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 S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

 

Directed by John Frankenheimer
USA 1973

 

In the faded light of Harry Hope's 1912 skid row bar, a group of fallen men, like ghosts haunting the wreckage of their own lives, await the annual arrival of Hickey (Lee Marvin). This year, however, the charismatic salesman brings not the usual rounds of drinks and slaps on the back, but an unwelcome message of sobriety. Hollywood legends Fredric March and Robert Ryan performed alongside relative newcomer Jeff Bridges in a brilliant cinematic experiment that captured the existential dread of O'Neill's play, the capstone of which is Marvin's haunting suggestion of the madman that hides beneath Hickey's ribald, garrulous exterior.

***

John Frankenheimer's screen version of Eugene O'Neill's 1947 Broadway play The Iceman Cometh is set in 1912 at Harry Hope's dingy waterfront saloon. On the occasion of Hope's birthday, several derelicts enter the scene to pontificate on the lives they'd planned, the lives they still dream about, and the wasted lives they wound up with. The cast features Lee Marvin as Hickey, a loser who's convinced himself that he's a winner; Robert Ryan as Larry Slade; and Fredric March (his last film role) as Harry Hope. The Iceman Cometh was one of a series of prestige productions presented by the American Film Theatre.

Excerpt from B+N located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: November 10th, 1973 (New York City, New York)

Reviews                                                                                                       More Reviews                                                                                       DVD Reviews

 

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

Box Cover

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Distribution Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime 3:58:58.741  2:58:11.722
Video

Director's Cut:

1.85:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 48,500,655,404 bytes

Feature: 48,365,122,752 bytes

Video Bitrate: 24.87 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

Theatrical:

1.85:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 46,578,563,055 bytes

Feature: 38,684,839,104 bytes

Video Bitrate: 25.81 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate DC Blu-ray:

Bitrate Theatrical Blu-ray:

Audio

Director's Cut:

DTS Audio English 768 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 16-bit

Theatrical:

LPCM Audio English 1536 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit
Subtitles English, None
Features Release Information:
Studio: Kino

 

Director's Cut:

1.85:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 48,500,655,404 bytes

Feature: 48,365,122,752 bytes

Video Bitrate: 24.87 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Theatrical:

1.85:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 46,578,563,055 bytes

Feature: 38,684,839,104 bytes

Video Bitrate: 25.81 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Edition Details:

• Interview with Edie Landau (26:16)
 • "Ely Landau: In Front of the Camera," a promotional film for the American Film Theatre (06:30)
 • Trailer Gallery


 Blu-ray Release Date: March 26th, 2019
 Standard Blu-ray Case

Chapters 9 / 9

 

 

Comments:

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

Kino premiere a brand new 2K restoration of John Frankenheimer's "The Iceman Cometh" on a 2-disc Blu-ray set. Disc one houses the complete 239-minute director's cut and on disc 2 lies a new 2K restoration of the 178-minute theatrical version. Both Blu-rays have a supportive bitrate showing the 1.85:1 aspect ratio. The film begins in a dimly-lit bar, with a modest contrast exhibiting limited depth. As the bar brightens up in later scenes, the image shows a finer grain structure with sharp detail. This is a respectable, heavily textured, transfer from Kino, thanks to the 2K restoration.

Both discs export a 16-bit linear PCM 2.0 mono track. Though there isn't a score to the film, various clinking glasses and other bar sounds fill the moments without dead air. Dialogue is audible and clear, though it is a shame to not have a 24-bit track, this will suffice. There are optional English SDH subtitles on both Region 'A' Blu-rays.

The second Blu-ray contains a few extras. The first bonus feature is a 26-minute interview with Edie Landau. Next up is "promotional film for the American Film Theatre". There is also a trailer gallery with 12 American Film Theatre trailers rounding out the Theatrical Blu-ray disc.

John Frankenheimer's 1973 adaptation of Eugene O'Neill's "The Iceman Cometh" is finally on Blu-ray thanks to a new 2K restoration by Kino Lorber. It is nice to have the option of watching the director's cut or the shorter theatrical version. I would recommend watching the former, as it is much closer to the original staging. The 1080P transfer provides a pleasing HD presentation. Highly recommended.

Colin Zavitz

 

Menus / Extras

 

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

 

1) Kino (Director's Cut) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - TOP

2) Kino (Theatrical Cut) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 

 

1) Kino (Director's Cut) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - TOP

2) Kino (Theatrical Cut) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 

 

1) Kino (Director's Cut) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - TOP

2) Kino (Theatrical Cut) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 

 

1) Kino (Director's Cut) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - TOP

2) Kino (Theatrical Cut) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

Box Cover

CLICK to order from:

    

Distribution Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray


 


 

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