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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |
(aka 'The Big Carnival' or 'The Human Interest Story')
Directed by
Billy Wilder
USA 1951
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One of the most scathing indictments of American culture ever produced by a Hollywood filmmaker, Billy Wilder’s Ace in the Hole is legendary for both its cutting social critique and its status as a hard-to-find cult classic. Kirk Douglas gives the fiercest performance of his career as Chuck Tatum, an amoral newspaper reporter caught in dead-end Albuquerque who happens upon the story of a lifetime—and will do anything to ensure he gets the scoop. Wilder’s follow-up to Sunset Boulevard is an even darker vision, a no-holds-barred exposé that anticipated the rise of the American media circus. ****
Kirk Douglas is magnificent as the
self-serving reporter who, in order to milk it to fame and boost newspaper
sales, prolongs the rescue of a man trapped in a mine. This was director
Wilder's biggest commercial flop, but the film he regarded as his best. It's
a cynical piece of work, but is prophetic in realizing how tabloid values
can lead a journalist to create rather than report a story. Douglas is a
self-serving reporter who has been fired from his last 11 jobs and washes up
in Albuquerque, New Mexico. |
Posters
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Theatrical Release: June 15th, 1951
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
DVD Comparison:
Criterion (2-disc) - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Paramount - Region 2,4 - PAL
Big thanks to Gregory Meshman for Paramount captures!
Criterion (2-disc) - Region 1 - NTSC LEFT vs. Paramount - Region 2,4 - PAL RIGHT
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| Distribution | Criterion Collection - Spine #396 - Region 1 - NTSC |
Paramount Region 2,4 - PAL |
| Runtime | 1:51:08 | 1:46:28 (4% PAL speedup) |
| Video | 1.33:1
Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 8.72 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s |
1.33:1
Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 9.7 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s |
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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: Criterion |
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| Bitrate: Paramount |
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| Audio | English (Dolby Digital 1.0) | English (Dolby Digital 2.0) , Spanish dub (Dolby Digital 2.0) |
| Subtitles | English, None | English, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Spanish, French, None |
| Features |
Release Information: Edition Details: • Audio commentary by film scholar Neil Sinyard • Theatrical trailer
Disc 2 |
Release Information: Studio: Paramount Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details: Chapters
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ADDITION: Paramount - PAL - February 2010: There isn't a lot to choose from visually. Both have the same degree of detail and show a smattering of grain - those more sensitive to the picture-boxing may lean to the Paramount. There doesn't seem to be any heavy cropping by either release. The Paramount has PAL speed-up but the biggest factor for most will be the extensive Criterion supplements. The Paramount, from 2008, offers none at all. As far as I am concerned this is in the top 10% of all Criterion releases and we, of course, give a strong endorsement. ****
ON THE CRITERION: Criterion brings this intense, cynical masterpiece to a wonderful progressive, yet still pictureboxed, transfer to DVD (see our description of 'pictureboxing' in our Kind Hearts and Coronets review). Contrast and detail are at levels that other production companies can only dream of aspiring. This 56 year-old film looks very strong, clean and relatively damage free. Artifacts at are a bare minimum and I have no strong complaints except some very minor, and infrequent, flickering and one damaged scene at around the 42 minute mark. Audio is original mono - clear and consistent - and optional English subtitles are offered.
The package is stacked with extras - first a sterling commentary by scholar Neil Sinyard. A lot of valuable information is imparted in a timely and professional manner (with a comforting accent). Sharing disc 1 is a 2:21 theatrical trailer. On disc 2 we have a 1980 documentary (hour long) called Portrait of a "60% Perfect Man": Billy Wilder. It features in-depth interviews with Wilder by film critic Michel Ciment. It is quite revealing about the director - worth watching for sure. There is an excerpt from a 1986 American Film Institute sidebar - it lasts about 24 minutes. I quite enjoyed the 1984 interview with Kirk Douglas by a filmmaker and film scholar by the name of Michael Thomas - Kirk is always so larger than life. It was probably just my system but I couldn't get the audio interview with co-screenwriter Walter Newman to work, but I did enjoy the brief afterword by filmmaker Spike Lee about the film. Also included is a stills gallery and a newspaper-style liner notes (4 large pages) with plenty of photos and 2 essays by film critic Molly Haskell and one by filmmaker Guy Maddin. A superlative package - fabulous, under spoken film looking magnificent and filled with relevant and viable supplements. Strongly recommended! |
DVD Menus
Criterion (2-disc) - Region 1 - NTSC LEFT vs. Paramount - Region 2,4 - PAL RIGHT
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Criterion (2-disc) - Region 1 - NTSC disc 2
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Subtitle Sample
Criterion (2-disc) - Region 1 - NTSC TOP vs. Paramount - Region 2,4 - PAL BOTTOM
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Screen Captures
Criterion (2-disc) - Region 1 - NTSC TOP vs. Paramount - Region 2,4 - PAL BOTTOM
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Criterion (2-disc) - Region 1 - NTSC TOP vs. Paramount - Region 2,4 - PAL BOTTOM
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Criterion (2-disc) - Region 1 - NTSC TOP vs. Paramount - Region 2,4 - PAL BOTTOM
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| DVD Box Cover |
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| Distribution | Criterion Collection - Spine #396 - Region 1 - NTSC |
Paramount Region 2,4 - PAL |
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Gary Tooze
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