Lightning Strikes Twice

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

Directed by King Vidor
USA 1951

Richard Trevelyan (Richard Todd) was convicted of murdering his wife, given an 11th-hour Death Row reprieve and freed under unusual circumstances after retrial. But his past does not matter to Shelley Carnes (Ruth Roman), an actress visiting the Texas ranchland that Richard calls home. She’s fallen in love with him. But after she becomes the second Mrs. Trevelyan, Shelley is beset by doubts and fear. The director and screenwriter of Bette Davis’s Beyond the Forest – King Vidor (The Fountainhead) and Lenore Coffee (The End of the Affair) – reteam in a richly atmospheric mix of mystery, romance and murder sparked by a luminous cast that also includes Mercedes McCambridge and Zachary Scott.

Poster

Theatrical Release: April 12th, 1951

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DVD Review: Warner Home Video (Warner Archive Collection) - Region 0 - NTSC

DVD Box Cover		CLICK to order from:
Distribution	Warner Home Video Region 0 - NTSC
Runtime	1:30:21
Video	1.33:1 Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 6.2 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate:
Audio	English (Dolby Digital 2.0)
Subtitles	None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Warner Aspect Ratio: Original Aspect Ratio 1.33:1 Edition Details: • Archive Advert (:59) • Trailer (2:24) DVD Release Date: September 1st, 2009 Keep Case Chapters: 10

Comments:

Solid film here with Ruth Roman having a "Patricia Neal" thing going on with her mouth and nose (yes, yes Fountainhead - Vidor - hmmmm). Flashback tale with an initial death-row prison backdrop - sure - we can squeeze it into the noir style. Great cinematography too.

It's another single-layered, but progressive, DVD-R treatment that may be the best I've seen visually from the Warner Archive. Contrast and detail are fabulous - all things considered - and my only niggling complaint would be some untoward speckles and scratches in the first 5 minutes. Other than that this is a sweet looking transfer. Not perfect but how I wish all Archive offerings appeared this strong.

Predictably, no subtitles - and, unremarkable but audible 2.0 channel sound. Extras consist of only the too-oft seen Archive advert that starts the disc presentation and an option to peruse the 2.5 minute trailer of Lightning Strikes Twice.

Vidor? Ruth Roman - solid transfer and debatable noir - there are enough reasons to indulge. Hey, I can see myself viewing this little number a few times in the future. It has an intangible quality worth revisiting - yes, recommended.