Detective Story Blu-ray

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

USA 1951

Based on the smash Broadway hit, the gritty and gripping drama of Detective Story explodes onto the big screen under the capable direction of William Wyler (The Good Fairy, Ben-Hur). Set amidst the hectic activity of a New York City police station, Kirk Douglas (Paths of Glory) stars as the principled, rigid detective whose personal code has become twisted from dealing with too many criminals. Eleanor Parker (Caged) is his wife, tormented by a guilty secret. While the business of the precinct swirls around them—from a case involving a frightened shoplifter (Lee Grant, The Landlord) to an amusing burglar (Joseph Wiseman, Dr. No)—the couple’s personal conflict reaches an explosive, unforgettable climax. Academy Award nominations went to Wyler (for Best Director), Parker (Best Actress), Grant (Best Supporting Actress) and the writing team of Robert Wyler (The Big Country) and Philip Yordan (The Big Combo) for their vivid screenplay. Co-stars William Bendix (Lifeboat), Cathy O’Donnell (They Live by Night) and George Macready (Gilda) also give sterling performances in this classic cop noir.

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Tells the story of one day in the lives of the various people who populate a police detective squad. An embittered cop, Det. Jim McLeod, leads a precinct of characters in their grim daily battle with the city's lowlife. The characters who pass through the precinct over the course of the day include a young petty embezzler, a pair of burglars, and a naive shoplifter.

Posters

Theatrical Release: October 19th, 1951

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Review: Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Box Cover		CLICK to order from: Bonus Captures:
Distribution	Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:43:33.165
Video	1.37:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 36,306,817,379 bytes Feature: 33,634,756,608 bytes Video Bitrate: 39.34 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate Blu-ray:
Audio	DTS-HD Master Audio English 1574 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1574 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
Subtitles	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Kino 1.37:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 36,306,817,379 bytes Feature: 33,634,756,608 bytes Video Bitrate: 39.34 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Audio Commentary by Author/Film Historian Alan K. Rode • Theatrical Trailer (2:22) Blu-ray Release Date: November 29th, 2022 Standard Blu-ray Case Chapters 9

Comments:

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

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (November 2022): Kino have transferred William Wyler's Detective Story to Blu-ray. It is cited as being "Remastered in HD by Paramount Pictures – From a 4K Scan of the Original Camera Negative". It would be a mistake to judge the brighter Imprint image as superior - in fact the Kino 1080P, with a max'ed out bitrate, offers the better visual quality looking far more textured, film-like and less like 'an SD bump' with boosted contrast. This is one of those times where it doesn't come through adeptly in the static screen captures. There are a few speckles but overall this looked very pleasing on my system.

NOTE: We have added 50 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. Detective Story was fairly passive - majority dialogue-driven - with a handful of notable violent sequence, including gunfire, in Detective Story. There was no score but the opening title music was repurposed from The Accused by Victor Young (Ghostbreakers Strategic Air Command, The Sun Shines Bright, , Johnny Guitar, China Gate etc.) and a small piece from Double Indemnity by Miklós Rózsa (The Green Cockatoo, Kiss the Blood Off My Hands, The Killers, The Lost Weekend, The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, The Strange Love of Martha Ivers, Shakedown) as well as using Chopin's Marche Funebre In C Minor Op. 72, No. 2 and Alphons Czibulka's Wintermärchen. It comes through very clean in the lossless transfer. Kino offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The Kino Blu-ray offers Imprint's 2020 commentary by film historian Alan K. Rode (author of Michael Curtiz: A Life in Film.) He discusses differences between film and Sidney Kingsley's play - a script clean up because of the Production Code Authority, how this was the 'fastest' film production of Wyler's career plus extraneous data on everyone involved including Douglas (gathering background at a real precinct for a week), Eleanor Parker, William Bendix, Lee Grant (her first feature role and still around as last surviving member of the cast at 97 years of age) my favorite Cathy O'Donnell - and her spotty career, cinematographer Lee Garmes etc. It is, as usual, very informative - he's one of the best for classic cinema. There are also some trailers including one for Detective Story.

William Wyler's Detective Story was adapted by Robert Wyler (William's older brother) and Philip Yordan from the 1949 play of the same name by Sidney Kingsley. Although Alan Ladd was initially linked to the project, Kirk Douglas was magnificent as the bitter New York detective in a grim daily battle with the city's lowlifes and shyster lawyers. It also has an amazing supporting cast. It is notable for referencing the topic of abortion which becomes a major plot point. The Kino Blu-ray has the older 2020 commentary but strong fans of Detective Story may wish to double-dip for the improved 4K scan appearance. A powerful film extending far beyond a typical police procedural noir.