Moonrise Blu-ray - Gail Russell

directed by Frank Borzage

USA 1948

All of his life, Danny Hawkins (Dane Clark) has been taunted and mistreated by most of the people around him, enduring innumerable beatings and other humiliations as a boy because his father was a murderer who died on the gallows. He finds it not much better as an adult, living with his aunt in the small Virginia town of Woodville -- especially when he is contending for the attentions of young schoolteacher Gilly Johnson (Gail Russell) with his boyhood tormentor Jerry Sykes (Lloyd Bridges), whose bullying and arrogance are made worse (and more galling) by the fact that he's the son of the town banker (and its richest man).

Excerpt From B+N located HERE

A small-town fable about violence and redemption, Moonrise is the final triumph of Frank Borzage, one of Hollywood’s most neglected masters. Stigmatized from infancy by the fate of his criminal father, young Danny (Dane Clark) is bruised and bullied until one night, in a fit of rage, he kills his most persistent tormentor. As the police close in around him, Danny makes a desperate bid for the love of the dead man’s fiancée (Gail Russell), a schoolteacher who sees the wounded soul behind his aggression. With this postwar comeback, Borzage recaptured the inspiration that had animated his long and audacious early career, marrying the lyrical force of his romantic sensibility with the psychological anguish of film noir, in a stunning vindication of faith in the power of love.

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Theatrical Release: October 1st, 1948

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Comparison:

Artus Films - Region 0 - PAL vs. Criterion Collection - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Box Covers

Distribution	Artus Films Region 0 - PAL	Criterion Collection - Spine #921 Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:26:21 (4% PAL Speedup)	1:30:39.183
Video	1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 6.17 PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s	1.37:1 Disc Size: 31,625,909,722 bytes Feature Size: 26,771,251,200 bytes Average Bitrate: 35.26 Mbps Dual-layered Blu-ray MPEG-4 AVC Video
	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 2.0 Mono)	LPCM Audio English 1152 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1152 kbps / 24-bit
Subtitles	French, none	English (SDH), none
Features	Release Information: Studio: Artus Aspect Ratio: Original Aspect ratio : 1.33:1 Edition Details: • None DVD Release Date: December 5th, 2017 Standard Keep Case Chapters 12	Release Information: Studio: Criterion Collection 1.37:1 Disc Size: 31,625,909,722 bytes Feature Size: 26,771,251,200 bytes Average Bitrate: 35.26 Mbps Dual-layered Blu-ray MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • New conversation between author Hervé Dumont (*Frank Borzage: The Life and Films of a Hollywood Romantic) and film historian Peter Cowie (17:20) • PLUS: An essay by critic Philip Kemp Blu-ray* Release Date: May 8th, 2018 Transparent Blu-ray Case Chapters 12

Comments

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

The Criterion is advertised as a "New, restored 4K digital transfer". It is strikingly different from the single-layered French DVD released late last year (2017) that shows minor damage. The 1080P is on a dual-layered disc with a max'ed out bitrate. It shows slightly more information in the 1.37:1 frame - mostly on the right edge - than the SD and is, of course, in theatrical running time (no PAL speed-up.) Contrast is key to the film use of shadows and darkness and Criterion's HD transfer is wonderfully layered, thick supporting very dark scenes without digitization issues. Later scenes seem to be crisper than the very earlier ones and there is pleasing depth occasionally exported. Overall, this looks wonderful in-motion.

The Blu-ray film is presented in linear PCM mono track (24-bit). It is authentically flat but clear with audible, consistent dialogue - a full notch ahead of the DVD. The score is by William Lava (S.O.S. Tidal Wave, War Arrow, The Night Riders, Retreat, Hell!). There are optional SDH English subtitles included on the Region 'A' Blu-ray disc.

Criterion have given us only one digital supplement - a new, 18-minute, conversation between Hervé Dumont, director of the Cinémathèque suisse from 1996 to 2008, and author of Frank Borzage: The Life and Films of a Hollywood Romantic with film historian Peter Cowie, founder/publisher and general editor of the annual International Film Guide. It is a conversation recorded in Lausanne, Switzerland, in January 2018 and they discuss Borzage's history and style showing specific scenes of Moonrise. The package has a liner notes booklet with an essay by critic Philip Kemp.

Moonrise is a remarkable Noir with some of the best cinematography and use of light in the cycle. Borzage may have been at the height of his creativity utilizing the most out of a modest budget. The 4K restoration package is a significant upgrade and the film is rarely been available at all for home theatre fans - they should deeply appreciate Criterion's Blu-ray. Amazing 'dark cinema' at its most compelling. This is a must-own.