard Blu-ray Case

Chapters 8

 

 

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

Masters of Cinema have brought us this excellent Noir to 1080P. The Blu-ray visuals are decidedly thick and heavy which is probably accurate to the theatrical appearance. Textures and grain are prominent on this transfer to a dual-layered disc with a max'ed out bitrate. I saw no damage and very few speckles. The quality is consistent and film-like with no gloss and some inherent softness.

Masters of Cinema use a linear PCM 2.0 channel mono track (24-bit). There are effects, but the score by Alfred Newman (Panic in the Streets, Man Hunt, Cry of the City, The Diary of Anne Frank, Bus Stop, Blood and Sand, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Song of Bernadette) works very well with ambiguity and desperation of the storyline. It sounds authentic in the uncompressed and dialogue is clear and consistent.  Masters of Cinema add optional English (SDH) subtitles on their Region 'B' Blu-ray.

Supplements include the older, 2006, audio commentary by film noir historian Eddie Muller as found on the Fox DVD and it is still immensely valuable - well worth the revisitation. There are a couple of archival Fox Movietone Newsreels but the big addition is the, almost 2-hour, All About Mankiewicz, Luc Béraud, documentary on the legendary director, originally broadcast on French television in 1983. It has Michel Ciment interviewing and archival footage with Joseph L. Mankiewicz. The original theatrical trailer is also there and the package has a collector's booklet featuring a new essay by Glenn Kenny and a reversible sleeve.

As Eddie Muller mentions in his commentary, the film was perhaps unfairly maligned due to its (albeit earned) image as a "message picture". The film is really an interesting 'dark cinema' effort with some unique variance making Muller's commentary all the more essential. The
Blu-ray is strongly recommended!

Gary Tooze + Colin Zavitz

ON THE DVD: This may be a shade hazier than other Fox Noir releases but considering the price and package noir fans should really be grateful. Although the image, unfortunately, doesn't have the crispness of past releases of the genre, it still looks acceptable. I see what might be a hint of contrast boosting but overall I am content with another fabulous film noir from Fox. Eddie Muller's commentaries seem to improve with each outing and also included in the supplements are 2 Movietone newsreels, a stills gallery and a trailer. These Fox noir's have become essential DVD library material - this is no exception.

Gary W. Tooze


DVD Menus


 

Masters of Cinema - Spine #191 - Region 'B' - Blu-ray

 

 


CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

 

Subtitle Sample

1) 20th Century Fox  - Region '1 - NTSC - TOP

2) Masters of Cinema - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 


 

1) 20th Century Fox  - Region '1 - NTSC - TOP

2) Masters of Cinema - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 


1) 20th Century Fox  - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP

2) Masters of Cinema - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 


1) 20th Century Fox  - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP

2) Masters of Cinema - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 

 


1) 20th Century Fox  - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP

2) Masters of Cinema - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 

 


1) 20th Century Fox  - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP

2) Masters of Cinema - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 

 


1) 20th Century Fox  - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP

2) Masters of Cinema - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 

 

More Blu-ray Captures

 


Recommended Reading in Film Noir (CLICK COVERS or TITLES for more information)

 Box Cover

   

 

Distribution 20th Century Fox Home Video - Spine # 13 - Region 1 - NTSC Masters of Cinema - Spine #191 - Region 'B' - Blu-ray




 

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