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World Noir Vol. 1 [3 X Blu-ray]
I Am Waiting (Ore wa matteru ze) 1957, Japan - Coming to individual Blu-ray in September 2024 HERE
Witness in the City (Un témoin dans la ville) 1959, France - Coming to individual Blu-ray in September 2024 HERE
The Facts of Murder (Un maledetto imbroglio) 1959, Italy - Coming to
individual Blu-ray in September 2024
HERE
Though widely considered an American
filmmaking style, film noir was first applied by French critics to
the visual and thematic darkness of the flood of American films in
the post-War period. Those films, often by European emigré
filmmakers, were influenced by European filmmaking modes, notably
French poetic realism and Weimar cinema. The American noirs that
flourished in the 1940s and 1950s in turn influenced cinema around
the world again. This ongoing box set series attempts to capture the
trails of the noir influence across the globe, from the pre-War
period to the emergence of neo-noir, expanding our understanding and
availability of this rich filmmaking tradition. In this first collection, World Noir Vol 1 focuses on the 1950s with three films exhibiting noir traits while still evoking their home genre trends and quirks. |
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In I am Waiting, Koreyoshi Kurahara’s directorial debut, rebel matinee idol Yujiro Ishihara stars as a restaurant manager and former boxer who saves a beautiful, suicidal club hostess (Mie Kitahara) trying to escape the clutches of her gangster employer. A foundational film from the pioneering studio of post-war Japanese noir Nikkatsu, I Am Waiting was directed by a master of the genre and stars Yujiro Ishihara and Mie Kitahara, the on-screen and real-life couple that ruled Japanese popular cinema of the 1950s. *** Witness in the City (1959) a.k.a. Un témoin dans la ville – Based on a novel by the legendary Thomas Narcejac (Diabolique, Vertigo, Eyes Without a Face), this dark tale of vengeance stars the great Lino Ventura (Razzia Sur La Chnouf, A Pain in the Ass) in an early leading role. Industrialist Pierre Verdier kills his mistress Jeanne Ancelin by throwing her off a train. Her husband (Ventura) decides to take revenge on his wife’s murderer, who has been acquitted by justice. Directed by Édouard Molinaro (Back to the Wall) and shot by Henri Decaë Diabolically Yours), Witness in the City is a pulse-pounding film noir set on the grim and gritty streets of Paris. Co-starring Fellini favorites Sandra Milo (8½) and Franco Fabrizi (I Vitelloni), with Jacques Berthier (Shoot First… Ask Questions Later), Daniel Ceccaldi (Rififi in Paris) and Françoise Brion (L’Immortelle). *** In Pietro Germi’s The Facts of Murder, Inspector Ingravallo has been called to a Roman apartment building to investigate a robbery. Once there he questions the tenants but soon realises something is amiss. As the investigation progresses a simple robbery leads to a murder case… Directed by and starring Germi (The Railroad Man) as the growling Inspector, The Facts of Murder was loosely adapted from celebrated author Carlo Emilio Gadda’s novel and is shot with inky shadows reminiscent of film noir, while the mystery element prefigures the giallo. Featuring a cast of wonderful supporting actors including Claudia Cardinale (The Day of the Owl) and Claudio Gora (Il sorpasso), the film won multiple awards at Italian institutions including the Golden Globe for Best Film. |
Posters
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Theatrical Release: October 20th, 1957 - November 11th, 1959
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
Review: Radiance Films - Region 'B' - Blu-ray
Box Cover |
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CLICK to order from: The Facts of Murder is also being released on Blu-ray individually, on the same date, from Radiance: Bonus Captures: |
Distribution | Radiance Films - Region 'B' - Blu-ray | |
Runtime |
I Am Waiting (Ore wa matteru ze): 1:30:23.876 Witness in the City (Un témoin dans la ville): 1:29:28.112 The Facts of Murder (Un maledetto imbroglio): 1:54:42.083 |
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Video |
I Am Waiting (Ore wa matteru ze): 1. 33:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-rayDisc Size: 43,650,455,384 bytesFeature: 28,557,523,968 bytes Video Bitrate: 37.68 MbpsCodec: MPEG-4 AVC Video |
Witness in the City: 1.66 :1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-rayDisc Size: 38,124,032,091 bytesFeature: 28,024,237,056 bytes Video Bitrate: 34.57 MbpsCodec: MPEG-4 AVC Video |
The Facts of Murder 1. 37:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-rayDisc Size: 48,417,461,611 bytesFeature: 35,750,446,080 bytes Video Bitrate: 37.35 MbpsCodec: MPEG-4 AVC Video |
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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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Bitrate I Am Waiting Blu-ray: |
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Bitrate Witness in the City Blu-ray: |
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Bitrate The Facts of Murder Blu-ray: |
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Audio |
I Am Waiting: LPCM Audio
Japanese 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps Witness in the City: LPCM Audio French 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit The Facts of Murder: LPCM Audio Italian 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit |
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Subtitles | English, None | |
Features |
Release Information: Studio: Radiance Films
Edition Details: I AM WAITING • Audio commentary by Japanese cinema expert Jasper Sharp • Yujiro's Travel Diary - a documentary on star Yujiro Ishihara during location shooting in Europe (1959, 41:20) • The Yujiro Effect - a visual essay by Mark Schilling (12:48) WITNESS IN THE CITY • Introduction by critic Tony Rayns (17:13) • Interview with Philippe Durant, biographer of Lino Ventura, who speaks about the film and the iconic actor (10:54) • French noir - critic and author Ginette Vincendeau provides an overview of noir in France during the 1950s (22:38) THE FACTS OF MURDER • New interview with Pietro Germi expert Mario Sesti (2023 - 46:31) • The Man With the Cigar in His Mouth - a documentary about Pietro Germi featuring interviews with his colleagues and collaborators including Mario Monicelli, Claudia Cardinale, Stefania Sandrelli, Giuseppe Tornatore among others (Mario Sesti, 1997, 38:51) • What's Black and Yellow All Over? All Shades of Italian Film Noir - visual essay by Paul A. J. Lewis (2023 - 18:31) Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork Limited edition 80-page perfect bound booklet featuring new writing on the films by critics and experts including Barry Forshaw on noir represented outside the US, William Carroll on post-war occupation period in Japanese cinema, Hayley Scanlon on Japanese noir, Pasquale Iannone on the hybrid nature of Italian cinema, and Sam Wigley on 50s world noir from other countries Limited Edition of 3000 copies, presented in a rigid box with full-height Scanavo cases for each film and removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings
Transparent Blu-ray Cases inside Custom Box Chapters 12 /10 / 12 |
Comments: |
NOTE:
The below
Blu-ray
captures were taken directly from the
Blu-ray
disc.
We reviewed I Am Waiting on Criterion 'pictureboxed' DVD, HERE, as part of 'Eclipse 17' 2009's Nikkatsu Noir. One of the most coveted of that sub-label's series. We reviewed Witness in the City on Blu-ray as part of Kino's French Noir Collection from 2022, HERE. We have compared screen captures of both below. The films are housed on their own dual-layered Blu-ray disc and each have max'ed out bitrates. I Am Waiting is a beneficial upgrade of resolution over Criterion's 'pictureboxed' SD transfer. There is more information in the frame, immensely superior contrast and a highly pleasing uptick in detail. Surface scratches still exist but are minimal. Overall - wonderful. Witness in the City also improves - even though the previous and this new one are both in 1080P. The Radiance Films transfer has superior contrast (the Kino seemed muddy) with brighter whites and deeper black levels. Another appreciated upgrade. The Facts of Murder had a 4K restoration and looks the best of the three films - although there may be some very low frequency edge enhancement - the image has a gloss and not abundant grain but there is frequent depth. Bottom line - it looked super on my system even with minor digitization. Perhaps even better than it did theatrically (eyebrows raised.) Ritrovated? I'm not complaining at this time.
NOTE: We have added 166 more large
resolution Blu-ray captures
(in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE
On their
Blu-ray,
Radiance Films use linear PCM mono tracks (24-bit) in the
original language; respectively Japanese, French and Italian. There is
violence in all three films - mostly fist-a-cuffs in
I Am Waiting and more extensive gun
shots fired in the other two.
The Radiance Films
Blu-ray
These are three excellent noir-related world cinema films. In order to compete with popular American and French "Dark Cinema" popularity Nikkatsu initiated their own wave of Japanese noir. Koreyoshi Kurahara's (also see Eclipse 28 - The Warped World of Koreyoshi Kurahara) "I Am Waiting" was one of the Studio's early successes and the lauded director's feature debut. One late night we get invited to a Yokohama waterfront bar-cum-diner directly beside the tracks. We meet a mysterious and distraught damsel -suicidal over concerns that she has accidentally killed a man who was trying to rape her. Meeting her one late, lonely night, is an ex-boxer who once killed a man outside the ring in a bar fight, and own the diner. Both need a new start but hurdles keep blocking them... including a self-admission that he is falling in love with her. Filled with Noir conventions, I Am Waiting is a pure dark-drama treat. Witness in the City was based on a novel by the legendary Thomas Narcejac (Diabolique, Vertigo, Eyes Without a Face.) Seeking vengeance on his wife's former lover and assassin, a man, Ancelin (Lino Ventura,) sets in motion a string of killings - first as revenge and then desperately trying to cover his tracks. Almost exclusively shot in late night Paris, Witness in the City has café owners, prostitutes and, importantly, cab drivers directly or indirectly involved in the tense noir-level crime drama and its dramatic conclusion. The third and final film, The Facts of Murder is based on Carlo Emilio Gadda's 1957 book That Awful Mess on the Via Merulana. Many, including, Pier Paolo Pasolini, considered the source to be the great modern Italian novel. In a large apartment house in central Rome, two crimes are separately committed - a burglary and, a few days later, a murder. How they are connected initiates an old fashioned police procedural helmed by Ciccio Ingravallo (director / actor Pietro Germi) involving a group of suspicious characters with a variety of personal motives. Germi's The Facts of Murder is a complex and socially revealing crime-drama that fits comfortably in the noir mold. A brilliantly realized film. The Radiance Films Blu-ray package gets our highest marks - magnificent world cinema, with undeniable connections to Noir, and advanced a/v quality over existing digital editions plus excellent supplements from a commentary to an 80-page book. This is will certainly gets many votes in our Year End Poll. Our highest recommendation. Gold standard stuff here, folks. |
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I Am Waiting (Ore wa matteru ze) 1957, Japan - Coming to individual Blu-ray in September 2024 HERE
Witness in the City (Un témoin dans la ville) 1959, France - Coming to individual Blu-ray in September 2024 HERE
The Facts of Murder (Un maledetto imbroglio) 1959, Italy - Coming to
individual Blu-ray in September 2024
HERE
Menus / Extras
I Am Waiting
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Witness in the City
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The Facts of Murder
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Radiance Films Package
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CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
I Am Waiting
1) Eclipse Series 17: Nikkatsu Noir - Region 1 - NTSC TOP 2) Radiance Films - Region 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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1) Eclipse Series 17: Nikkatsu Noir - Region 1 - NTSC TOP 2) Radiance Films - Region 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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1) Eclipse Series 17: Nikkatsu Noir - Region 1 - NTSC TOP 2) Radiance Films - Region 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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1) Eclipse Series 17: Nikkatsu Noir - Region 1 - NTSC TOP 2) Radiance Films - Region 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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Witness in the City
1) Kino (French Noir) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray TOP 2) Radiance Films - Region 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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More full resolution (1920 X 1080) Blu-ray Captures for DVDBeaver Patreon Supporters HERE
I Am Waiting
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Witness in the City
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The Facts of Murder
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Box Cover |
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CLICK to order from: The Facts of Murder is also being released on Blu-ray individually, on the same date, from Radiance: Bonus Captures: |
Distribution | Radiance Films - Region 'B' - Blu-ray |
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