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Brighton Rock [Blu-ray]
(John Boulting, 1947)
Review by Gary Tooze
Production: Theatrical: Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC) Video: Optimum Home Entertainment
Disc: Region: 'B'-locked (as verified by the Momitsu region FREE Blu-ray player) Runtime: 1:32:17.041 Disc Size: 29,873,874,914 bytes Feature Size: 16,676,413,440 bytes Video Bitrate: 32.09 Mbps Chapters: 12 Case: Standard (UK - thicker) Blu-ray case Release date: February 28th, 2011
Video: Aspect ratio: 1.33:1 matted to 1.78 Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Audio: LPCM Audio English 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit
Subtitles: English, none
Extras: • Interview with Rowman Joffe (20:11 - 576i) • John Boulting and Richard Attenborough interviewed at BFI 1954 (audio only 1:07:57)
Bitrate:
Description: In this vivid adaptation of Graham Greene's novel about the seedy British beachfront underworld, Richard Attenborough appears in top form as petty gangster Pinkie Brown. The manipulative thug rashly commits a murder and uses a waitress (Carol Marsh) to provide his alibi, with unexpected consequences.
The Film:
The film is so densely plotted (unsurprising given its source material)
that it is difficult to describe. It concerns a 17-year-old gang leader,
Pinkie (Richard Attenborough - a much better actor than he is a
director) who seeks revenge for the murder of a gang member, once the
retaliation is complete he spends the rest of the film making threats,
double crossing and being double crossed, in the course of which he
marries a waitress (Carol Marsh) who saw things she shouldn't have,
since a wife is unable to give evidence against her husband. Excerpt from Stephen Cox Edinborough Film Society located HERE
Beginning with a thrilling chase sequence in which newspaperman Kolley
Kibber is hounded by a gang of razor-blade carrying spivs through 30s
Brighton, John Boulting's adaptation of Graham Greene's classic novel
stakes its claim as one of the darkest films ever to be made on these
shores.
Image : NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc. With the existing and best elements available for Brighton Rock this is the highest level it is likely to look on Blu-ray without a (further) restoration. The hour and a half film is dual-layered transferred with a high bitrate. Contrast is modest reflecting the density of the print but detail has some impressive moments. There is some reasonable grain but also a bit of noise. Infrequent speckles remain but they are not overly prevalent and Optimum's image quality here looks good - but not great. There is a smattering of depth but while this is a step beyond SD and easy to judge as HD giving a solid 1080P presentation - it is not a pristine standards due to limitations of the source. The grain textures helped my appreciation of the presentation as more film-like. I doubt it will be looking any better in the foreseeable future.
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Audio :The track is faithfully flat using a linear PCM stereo channel at 2304 kbps. Even lacking crispness or depth I can't imagine is sounding much better. It is clear without distracting hiss or flaws, but it, predictably, lacks any dynamic substance. Optimum have seen fit to include optional English subtitles and m y Momitsu has identified it as being a region 'B'-locked.
Extras :
Supplements
include a 20-minute interview, in 576i PAL, with Rowman Joffe the
director/writer of the 2010 version of Brighton Rock and an hour
long audio only interview with John Boulting and Richard Attenborough at
BFI from 1954. I should note that there are some pretty cool menus with
a revolving carousel of post cards with live action scenes from the
film. A nice touch.
BOTTOM LINE: Gary Tooze July 15th, 2011
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About the Reviewer: Hello, fellow Beavers! I have been interested in film since I viewed a Chaplin festival on PBS when I was around 9 years old. I credit DVD with expanding my horizons to fill an almost ravenous desire to seek out new film experiences. I currently own approximately 9500 DVDs and have reviewed over 3500 myself. I appreciate my discussion Listserv for furthering my film education and inspiring me to continue running DVDBeaver. Plus a healthy thanks to those who donate and use our Amazon links.
Although I never wanted to become one of those guys who
focused 'too much' on image and sound quality - I
find HD is swiftly pushing me in that direction. 60-Inch Class (59.58” Diagonal) 1080p Pioneer KURO Plasma Flat Panel HDTV PDP6020-FD
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