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

ADDITION: Radiance Blu-ray (June 2025): Radiance has transferred three films in their World Noir Vol. 3 Blu-ray package. They include the 1947 French crime-drama Not Guilty (Non coupable) with Michel Simon, the German film noir The Lost One (Der Verlorene) from 1951 starring and directed by Peter Lorre, and the acclaimed 1950 Swedish drama Girl with Hyacinths (Flicka och hyacinter.) They are cited as "4K restoration of Not Guilty by Tf1 presented on Blu-ray for the first time with English subtitles; a High-Definition digital transfer of The Lost One, presented on Blu-ray for the first time with English subtitles; and a 2K restoration of Girl with Hyacinths, presented on Blu-ray for the first time outside of Sweden".

NOTE: We have already reviewed Radiance's World Noir Vol. 1 Blu-ray package HERE with the Japanese, 1957, Koreyoshi Kurahara film, I Am Waiting (Ore wa matteru ze,) the French 1959 crime-drama Witness in the City (Un témoin dans la ville,) and the brilliant Italian, crime procedural, The Facts of Murder (Un maledetto imbroglio) directed and starring Pietro Germi. We've covered World Noir Vol. 2 HERE with German Cold War noir Black Gravel (1961,) the stylish French heist noir Symphony for a Massacre (1963,) and the Japanese noir-heist-crime Cruel Gun Story (1964.)

NOTE: We have added 164 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE.

The Radiance Blu-ray of Not Guilty unveils a strong 4K restoration by Tf1, marking its Blu-ray debut with English subtitles, bringing Henri Decoin’s 1947 French crime drama to life with unparalleled visual and auditory fidelity. Jacques Lemare’s (The Rules of the Game) shadowy cinematography is effective with high-contrast black-and-white visuals that capture the fog-drenched streets and suffocating interiors in razor-sharp detail, the deep shadows, and stark lighting accentuating Michel Simon’s anguished expressions in tight close-ups, while the uncompressed mono audio track delivers Marcel Stern’s dissonant score - its eerie strings swelling with tension - and ambient sounds, like the clinking of glasses in seedy bars with chilling clarity, amplifying Simon’s gravelly, tormented performance as the vengeful Michel Ancelin. Extras are appealing for noir fans. A roughly half-hour 2025 interview with critic Imogen Sara Smith (In Lonely Places: Film Noir Beyond the City,) delves into the film’s psychological complexity, its post-war French context, and Decoin’s stylistic influences. A quarter-hour 1947 archival radio interview with Simon offers raw insights into his emotional preparation for the role, revealing the toll of embodying such a broken character. A brief 1947 behind-the-scenes radio documentary captures the gritty production atmosphere, including snippets of on-set banter. A short alternate ending (a choice for feature viewing) shifts the narrative’s moral ambiguity, providing a darker resolution. A poster gallery showcases vintage French promotional art with bold, shadowy designs. A reversible sleeve features original and newly commissioned artwork, blending classic noir aesthetics with modern flair. This release is a masterful presentation of a morally complex thriller. Its technical brilliance and rich, expanded extras make it an essential addition for aficionados of psychological noir.

Radiance’s Blu-ray of The Lost One presents a High-Definition digital transfer, its first on Blu-ray with English subtitles, capturing the haunting essence of Peter Lorre’s 1951 German film noir with pleasing clarity and emotional depth. Vaclav Vich’s (The Devil Makes Three, The Giants of Thessaly) expressionistic cinematography is restored with angular shadows, distorted perspectives, and stark contrasts of bombed-out streets and sterility evoking Dr. Karl Rothe’s fractured psyche, while the mono audio track delivers Willy Schmidt-Gentner’s (Woman in the Moon) minimalist score - its sparse piano and violin motifs hauntingly resonant - and eerie diegetic sounds, like echoing footsteps in empty halls with precision, enhancing Lorre’s anguished, soul-baring performance as a man tormented by his past crimes. Extras offer a deep dive into the film’s legacy. A 2025 commentary by critic Tony Rayns (Seoul Stirring: 5 Korean Directors) provides a meticulous analysis, exploring the film’s roots in German Expressionism, Lorre’s personal connection to the story as a Jewish émigré, and its critique of Nazi complicity with Rayns’ expertise illuminating the socio-political subtext. A nearly half-hour 2025 interview with critic Pamela Hutchinson (30-second Cinema: the 50 Most Important Ideas, Genres, and People in the History of Movie-making, Each Explained in Half a Minute,) examines Lorre’s career trajectory from his Hollywood roles to this directorial debut and the film’s thematic exploration of guilt and moral decay. A roughly half-hour 2025 interview with historian Margaret Deriaz offers a scholarly perspective on post-war German cinema, focusing on the industry’s struggle to reconcile with its Nazi past and the rise of introspective noir. A brief trailer captures the film’s brooding tone with archival footage. A reversible sleeve features original and newly commissioned artwork, reflecting the film’s stark, shadowy aesthetic. This release is very welcoming with its visual and sonic restoration paired with expanded, insightful extras that elevate Lorre’s singular vision, making it a must-have for fans of German cinema and noir.

The Radiance Blu-ray of Girl with Hyacinths features a luminous 2K restoration, available on Blu-ray for the first time outside Sweden, showcasing Hasse Ekman’s 1950 Swedish drama with poetic clarity and film-like resonance. Göran Strindberg’s (Miss Julie) soft-focus black-and-white photography is mesmerizing with diffused light casting a dreamlike glow over Stockholm’s rain-slicked streets and smoky jazz clubs, the recurring hyacinth motifs standing out in crisp focus as symbols of Dagmar’s fragility, while the uncompressed mono audio highlights Erland von Koch’s (Port of Call, Crisis, Prison) melancholic score - its haunting piano and violin melodies swelling with sorrow - and intimate ambient sounds, like rain pattering on windows or jazz drifting from a phonograph, enhancing Eva Henning’s (Prison, Thirst) ethereal, heartbreaking performance. Extras provide a rich exploration of the film’s artistry. A 2025 audio commentary by Peter Jilmstad offers a meticulous scene-by-scene breakdown, analyzing Ekman’s nonlinear narrative structure, the film’s themes of loneliness and trauma, and its place in Swedish cinema history. A lengthy 1993 interview running over an hour with Hasse Ekman - who was in three early Ingmar Bergman films (Prison, Thirst and Sawdust and Tinsel) - provides a candid reflection on his career, the film’s inspiration from real-life events, and his collaboration with Henning, offering a rare glimpse into his creative process. A roughly quarter-hour 2025 visual essay by Julia Armfield delves into the film’s feminist undertones, exploring Dagmar’s isolation, societal judgment, and the hidden scars of wartime through a modern lens. A reversible sleeve features original and newly commissioned artwork, capturing the film’s delicate, melancholic aesthetic. This disc is a poignant celebration of a poetic mystery, its visual and sonic beauty elevated by expanded, thoughtful extras that illuminate its emotional depth and cinematic significance.

The Radiance UK Blu-ray Box - World Noir Vol. 3 is a definitive collection, uniting Not Guilty (1947), The Lost One (1951), and Girl with Hyacinths (1950) in exquisite restorations - a 4K transfer of Not Guilty, a High-Definition digital transfer of, the masterful, The Lost One, and a 2K restoration of Girl with Hyacinths - each presented on Blu-ray for the first time with English subtitles, showcasing their noir; aesthetics with keen visuals and restored audio that honor their haunting narratives of guilt, betrayal, and isolation. The set is enriched with a wealth of expanded extras, including new and archival interviews, commentaries, visual essays, trailers, and galleries, alongside reversible sleeves and a limited edition 80-page perfect-bound book featuring insightful writing by critics, like Farran Nehme (Missing Reels) and Elena Lazic, offering scholarly depth on each film’s historical and cinematic impact. This box set is an essential treasure for noir enthusiasts and world cinema, celebrating three underappreciated classics with meticulous technical care and comprehensive supplementary materials, making it a landmark release and an indispensable addition for any serious film collector seeking to explore the darker corners of world cinema. I loved every film here and this region FREE Radiance Blu-ray Set gets our highest recommendation. This may be the best of the three World Noir packages.

Gary Tooze