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Man in the Dark [Blu-ray]
(Lew Landers, 1953)
Review by Gary Tooze
Production: Theatrical: Columbia Pictures Corporation Video: Twilight Time
Disc: Region: FREE (as verified by the Oppo Blu-ray player) Runtime: 1:07:29.086 Disc Size: 23,874,272,309 bytes Feature Size: 23,169,386,496 bytes Video Bitrate: 26.00 Mbps Chapters: 12 Case: Standard Blu-ray case Release date: January, 2014
Video: Aspect ratio: 1.33:1 Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio English 1066 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1066 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 1.0 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit) Isolated Score: DTS-HD Master Audio English 1888 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1888 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Subtitles: • English, None
Extras: • Theatrical Trailer (1:39)• Isolated Score
Bitrate:
Description: The first 3-D motion picture produced by a major studio, Man in the Dark (1953) is a classic film noir, complete with tough-guy protagonist (Edmond O’Brien), heart-of-gold moll (Audrey Totter), and plenty of underworld action—but with handsome stereoscopic imagery directed by the prolific Lew Landers (The Raven). Focusing on a thug who undergoes brain surgery to eliminate his criminal tendencies, the film utilizes spectacular 3-D effects to simulate the newly decent hero’s disorientation as he tries to remember his life of crime, even as he is pursued by former cohorts who want in on the spoils of his latest robbery.
The Film: Filmed in 3D, Man in the Dark stars Edmond O'Brien as Steve Rawley, a man with a past. Thing of it is, Rawley knows nothing about that past: a former gangster, he underwent an operation that not only altered his appearance, but also wiped out all criminal tendencies--not to mention all memory of his past misdeeds. Rawley is kidnapped by his former mob cohorts, who demand that he cough up the $130,000 that he salted away during his gangster days. Audrey Totter co-stars as Peg Benedict, who loves Rawley for what he is, not what he was. Man in the Dark is a remake of the 1936 Ralph Bellamy vehicle The Man who Lived Twice. Excerpt from MRQE located HERECritic Elliott Stein, writing for The Village Voice, discussed the effects used in the film: "This seems to be the 3-D flick that most exploits the short-lived medium. An endless array of stuff comes whiffling at your face—a lit cigar, a repulsive spider, scissors, forceps, fists, falling bodies, and a roller coaster. The prolific Landers may not have been a great director, but he was a pretty good pitcher." Image : NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc. Firstly, this Twilight Time Blu-ray package offers both the 3D and 2D version of the film, Man in the Dark. We will only review the 2D version here. NOTE: When viewed on a compatible 3-D monitor and 3-D blu-ray player set-up, the menu offers an option for both 3-D and 2-D playback, but when this disc is viewed on a regular 2-D monitor and 2-D blu-ray player, the 3-D version is inaccessible -- the "Play Movie" option defaults solely to the 2-D version -- there is nothing wrong with your disc, the specialized encoding merely prevents the 3-D version being incorrectly displayed on a 2-D screen. This is only single-layered but it looks quite acceptable - probably more the condition of a strong source. Contrast has some nice layering and the visuals seem fairly tight. There is pleasing grain and even some depth exported. Not much damage or speckles are visible. I noticed a few compression-style artifacts but nothing untoward. The Blu-ray is decent with no major flaws - it gave me a solid 1080P presentation.
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Audio :The DTS-HD mono track at 1066 kbps sounds clean with a few more impressive moments in pushing the film's modest depth through. Twilight Time offer an isolated score in a slightly more robust lossless track. There are optional English subtitles (sample above) and m y Oppo has identified it as being a region FREE.
Extras : Only a theatrical trailer, and, of course, as on most Twilight Time releases - you can access the isolated film score track.
BOTTOM LINE: Gary Tooze January 26th, 2014 |
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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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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