directed by David Miller
USA 1952
Gargoyle thriller from 1952, with Joan Crawford (in her high garish period) as an heiress who discovers her husband (Jack Palance, the perfect iconic match) is planning to kill her. The film was a product of RKO desperation and didn't do especially well on first release; its anomalous success as a revival (in 1987, in 35-millimeter restoration) seemed largely a matter of fidelity to archetype (as a clear-lined suspenser) and kitschy iconographic tastes, though Charles Lang's glossily noirish cinematography may have had something to do with it, too.
Excerpt of Pat Graham's review at the Chicago Reader located HERE
Posters
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Theatrical Release: 6 August 1952
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
DVD Review: Kino - Region 0 - NTSC
Big thanks to Gregory Meshman for the Review!
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CLICK to order from:
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For an extensive savings Kino are offering the 5-disc
Film Noir -
The Dark Side of Hollywood boxset with
Sudden Fear /
The Long Night /
Hangmen Also Die /
Railroaded and
Behind Locked Doors coming out September 12th, 2006.
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Kino Region 0 - NTSC |
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| Runtime | 1:50:52 | |
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1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio |
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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 1.0 Mono) | |
| Subtitles | None | |
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Release Information: Studio: Kino Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details: Chapters 17 |
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| Comments | Sudden Fear is a stylish noir melodrama with very good performances by its 3 stars. Kino disc was distributed originally by Image and re-released in 2003 with the same content from 1999. DVD doesn't fare well compared to the output from major studios and even smaller studios like VCI and Dark Sky Films that charge half of this disc's price for better efforts. Chroma and ghosting are evident in the transfer and the print has some damage (see the capture below with a cue blip). The sound is full of pops and background noise. There're no extras, not even a trailer. A disappointing release that should have a price drop to get a recommendation. |
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Recommended Reading in Film Noir (CLICK COVERS or TITLES for more information)
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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 |
|
CLICK to order from:
|
|
|
For an extensive savings Kino are offering the 5-disc
Film Noir -
The Dark Side of Hollywood boxset with
Sudden Fear /
The Long Night /
Hangmen Also Die /
Railroaded and
Behind Locked Doors coming out September 12th, 2006.
|
|
| Distribution |
Kino Region 0 - NTSC |
|
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