So Dark the Night Blu-ray

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

Directed by Joseph H. Lewis
USA 1946

Like his contemporaries Howard Hawks and Billy Wilder, Joseph H. Lewis (Gun Crazy) dabbled in many genres, but excelled in the film noir tradition. A Hitchcockian tale of mystery and intrigue, So Dark the Night was one of his finest pictures.

Inspector Cassin, a renowned Paris detective, departs to the country for a much-needed break. There he falls in love with the innkeeper s daughter, Nanette, who is already betrothed to a local farmer. On the evening of their engagement party, Nanette and the farmer both disappear. Cassin takes up the case immediately to discover what happened to them and who is responsible.

As with his celebrated noir masterpieces My Name Is Julia Ross and The Big Combo, Lewis elevates the twisty, pulpy material with some of the finest noir touches the genre has to offer, beautifully shot by Oscar-winning cinematographer Burnett Guffey (Bonnie and Clyde).

***

This well-plotted and executed film noir suffered from its lack of star power, but has become something of a cult classic. Steven Geray stars as Henri Cassin, a French detective from the Paris Surete, who takes his first vacation in many years to St. Margot and the country inn of the Michaud family. There, he falls in love with the innkeeper's daughter Nanette (Micheline Cheirel), who is already engaged to a local farmer, Leon Archard (Paul Marion). Urged to pursue a romance with Cassin by her social-climbing mother, Nanette agrees to wed the lawman. Leon pledges that he will never stop pursuing Nanette, and when she runs off, Cassin realizes that his betrothed loves another. When Nanette is found strangled to death, Cassin believes that the obvious suspect is Leon, but soon he is also found murdered. His only clues are some handwriting and a footprint, so Cassin returns to Paris, where his investigative techniques put him on the trail of the killer.

Excerpt from B+N located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: October 10th, 1946

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Review: Arrow - Region FREE - Blu-ray

Box Cover		CLICK to order from:
Distribution	Arrow - Region FREE - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:10:16.170
Video	1.33:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 29,587,210,709 bytes Feature: 21,895,292,544 bytes Video Bitrate: 35.00 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate Blu-ray:
Audio	LPCM Audio English 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit Commentary: LPCM Audio English 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit
Subtitles	English (SDH), None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Arrow 1.33:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 29,587,210,709 bytes Feature: 21,895,292,544 bytes Video Bitrate: 35.00 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Audio Commentary by critics Glenn Kenny and Farran Smith Nehme • So Dark... Joseph H. Lewis at Columbia - Critic Imogen Sara Smith provides the background and an analysis of the film (20:07) • Theatrical trailer (1:36) • Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Tonci Zonjic • FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by critic David Cairns Blu-ray Release Date: February 18th, 2019 Transparent Blu-ray Case Chapters 12

Comments:

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

So Dark the Night was part of Columbia's Film Noir Collection IV on DVD Reviewed HERE. We have compared some captures below.

Arrow bring it to a new Blu-ray package. It's on a dual-layered disc in 1080P with a max'ed bitrate. It looks thick and film-like in the HD transfer. The benefit over DVD is the grain support and consistency. Contrast is adept and it is superb in-motion. Lewis' use of shots through windows and reflection in mirrors etc. It's great to have on Blu-ray to appreciate the detail.

The audio is transferred in a linear PCM 2.0 channel mono track (24-bit). There are few aggressive effects despite the murders - although a climatic conflict is mostly supported by the score composed by Hugo Friedhofer (The Revolt of Mamie Stover, Joan of Arc, Broken Arrow, Between Heaven and Hell, Man in the Attic, Ace in the Hole, Body and Soul, Gilda, The Bishop's Wife, The Bravados) and it sounds subtle but effective in the uncompressed. There are optional English (SDH) subtitles on this Region FREE Blu-ray.

Arrow include a new audio commentary by critics Glenn Kenny and Farran Smith Nehme that covers a lot of Joseph Lewis and Farran is always finding a link to Casablanca and To Have An Have Not with actors who played bit parts in both. I was impressed to see Brother Theodore identified in and unspeaking part of So Dark the Night. There is a video extra with So Dark... Joseph H. Lewis at Columbia. It has critic Imogen Sara Smith (author of In Lonely Places: Film Noir Beyond the City) provides the background and an analysis of the film for over 20-minutes. It is excellent. There is a theatrical trailer and the package has a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Tonci Zonjic and the first-pressing purchasers get an illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by critic David Cairns.

So Dark the Night is, at its most basic, a who-done-it and also a classic Film Noir. The picture-esque European setting (backlot set) is fairly unique but it has dark cinema layers that surface and become very apparent in multiple viewings. The Blu-ray transfer is flawless and the commentary and appreciation video give in must-own value. Strongly recommended!

Gary Tooze

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