The Razors Edge Blu-ray

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

directed by Edmund Goulding
USA 1946

Screen legend Tyrone Power stars in this engaging classic based on W. Somerset Maugham's best-selling novel. Despite being offered an impressive job when he returns from World War I, Larry Darrell (Power) instead opts for the Paris bohemian lifestyle, followed by a soul-searching trip to the Far East. After his beautiful fiancée (Gene Tierney) loses patience with the spiritual seeker and marries a wealthy man, Larry finds himself drawn to Sophie (Anne Baxter in an OSCAR-Winning performance), an old friend. Newly widowed, Sophie has descended into alcoholism, a state from which Larry hopes to save her in this thought-provoking film Nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

Poster

Theatrical Release: November 19th, 1946

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Comparison:

20th Century Fox - Region 1 - NTSC vs. 20th Century Fox - Region FREE - Blu-ray

1) 20th Century Fox - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT

2) 20th Century Fox - Region FREE - Blu-ray RIGHT

Box Covers
Distribution	20th Century Fox Home Video - Region 1 - NTSC	20th Century Fox Region FREE - Blu-ray
Runtime	2:24:45	2:24:56.729
Video	1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 7.1 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 45,261,998,861 bytes Feature: 44,397,920,256 bytes Video Bitrate: 37.21 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate:
Bitrate: Blu-ray
Audio	English (Mono), English (Stereo), DUB: Spanish (Mono)	DTS-HD Master Audio English 1089 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1089 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 1.0 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit) Dolby Digital Audio Spanish 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps Commentary: Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Subtitles	English, Spanish, None	English, Spanish, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: 20th Century Fox Home Video Aspect Ratio: Original aspect Ratio 1.33:1 Edition Details: • Commentary by Anthony Slide and Robert Birchard • Fox Movie-Tone News (3 short features) • 4-page liner notes with limited film info and poster DVD Release Date: April 5th, 2005 Keep Case Chapters: 28	Release Information: Studio: 20th Century Fox 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 45,261,998,861 bytes Feature: 44,397,920,256 bytes Video Bitrate: 37.21 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Commentary by Anthony Slide and Robert Birchard • Fox Movie-Tone News (3 short features) Blu-ray Release Date: January 13th, 2015 Standard Blu-ray Case Chapters: 28

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: (January 2015) 20th Century Fox - Region FREE - Blu-ray: A successful dual-layered transfer with a max'ed high bitrate for the 2.5 hour film. I was impressed by the SD back in 2005 but it does look greenish beside the new 1080P, which advances with richer black levels and the high resolution brings out the film's textures but it can tend to look a bit digitized. The source still has some light scratches and marks, plus a bit of contrast flickering but overall, in-motion, it looks quite good.

Included is an authentic DTS-HD Master mono track at 1089 kbps. It sounds clean, consistent and flat with the depth prevalent in the noble score by Alfred Newman (The Diary of Anne Frank, Bus Stop, Blood and Sand, A Letter to Three Wives, Panic in the Streets etc.) sounding majestic and brilliant. There are optional, white, subtitles (see below) on the Region FREE Blu-ray disc.

Extras mimic the DVD with the commentary by Anthony Slide and Robert Birchard and Fox Movie-Tone News but we lose the liner notes and poster image. What a great film - magnificent and one we can whole-heartedly recommend in this superior, if imperfect, HD release. I can't think of a reason not to own this film in your collection.

***

ON THE DVD: I'm always swayed by Gene Tierney's beauty, but this is a decent image. Progressive, 1.33 ratio, film grain prevalent, good contrast and relatively sharp. Both English audio tracks seemed clear and defined to me, although I only test the stereo option briefly. I don't like the bright yellow subtitles, but they are readable and accurate. I'm about 2/5ths through the commentary and am enjoying the insights. This is great film with a universal theme still prevalent today.