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(aka 'Schlingen der Angst ')

Directed by Douglas Sirk
USA 19
48

This is the old Gaslight plot about a husband trying to get his wife to believe she's going mad so he can acquire her money and marry his mistress, but it is not as hackneyed as this sounds. The screenplay is full of unexpected twists and Sirk's direction has some exciting Hitchcockian touches, with a cliffhanging climax against the background of Brooklyn Bridge. Usually seen in more lightweight fare, Colbert and Ameche are suitably angst-ridden and smooth respectively. He is giving her hypnotic drugs while carrying on with seductive Brooks. Coulouris, behind thick spectacles, makes a sinister phoney psychiatrist.

Excerpt from Channel 4 located HERE

 

Poster

Theatrical Release: February 16th, 1948

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Comparison:

Kinowelt - Region 2, 8 - PAL vs. Olive Films - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

1) Kinowelt - Region 2, 8 - PAL LEFT
2) Olive Film - Region 'A' - Blu-ray RIGHT
 
Box Covers

Distribution Kinowelt Home Entertainment - Region 2, 8 - PAL Olive Films - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime 1:31:42 (4% PAL Speedup)  1:37:42.857
Video 1.33:1 Aspect Ratio
Average Bitrate: 7.44 mb/s
PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s
1080P Single-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 21,497,247,542 bytes

Feature: 21,389,506,560 bytes

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

Total Video Bitrate: 26.93 Mbps

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Bitrate:

Bitrate: Blu-ray

Audio English (Dolby Digital mono), DUB: German (Dolby Digital 2.0) DTS-HD Master Audio English 831 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 831 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 1.0 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 16-bit)
Subtitles German, None None
Features

Release Information:
Studio: Kinowelt Home Entertainment

Aspect Ratio:
Original Aspect Ratio 1.33:1

Edition Details:

• Commentary by Marek Bringezu (in German)
• Photo Gallery
• Biographies (in German), Sirk, Colbert, Ameche

DVD Release Date: April 27th, 2007

Transparent Keep Case
Chapters: 12

Release Information:
Studio: Olive Films

Aspect Ratio:
Original Aspect Ratio 1.33:1

1080P Single-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 21,497,247,542 bytes

Feature: 21,389,506,560 bytes

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

Total Video Bitrate: 26.93 Mbps

Edition Details:

• none

Blu-ray Release Date: April 15th, 2014
Standard Blu-ray Case
Chapters: 8

 

Comments:

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

ADDITION: Olive Films - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - April 14': I wouldn't say the video is the usual strong improvement, but I am more interested in the running time - which shows the German DVD to be cut - although I don't know where. The 1080P is a modest single-layered transfer and still has some compression artifacts - just far less than the SD. But significantly more grain textures. There are some speckles and surface scratches but not enough to be distracting. It offers lossless mono sound that is still imperfect. I suspect this source won't look much better without a restoration. It is serviceable as is. There are no extras or subtitles. I quite enjoyed this Noir-esque effort by Sirk... although it has only a smattering of his masterful signature style - this is still a worthy film.

***

ON THE DVD: Kinowelt have done an admirable job with this older film that was probably not in the best of condition. The bitrate indicates it may be from an analog source but it still looks quite acceptable. It is a progressive and dual-layered transfer showing some blemishes - mostly speckles - and digital noise in spots. The film is offered in its original mono English with optional Deutsche DUB (and subtitles). There is a commentary (in German only), a stills gallery and some text screen bios (in German again).

The movie is a superb old-fashioned film noir brimming with atmosphere and less-than-subtle suspense ploys. I loved the characters and lead performances. Supporting players are efficient as well with Burr as the suspiciously quiet detective and Hazel Brooks is a pure femme fatale (by anyone's definition!) half the time dressed in a negligee.  

Gary W. Tooze

 

 

 


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Olive Film - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

 

 


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

 

Subtitle Sample

 

1) Kinowelt - Region 2, 8 - PAL TOP
2) Olive Film - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
 

 


Screen Captures

 

1) Kinowelt - Region 2, 8 - PAL TOP
2) Olive Film - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
 

 


1) Kinowelt - Region 2, 8 - PAL TOP
2) Olive Film - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
 


1) Kinowelt - Region 2, 8 - PAL TOP
2) Olive Film - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
 

1) Kinowelt - Region 2, 8 - PAL TOP
2) Olive Film - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
 

 


1) Kinowelt - Region 2, 8 - PAL TOP
2) Olive Film - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
 

 


1) Kinowelt - Region 2, 8 - PAL TOP
2) Olive Film - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
 

 


1) Kinowelt - Region 2, 8 - PAL TOP
2) Olive Film - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
 

 


1) Kinowelt - Region 2, 8 - PAL TOP
2) Olive Film - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
 

1) Kinowelt - Region 2, 8 - PAL TOP
2) Olive Film - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
 

 

More Blu-ray Captures

 


Box Covers

Distribution Kinowelt Home Entertainment - Region 2, 8 - PAL Olive Films - Region 'A' - Blu-ray




 

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