The Roaring Twenties 4K UHD - James Cagney / Humphrey Bogart

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

Directed by Raoul Walsh
USA 1939

Ripped from the headlines of the turbulent era between the Great War and the Great Depression, this dynamic, nostalgia-tinged crime drama balances tommy-gun action with epic historical sweep. Legends James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart star as army buddies whose fortunes rise and fall as their fates intersect, first in a foxhole on the front lines of World War I, then in Manhattan’s Prohibition-era underworld. Directed by Hollywood master Raoul Walsh, and based on a story by prolific journalist turned screenwriter and producer Mark Hellinger, The Roaring Twenties brought to a close the celebrated Warner Bros. gangster cycle of the 1930s, and it remains one of the greatest and most influential crime films of all time.

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After World War I, Armistice Lloyd Hart goes back to practice law, former saloon keeper George Hally turns to bootlegging, and out-of-work Eddie Bartlett becomes a cab driver. Eddie builds a fleet of cabs through delivery of bootleg liquor and hires Lloyd as his lawyer. George becomes Eddie's partner and the rackets flourish until love and rivalry interfere.

Posters

Theatrical Release: October 25th, 1939

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Review: Criterion - Region FREE - 4K UHD

Box Cover		CLICK to order from: Also available on Blu-ray from Criterion: Bonus Captures:
Distribution	Criterion Spine #1208 - Region FREE - 4K UHD
Runtime	1:46:47.025
Video	1.37:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 40,789,925,122 bytes Feature: 32,156,381,184 bytes Video Bitrate: 35.76 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video	1.37:1 2160P 4K Ultra HD Disc Size: 85,571,482,624 bytes Feature: 82,967,644,416 bytes Video Bitrate: 85.62 Mbps Codec: HEVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate Blu-ray:
Bitrate 4K Ultra HD:
Audio	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	English (SDH), None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Criterion 1.37:1 2160P 4K Ultra HD Disc Size: 85,571,482,624 bytes Feature: 82,967,644,416 bytes Video Bitrate: 85.62 Mbps Codec: HEVC Video Edition Details: 4K Ultra HD disc • Audio commentary with film historian Lincoln Hurst Criterion - Region FREE - Blu-ray • Audio commentary with film historian Lincoln Hurst • New interview with critic Gary Giddins (21:51) • Excerpt from a 1973 interview with director Raoul Walsh (4:34) • Trailer (3:29) 4K Ultra HD Release Date: February 27th, 2024 Transparent 4K Ultra HD Case Chapters 18

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray and 4K UHD captures were taken directly from the respective discs.

ADDITION: Criterion 4K UHD (February 2024): Criterion are releasing Raoul Walsh's "The Roaring Twenties" to 4K UHD. It is described as "One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features". As we have seen many times, the 2160P is a semi-tone darker than the Blu-ray. It advances in terms of contrast and grain maintaining the integrity of a film-like presentation. The 1080P itself looks flawless but the 4K is even better - richer, deeper black levels, and the textures are heavy and so consistent.

It is likely that the monitor you are seeing this review is not an HDR-compatible display (High Dynamic Range) or Dolby Vision, where each pixel can be assigned with a wider and notably granular range of color and light. Our capture software if simulating the HDR (in a uniform manner) for standard monitors. This should make it easier for us to review more 4K UHD titles in the future and give you a decent idea of its attributes on your system. So our captures may not support the exact same colors (coolness of skin tones, brighter or darker hues etc.) as the 4K system at your home. But the framing, detail, grain texture support etc. are, generally, not effected by this simulation representation.

NOTE: 40 more more full resolution (3840 X 2160) 4K UHD captures, in lossless PNG format, for Patrons are available HERE

We have reviewed the following 4K UHD packages recently: Universal Classic Monsters Limited Edition Collection (software uniformly simulated HDR), Scarlet Street (software uniformly simulated HDR), eXistenZ (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Horrible Dr. Hichcock (software uniformly simulated HDR), Conan the Barbarian (software uniformly simulated HDR), Django (no HDR), Lone Star (software uniformly simulated HDR), Suspect Zero (software uniformly simulated HDR), Count Dracula (software uniformly simulated HDR), Full Circle - The Haunting of Julia (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Warriors (software uniformly simulated HDR), Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (software uniformly simulated HDR), Blackhat (software uniformly simulated HDR), Mark of the Devil (software uniformly simulated HDR), Barbarella (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Last Picture Show (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Man Who Knew Too Much (software uniformly simulated HDR), Rope (software uniformly simulated HDR), Frenzy (software uniformly simulated HDR), American Graffiti (software uniformly simulated HDR), East End Hustle (software uniformly simulated HDR), Three Days of the Condor (software uniformly simulated HDR), Witness (software uniformly simulated HDR), Fascination (software uniformly simulated HDR), Lips of Blood (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Others (no HDR), It Came From Outer Space (software uniformly simulated HDR).

On their 4K UHD, Criterion use a linear PCM mono track (24-bit) in the original English language. "The Roaring Twenties" is filled with various types of violence but it is exported authentically flat with modest bass. The uncredited score was by Ray Heindorf (Young at Heart, The Music Man, Dangerous) and Heinz Roemheld (The Scarlet Letter, O.S.S., Four Frightened People, Ruby Gentry, I, Jane Doe, Dangerous, The Monster that Challenged The World, The Land Unknown, The Mole People, 1933's The Invisible Man.) and it supports the film in a variety ways - heightening drama, tension, romance etc... Priscilla Lane performs a few numbers at the club; I'm Just Wild About Harry, My Melancholy Baby, and It Had to Be You plus Gladys George at Flanagan's In a Shanty in Old Shanty Town, the soldiers singing Mademoiselle from Armentières, Gershwin's Swanee played at the speakeasy and much more. Overall it suffers only marginally from the production era and sounds fairly consistent ion the uncompressed, Both discs offer optional English (SDH) subtitles - and both are region FREE, playable worldwide.

The 4K UHD has the 2005 audio commentary with film historian Dr. Lincoln D. Hurst that was on the original Warner DVD (in the The Warner Gangsters Collection, reviewed HERE.)

The included Blu-ray has that commentary running with the 1080P feature and includes a 22-minute new interview with critic Gary Giddins (author of Warning Shadows: Home Alone with Classic Cinema) entitled "The Underworld Moves On". He talks about the lauded year 1939 for Hollywood cinema, Cagney's career, how the crime-genre changed, "The Roaring Twenties' " intro, the Tommy-Gun, history being rewritten by Hollywood, that the film has, almost, no cops and much more. There is also a 5-minuites excerpt from a 1973 interview with director Raoul Walsh (Pursued, High Sierra, They Drive By Night) where he extols Cagney. His work has been noted as influences on directors such as Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Martin Scorsese. Lastly, is a trailer. The package has a liner notes booklet with an essay by film critic Mark Asch.

Raoul Walsh's "The Roaring Twenties" (original director Anatole Litvak) was based on Mark Hellinger's short story "The World Moves On". It was the third and final film that James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart would star together. It is occasionally cited as one of the "Greatest Gangster Movies You've Never Seen". The 1920's are painted as a time where everyone is corruptible. After serving their country in WW1 the Depression landscape is plagued with unemployment - you can play it 'straight' and starve or delve into the fastest growing industry; bootlegging. Eddie Bartlett (James Cagney) decides to become King. The Stock Market crashes crashes and fortunes are lost. Fingerprints of De Palma's Scarface are easy to see. Cagney wouldn't play a gangster again for a decade. He was riveting in "The Roaring Twenties" and the film is an influential masterpiece. Criterion's 4K UHD release is certainly recommended.

Gary Tooze

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