Night Has a Thousand Eyes Blu-ray

Firstly, a massive thank you to our Patreon supporters. Your generosity touches me deeply. These supporters have become the single biggest contributing factor to the survival of DVDBeaver. Your assistance has become essential.

What do Patrons receive, that you don't?

1) Our weekly Newsletter sent to your Inbox every Monday morning!
2) Patron-only Silent Auctions - so far over 30 Out-of-Print titles have moved to deserved, appreciative, hands!
3) Access to over 50,000 unpublished screen captures in lossless high-resolution format!

Please consider keeping us in existence with a couple of dollars or more each month (your pocket change!) so we can continue to do our best in giving you timely, thorough reviews, calendar updates and detailed comparisons. Thank you very much.

Search DVDBeaver

S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

directed by John Farrow
USA 1949

Edward G Robinson (The Whole Town’s Talking, Tight Spot) and John Lund (A Foreign Affair) lead the cast of this tense and disturbing thriller from director John Farrow (A Bullet Is Waiting).

When clairvoyant John (Robinson) tells wealthy heiress Jean (Gail Russell, The Uninvited) that she will die within a week, her lover, Elliot (John Lund), is sceptical, believing John to be a con artist who is only after money. But, as the foretold night arrives, Jean waits in fear for her life...

Based on a novel by Cornell Woolrich (Rear Window), Night Has a Thousand Eyes is a pioneering fusion of film noir and psychological horror.

***

From John Farrow, the acclaimed director of Five Came Back, Wake Island, The Big Clock, Alias Nick Beal and Hondo, comes this supernatural film noir about a tormented magician played by Hollywood great Edward G. Robinson (Scarlet Street). When heiress Jean Courtland (Gail Russell, Calcutta) attempts suicide, her fiancé Elliott Carson (John Lund, A Foreign Affair) probes her relationship to stage mentalist John Triton (Robinson). In flashback, we see how Triton starts having terrifying flashes of true precognition. His partner, Whitney Courtland (Jerome Cowan, The Maltese Falcon), uses Triton’s talent to make money; but Triton’s inability to prevent what he foresees causes him to break up the act and become a hermit. Years later, Triton has new visions and desperately tries to prevent tragedies in the Courtland family. Can his warnings succeed against suspicion, unbelief and inexorable fate? Noir stalwarts Barré Lyndon (The Lodger) and Jonathan Latimer (The Glass Key) penned the screenplay based on the novel by master of suspense Cornell Woolrich (Rear Window).

***

A man who dreams of seeing the future discovers the horrible burden that it can carry in this film noir suspense story. Suicidal Jean Courtland (Gail Russell) is prevented from killing herself by her fiancée Elliot Carson (John Lund). When they consult psychic John Triton (Edward G. Robinson), he confesses that he used his powers to bring on her death. Years ago, Triton was a phony mentalist in a vaudeville act, but he began seeing genuine visions of the future, most of which portended tragic results. After a premonition of the death of his wife Jenny (Virginia Bruce) in childbirth, a terrified Triton went into hiding for five years; upon his return, he discovered that his wife had married Whitney (Jerome Cowan) shortly after John was declared dead...and she died giving birth. Years later, Jenny's child grew up to be Jean Courtland, and when Triton receives a vision of Whitney's death in a plane wreck, he rushes to California in hopes of stopping fate. However, he's foreseen a tragic future for both Jean and Whitney and is afraid of the agony that awaits them. Night Has a Thousand Eyes was adapted from a novel by Cornell Woolrich.

Posters

Theatrical Release: August 20th, 1948

Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews

Comparison:

Koch Media - Region 2 - PAL vs. Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray vs. Indicator - Region 'B' - Blu-ray

Box Cover		Bonus Captures:
Distribution	Koch Media Region 2 - PAL	Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray	Indicator - Region 'B' - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:17:36 (4% PAL Speedup)	1:20:56.476	1:21:03.984
Video	1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 9.26 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	1.33:1 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 23,117,925,905 bytes Feature: 21,458,362,368 bytes Video Bitrate: 31.31 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video	1.33:1 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 24,492,556,397 bytes Feature: 20,424,359,616 bytes Video Bitrate: 29.46 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate DVD:
Bitrate Kino Blu-ray:
Bitrate Indicator Blu-ray:
Audio	Dolby Digital 1.0 (English), DUB: Dolby Digital 1.0 (German)	DTS-HD Master Audio English 1955 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1955 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) Commentary: Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps	LPCM Audio English 1152 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1152 kbps / 24-bit Commentary: Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Subtitles	None	English, None	English (SDH), None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Koch Media Aspect Ratio: Original - 1.33:1 Edition Details: • Gallery Book-case with photos and German text DVD Release Date: May 14th, 2015 Book-style Case Chapters 16	Release Information: Studio: Kino 1.33:1 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 23,117,925,905 bytes Feature: 21,458,362,368 bytes Video Bitrate: 31.31 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historian Imogen Sara Smith • Theatrical Trailer (2:22) Blu-ray Release Date: November 16th, 2021 Standard Blu-ray Case Chapters 9	Release Information: Studio: Indicator 1.33:1 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 24,492,556,397 bytes Feature: 20,424,359,616 bytes Video Bitrate: 29.46 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Audio commentary with authors and critics Glenn Kenny and Farran Smith Nehme (2023) • Tony Rayns on ‘Night Has a Thousand Eyes’ (2023): the writer and film programmer discusses the career of director John Farrow and his distinctive noirs (23:38) • Screen Directors Playhouse: ‘Night Has a Thousand Eyes’ (1948): radio play adaptation introduced and directed by Farrow, and starring Edward G Robinson and William Demarest, reprising their film roles (30:01) • Suspense: ‘The Man Who Thought He Was Edward G. Robinson’ (1946): playful original radio play tapping into Robinson’s distinctive persona, starring the man himself (28:12) • Image gallery: promotional and publicity materials • Theatrical Trailer (2:19) • Limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by Jill Blake, archival interviews with actors John Lund and Gail Russell, an archival profile of screenwriter Jonathan Latimer, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and full film credits Blu-ray Release Date: July 24th, 2021 Transparent Blu-ray Case Chapters 11

Comments:

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

ADDITION: Indicator Blu-ray (July 2023): Indicator have also transferred John Farrow's Night Has a Thousand Eyes to Blu-ray. The 1080P image quality is very similar to the Kino - slightly brighter, but also on a single-layered disc with a high bitrate. Likewise there is not much disparity in the audio. At least, not that I can discern. The extras are where the two Blu-ray packages differ the most.

Indicator include an audio commentary with authors and critics Glenn Kenny (Made Men: The Story of Goodfellas) and Farran Smith Nehme (Self-Styled Siren.) They discuss the film's positioning in the noir cycle, the performers, director John Farrow and much more. I enjoyed it although, probably, not as much as Imogen Sara Smith's on the Kino Blu-ray. But the Indicator has much more; we get 24-minutes of Tony Rayns on ‘Night Has a Thousand Eyes’ (2023) where the writer and film programmer discusses the career of director John Farrow and his distinctive noirs. Included are two radio plays; from 1948 a Screen Directors Playhouse rendition of ‘Night Has a Thousand Eyes’ adapted introduced and directed by Farrow, and starring Edward G Robinson and William Demarest, reprising their film roles. It runs 1/2 hour. The other radio plays runs about the same length and is entitled Suspense: ‘The Man Who Thought He Was Edward G. Robinson’ from 1946. It is a playful original radio play tapping into Robinson’s distinctive persona, starring the man himself. There is a trailer and Indicator's usual image gallery of promotional and publicity materials. The package also has a limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by Jill Blake, archival interviews with actors John Lund and Gail Russell, an archival profile of screenwriter Jonathan Latimer, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and full film credits.

It's such and entertaining film, dipping its toe into the supernatural, as skeptics encircle the protagonist. With the substantial bump in Indicator Blu-ray extras (new commentary, Rayns, radio plays, booklet etc.) - it would certainly worthy of a double dip. 'Dark Cinema' fans, vintage film fans, Edward G. fans... should all indulge with confidence.

***

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (October 2021): Kino have transferred John Farrow's Night Has a Thousand Eyes to Blu-ray. It is cited as being from a "Brand New 2K Master". The 2015 German DVD was quite strong for that format albeit exporting PAL speedup. The new 1080P transfer is much darker and has some rougher textures, looking occasionally clunky, also showing a shade more in the frame. There is occasional depth but there is softness as well that seems more a function of the source or original production. It could also have used a good film-level cleaning. Speckling exists. Whites are brighter, blacks darker and the overall image is a step up thanks to the higher resolution. Detail may be slightly obscured by the dominantly darker image but I still rate it as a pleasing HD presentation, all things considered. It is quite heavy with dense grain textures.

NOTE: We have added 60 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Kino use a DTS-HD Master dual-mono track (24-bit) in the original English language. Night Has a Thousand Eyes has very few aggressive moments (one gunshot) and a wonderful mystery-infused score by Victor Young (Strategic Air Command, The Ghost Breakers, The Sun Shines Bright, The Accused, Johnny Guitar, China Gate etc.) that adds to the film's supernatural elements via the lossless transfer. Kino offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The Kino Blu-ray offers a new commentary by Imogen Sara Smith. She may be my favorite commentarists for Film Noir. She's goes into the histories of director John Farrow (embracing Catholicism, temper, womanizer etc.), Edward G. Robinson (emigrating and 'grey' listing), Gail Russell (her beauty, shyness and eventual alcoholism) as well as discussing the source novel by Cornell Woolrich. She references a number of other films, especially noirs, that utilize the mentalist character. Her commentaries have an excellent flow with a precise vocabulary describing specific settings, emotions, and ideas. I thoroughly enjoyed it and hope to hear more of her work in future 'dark cinema' or vintage-era film commentaries. There is also a trailer for Night Has a Thousand Eyes and other similar films.

John Farrow's Night Has a Thousand Eyes is delicious noir-leaning cinema. I agree with Imogen Sara Smith that it requires an inordinate suspension of disbelief, but Edward G. Robinson does a grand job of selling the role of a moral, lonely 'seer of future events' to his own unhappiness. The Kino Blu-ray has elevated the image (1080P) and audio (lossless) plus the commentary gives it immense value. Night Has a Thousand Eyes has our highest recommendation!

Gary Tooze