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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.

Gregory Meshman

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!

1) Artisan - Region 1 - NTSC LEFT
2) Olive Film - Region 'A' - Blu-ray RIGHT
 
 Box Cover

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
Average Bitrate: 5.59 mb/s
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s

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.

Bitrate

Bitrate Blu-ray

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:
Fullscreen - 1.33:1

Edition Details:
• None

DVD Release Date: March 26, 2002
Keepcase

Chapters 24

Release Information:
Studio: Olive Films

Aspect Ratio:
Original Aspect Ratio 1.33:1

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

Edition Details:

• none

Blu-ray Release Date: August 27th, 201
3
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.

 - Gregory Meshman




 

Menus

 

1) Artisan - Region 1 - NTSC LEFT
2) Olive Film - Region 'A' - Blu-ray RIGHT
 

 


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

 

Screen Captures


Note print damage
1) Artisan - Region 1 - NTSC TOP
2) Olive Film - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 


1) Artisan - Region 1 - NTSC TOP
2) Olive Film - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 


1) Artisan - Region 1 - NTSC TOP
2) Olive Film - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 


1) Artisan - Region 1 - NTSC TOP
2) Olive Film - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 


1) Artisan - Region 1 - NTSC TOP
2) Olive Film - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 


1) Artisan - Region 1 - NTSC TOP
2) Olive Film - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 


 

1) Artisan - Region 1 - NTSC TOP
2) Olive Film - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

More Blu-ray Captures


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


 
 Box Cover

Distribution

Artisan

Region 1 - NTSC

Olive Films - Region 'A' - Blu-ray




 

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