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Directed by Nathan Juran
USA 19
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Roger Corman's co-penned (the first appearance of his name in credits) Noir-esque thriller. It's an engaging mid 50's crime drama of the low budget variety. Conte as an Korean War Marine on the lam after a love-hate first chance meeting with bar girl and ex-model Terry Smith (Mary Beth Hughes) in a Vegas casino. He beds her and departs early the next morning but later she is found dead. He evades the police and thumbs a ride with female fashion photog (Joan Bennett) and her lithe young model (Wanda Hendrix) - hence the Highway Dragnet begins. The film's climax ventures to an atmospheric flooded house on the ocean. Romance and a surprise killer and lurking in the shallows... |
Posters
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Theatrical Release: January 20th,1954
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Comparison:
Retroflix - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
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K inoRegion 'A' - Blu-ray |
| Distribution |
RetroFlix Region 0 - NTSC |
K inoRegion 'A' - Blu-ray |
| Runtime | 1:11:00 | 1:10:42.780 |
| Video | 1.33:1
Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 4.66 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s |
Disc Size: 21,542,622,725 bytes Feature Size: 19,792,275,456 bytes Video Bitrate: 33.81 MbpsSingle-layered Blu-ray MPEG-4 AVC Video |
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NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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| Bitrate: |
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| Bitrate: Blu-ray |
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| Audio | English (Dolby Digital 2.0) | DTS-HD Master Audio English 1554 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1554 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit) |
| Subtitles | None | None |
| Features |
Release Information: Edition Details:
• none |
Release Information: Studio: Koch
Disc Size: 21,542,622,725 bytes Feature Size: 19,792,275,456 bytes Video Bitrate: 33.81 MbpsSingle-layered Blu-ray MPEG-4 AVC Video
Edition Details: Chapters 8 |
| Comments: |
NOTE:
The below
Blu-ray
captures were taken directly from the
Blu-ray
disc.
ADDITION: Kino - Region 'A' Blu-ray March 2018: Highway Dragnet is a cool 'B' Noir and I was very happy for it to reach Blu-ray. This may eclipse Two Women as the widest variance in digital qualities. The new Kino is 1080P with a very high bitrate for the 1-hour 10-minute film. It is widescreen in the 1.66:1 aspect ratio and contrast is nicely layered and grain textures are consistent. There is still some damaged sequences - usually frame-specific. We get a DTS-HD Master track 2.0 channel mono (16-bit). There is no credited score but does have background music that supports the mood and the barren desert landscapes. It sounds fine as compared to the disaster DVD. There are no subtitles on the Region 'A' Blu-ray disc and only 6 trailers as extras. This fabulous 'B' leaning film with many attributes representing it to the Noir style. Conte, Joan Bennett and Wanda Hendrix (hubba hubba) are all fabulous - ditto for director Duran's participation and it's a very appealing low budget effort. The bare-bones Blu-ray is a fine, if still imperfect, way to see the film but I was just thrilled with the HD presentation as compared to what I had to exist with for years. This is a fab dark-cinema cracker way to start a Noir double feature. *** ON THE DVD: I purchased this 'DVD' about a week ago (May 2010) from the Turner Classics Movie site HERE but now they know nothing about the title (and three others I purchased). It arrived in a box with a 'Retroflix' cover (their site HERE also appears to be having issues identifying this as a purchasable DVD). What we surmise from this - is that it, and the other titles, have disputed rights. It's a puny (2.42 Gig) single-layered, heavily interlaced, DVD-R that is riddled with artefacts. Great film, but - as you can see - deplorable transfer. It is close to unwatchable. It looks like someone rendered it in their basement from a 3rd generation VHS. Shameful way to treat such a clandestine gem.
No subtitles - and, unremarkable and inconsistent 2.0 channel sound. Extras, or even a menu, are non-existent. I'm happy to have seen this but crave a 'real' DVD release with the rights situation resolved soon! |
Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
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CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Screen Captures
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1) Retroflix - Region 0 - NTSC TOP 2) Kino Media - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM |
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1) Retroflix - Region 0 - NTSC TOP 2) Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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1) Retroflix - Region 0 - NTSC TOP 2) Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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1) Retroflix - Region 0 - NTSC TOP 2) Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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1) Retroflix - Region 0 - NTSC TOP 2) Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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1) Retroflix - Region 0 - NTSC TOP 2) Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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1) Retroflix - Region 0 - NTSC TOP 2) Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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1) Retroflix - Region 0 - NTSC TOP 2) Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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1) Retroflix - Region 0 - NTSC TOP 2) Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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1) Retroflix - Region 0 - NTSC TOP 2) Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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1) Retroflix - Region 0 - NTSC TOP 2) Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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1) Retroflix - Region 0 - NTSC TOP 2) Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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More Kino- Region 'A' - Blu-ray Captures
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K inoRegion 'A' - Blu-ray |
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