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Two Men in Manhattan aka Deux hommes dans Manhattan [Blu-ray]
(Jean-Pierre Melville, 1959)
Review by Gary Tooze
Production: Theatrical: Belfort Films Video: Cohen Media Group
Disc: Region: 'A' (as verified by the Oppo Blu-ray player) Runtime: 1:24:30.231 Disc Size: 39,644,734,070 bytes Feature Size: 25,433,281,920 bytes Video Bitrate: 36.00 Mbps Chapters: 9 Case: Standard Blu-ray case Release date: September 17th, 2013
Video: Aspect ratio: 1.33:1 Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Audio: LPCM Audio French 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit
Subtitles: English (SDH), none
Extras: • Keeping Up Appearances: a conversation between critics Jonathan Rosenbaum and Ignatiy Vishnevetsky (35:48) • Original French Trailer (3:47)
• Original Re-release Trailer (1:35)
Bitrate:
Description: A French UN delegate has disappeared into thin air, sending reporter Moreau (Jean-Pierre Melville) and hard drinking photographer Delmas (Pierre Grasset) on an assignment to find him. Their only lead is a picture of three women. Set against a smoky jazz score and featuring stunning black and white cinematography that beautifully captures the gritty streets at night, this is director Melville s love letter to New York City and homage to the American Film Noir.
The Film: The primary protagonists in this routine drama are two French journalists, Delmas (Pierre Grasset) and Moreau (Jean-Pierre Melville, the director), and also the city of New York at night. The two journalists are on the trail of a story -- a French diplomat has disappeared from the U.N. for no apparent reason. As they wander through the city tracking down the reason for the disappearance, the journalists eventually discover that the diplomat has met with foul play. Now the two men have a serious disagreement. Delmas wants to take photos of what happened and use them to create sensational headlines and plenty of attention, but Moreau wants them both to cover up what they have found and bury what they know. Given the setting for this tale, both English and French are spoken throughout the film. Excerpt from MRQE located HEREIf Bob le Flambeur was Melville's love letter to Paris, Deux Hommes is his billet-doux to New York. The chief pleasure from this fast, laconic movie is in the appearance of Melville himself, playing one of two journalists who are sent to Manhattan to trace the French UN delegate, only to discover that he died in his mistress' arms, thus creating possible scandal. The New York scenes were shot on the run, and mainly consist of Melville racing from a cab and into the entrances of famous buildings, which are then matched with suspiciously Parisian-looking interiors. A well-sustained, cheeky joke, full of life and a love for all things American, indispensable for an overview of the man. Excerpt from TimeOut located HERE
Image : NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc. Two Men in Manhattan on Blu-ray from Cohen Media looks super. There is a pleasing sheen of fine grain and contrast is strong with layered greyscale. This is dual-layered with a max'ed out bitrate. There are almost no speckles and it appears as though some restoration may have gone on at the film-level. Either that or the source was in excellent condition. Softness appears inherent in the production - nothing to do with the fine transfer. The weakest visuals are in the scene with Melville standing on the subway train which makes it look vérité. There are almost exclusively night sequences but there is no intrusive noise. This Blu-ray video is quite impressive - as are most of Cohen's efforts to date!
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Audio :The linear PCM 2.0 channel at 2304 kbps with segments in both French and English is clean and clear without flaws. Other than that it is relatively unremarkable with some atmospheric original music by Christian Chevallier and Martial Solal. There are English subtitles for the French language and m y Oppo has identified it as being a region 'A'.
Extras : Supplements include and interesting 35-minute conversation between critics Jonathan Rosenbaum and Ignatiy Vishnevetsky entitled 'Keeping Up Appearances'. We should note, as Jonathan does in the beginning, that it does contains spoilers and should only be viewed after the feature. There is also an original French trailer and original re-release trailer - plus the package contains a 12-page liner notes leaflet with photos and a new essay by Melville scholar Ginette Vincendeau.
BOTTOM LINE: Gary Tooze September 6th, 2013
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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 5000 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.
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