Never Let Go - Peter Sellers

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

directed by John Guillermin
UK 1960

Never Let Go, a movie rarely shown in the U.S. (and perhaps elsewhere), is well worth your time, especially if you are a Peter Sellers fan. The plot is reminiscent of The Bicycle Thief, though this movie will not be confused with Italian Neo-Realism. Under John Guillermin's direction, this drama moves from a nervy look at the underworld to a climax comparable to a western's showdown on a deserted dirt street. Richard Todd plays a cosmetics salesman barely doing well enough to make a living, in part due to his milquetoast-type personality. When his car is stolen, his life takes a serious downturn--he cannot work without it. His quest to get his car back drives the plot till the movie's end. Unlike The Bicycle Thief, however, much of the focus scene-by-scene is on the thief, played here by the late, great Peter Sellers.

Excerpt of review from Kevin G. Helfenbein for imdb.com located HERE

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Theatrical Release: 7 June 1960 (London)

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DVD Comparison:

MGM - Region 1 - NTSC vs. VCI - Region 1 - NTSC

Big thanks to Gregory Meshman for all the Screen Caps!

(MGM - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT vs. VCI - Region 1 - NTSC - RIGHT)

DVD Box Covers
Distribution	MGM Region 1 - NTSC	VCI Region 1 - NTSC
Runtime	1:31:18	1:27:30 (4% PAL speedup)
Video	1.66:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 5.48 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	1.45:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 6.48 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: MGM
Bitrate: VCI
Audio	Dolby Digital Mono 2.0 (English)	Dolby Digital 2.0 & 5.1 (English)
Subtitles	English, French, Spanish, None	English, Spanish, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: MGM Aspect Ratio: Widescreen letterboxed - 1.66:1 Edition Details: • Theatrical trailer (2:33) DVD Release Date: June 7, 2005 Keep Case Chapters 16	Release Information: Studio: VCI Aspect Ratio: Widescreen letterboxed - 1.45:1 Edition Details: • Theatrical trailer (2:32) • Photo Gallery (0:50) DVD Release Date: June 19, 2012 Keep Case Chapters 13

Comments

Never Let Go has been released twice in region 1 - first from MGM in 2005 and more recently in 2012 by VCI. Unfortunately, both discs present the film in letterboxed widescreen version - no anamorphic enhancement in either release. Comparing 2 discs, we can see the better release was done by MGM. The more recent transfer is in awkward aspect ratio of 1.45:1, squeezing the image and removing the sides. Both transfers are interlaced, but the contrast is off on VCI disc with overblown whites and very dark blacks - see the last capture where the faces nearly blend in with the background. The VCI disc provides and option of 2 soundtracks - 2.0 and enhanced 5.1. Both discs feature English and Spanish subtitles with MGM disc adding an option of French subtitles. A letterboxed theatrical trailer is a lone extra on MGM disc, but VCI disc also adds a 50-second gallery of posters and stills. The gallery is presented anamorphically enhanced - one wishes the money for the remix and this was better spent on a new transfer. The film is also available in UK from Carlton/ITV, but it is also a letterboxed transfer. Despite the drawbacks of DVD releases, the film with excellent performances by Richard Todd and Peter Sellers and direction from John Guillermin comes highly recommended.

- Gregory Meshman

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(MGM - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT vs. VCI - Region 1 - NTSC - RIGHT)