ADDITION: Cohen Blu-ray - September 2014': Prior to the restoration demonstration we get screens that state: "Hangmen Also Die" is a historically important film by a very respected director. Still, as with many films from this era, the original film elements have not weathered the test of time very well. Cohen Film Collection, in conjunction with the British Film Institute and Pinewood Studious, endeavored to breathe new life into this forgotten classic, so that a new generation of film enthusiasts could enjoy it anew." It also stated that it was restored in 2012 by the Restoration Department Pinewood Studios UK utilizing the best of the surviving archive film elements that included some original 1943 nitrate and then goes on to thank the BFI National Archive for preserving and supplying original film material. The 1080P image is brighter with most of the marks and light damage cleaned-up. There is a bit of thickness (soft) and texture that separates it from the German SD. I don't *think* it was over digitized (if so, I never found it egregious) and looks quite impressive in-motion.

Cohen use a linear PCM 2.0 channel at 2304 kbps. It sounds consistent and clean with a smidgeon of depth ion the score. There are no subtitles and the Blu-ray disc is region 'A'-locked.

Extras are excellent starting with an informative commentary by Richard Pena, director emeritus of the New York Film Festival, 2014. It sheds so much light on the production. We also get the 1/2 hour Story of a Hangmen featurette with Robert Gerwath on Reinhard Heydrich 2014, an 8-minute German Newsreel from 1942, a 5-minute restoration comparison utilizing split screens and the 2014 Re-release Trailer. There is also a 12-page leaflet with an essay and photos.

Fabulous release with great extras - especially the Pena commentary! This is the definitive release and a must-own for Fritz Lang fans and all cinema fans. Absolutely recommended!

***

ADDITION e-m-s - Region 2- PAL - December 2010: Despite some shortcoming of this sharper German transfer, like zoomed-in picture compared to Kino and Orbit Media discs with blown-out whites, the recommendation is with the now out-of-print disc from e.m.s. For some reason, the bitrate was unavailable for this disc - it is coded region 2, but is progressive and dual-layered. The biggest advantage is a one-minute scene that was missing from both region FREE discs. (See the last two captures). It is bare-bones with no extras.

***

ADDITION: Orbit Media - Region 0 PAL - Aug 06' - I would say that this Orbit Media transfer is equally as bad as the Kino - with strong weaknesses (if different weaknesses) than the NTSC edition. The big issue with the PAL release, that caused difficulty in capture matching, is the terrible combing that is extremely prevalent (see many examples below).

As the times are the same we can deduce that one is taken from the opposing standard without benefit of conversion first. I'll assume that the Orbit Media is the culprit. It still has similar damage marks and artifacts - but slightly less visible than the Kino.

Hopefully someone will release this film properly on DVD soon. Our recommendation at this stage is to buy the Film Noir - The Dark Side of Hollywood boxset for the best bang for your buck.

***

Typical Kino weak to midland transfer. Artifacts, boosting, cue blips, damage (see last three captures) are all visible, but the image is acceptable on tube viewing where the deficiencies become less noticeable. No subtitle options or extras, but the good news is that this is part of the Film Noir - The Dark Side of Hollywood boxset with Sudden Fear / The Long Night / Railroaded and Behind Locked Doors coming out September 12th, 2006. By current Kino pricing standards it is an impressive deal.

SPOILER:

RE: the missing ending - Glenn Erickson noted in his review at DVD Savant HERE - "Lotte Eisner's great book Fritz Lang had the answer sought by Savant. It too listed the running time as 140 minutes. But she describes missing material, on page 230 of the hardbound edition:

"... the spectator is thrown into new suspense as to whether the conviction of Czaka will in fact halt the killing of the hostages [note: with the heroine's father among them]. Some copies of the film circulating in France do not, in fact, show the death of Novotny and the remaining hostages; but in the original version of the film the fact of the shooting of the professor was shown, followed by the flower-decked graves of the hostages, to indicate that the Nazis in fact broke their promise ..."  

 - Gregory Meshman