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

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (August 2022): Kino have transferred Pierre Chenal's Native Son to Blu-ray. A restoration note states; "When it was initially released in the U.S., Native Son was heavily censored by regional state/municipal censor boards where it played. A complete 16mm print of the original Argentinian release and an incomplete 35mm duplicate negative of the uncensored cut were combined for the current restoration, the most complete version of Native Son ever shown in the United States." The 1080P image is on a single-layered disc with a supportive bitrate. Even after restoration, there are marks and light surface scratches with a couple of instances of severe degradation (see sample below). There is am inherent softness but the film is entirely watchable while showing obvious inconsistency - considering the different sources.

NOTE: We have added 80 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Kino use a linear PCM mono track (16-bit) in the original English language. Native Son has few aggressive moments that come through with modest depth and score by Juan Ehlert (as John Elhert), a German violinist and composer who settled and worked in Argentina. In addition to having his own orchestra, he stood out for having scored more than sixty films (h/t Wikipedia.) It adds to the film's moods and flavors. Kino offer optional English subtitles on their Region FREE Blu-ray.

The Kino Blu-ray offers only a trailer and 28-page liner notes booklet with photos and essay by Edgardo Krebs. The Kino website advertises a "special introduction by film historians Eddie Muller (Film Noir Foundation) and Jacqueline Najima Stewart " but it was not on the Blu-ray disc that I could ascertain.

Pierre Chenal's Native Son is the first of three adaptations of the book to film. The celebrated novel's author, Richard Wright, aged 42, played the protagonist in the Argentine-produced film - despite being twice the age of the 20-year-old Bigger Thomas character. There isn't much overt character development of the protagonist. Bigger is the perpetrator of unapologetic crimes, with minor hints of the systemic causation behind them. Bigger's lawyer, Max (played by Don Dean), makes the case that there is no escaping his client's doomed fate because of his skin color and how society has marginalized him - since birth. The novel was intended to educate its audience about the black experience in the ghetto. It comes across with some ambiguity in the film - and that makes it such a fascinating and appealing oddity. It's cited a "Film Noir" and certainly a case could be made with misfortune turning against an anti-hero protagonist. I loved it. The Kino Blu-ray deserved a commentary but the restoration should be celebrated regardless. Recommended!

Gary Tooze