Columbia Tri-Star

Region 1 - NTSC

1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio
Average Bitrate: 4.20 mb/s
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s

1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio
Average Bitrate: 4.70 mb/s
PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Columbia Tri-Star

Columbia Tri-Star (U.K.)

Blu-ray

English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono , Dub in French, Italian and Spanish.

LPCM Audio English 1152 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1152 kbps / 24-bit
Commentary:

Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps

Aspect Ratio:
Fullscreen - 1.33:1

Edition Details:
• In a Lonely Place - Revisited (Featurette).
• Restoration story.
• Info and cover for other Bogart films from Columbia.

DVD Release Date: March 18, 2003
Keep Case

Chapters 28
 

Aspect Ratio:
Fullscreen - 1.33:1

Edition Details:
• In a Lonely Place - Revisited (Featurette).
• Restoration story.
• Info and cover for other Bogart films from Columbia.
 

Chapters 28

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

ADDITION: Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray April 16': Criterion's 1080P transfer, from a new 2K digital restoration, looks exquisite. It has the impressive contrast that we have come to expect from them - darker black levels and brighter white (without being blown-out as the SD looks in comparison.) Even though the Columbia SD transfer were always very strong (great care of the print) the higher resolution is far superior in-motion with a noticeably stronger level of detail and a much more film like presence. This looks flawless.

Criterion use their usual linear PCM mono track replicating the film's original flat soundstage. The notable score is by avant garde classical composer and pianist George Antheil - who has written music for Repeat Performance, Make Way for Tomorrow (1937), Sirocco (1951), House by the River (1950) Tokyo Joe (1949) and other Ray films, including, Knock on Any Door (1949). It sounds marvelous in the uncompressed adding that less-definable quality to the narrative expression. You can also detect Hadda Brooks' performing I Hadn't Anyone Till You and Either It's Love Or It Isn't as music in the film. Criterion include optional English (SDH) subtitles and the US disc is region 'A' where, I presume the UK disc is region 'B'-locked (although they will be the same packages, otherwise.)

We are privileged to get an exceptional new audio commentary featuring film scholar and NYU film professor Dana Polan discussing details of the production, Ray, Bogart, Grahame and much more giving a valuable perspective on the film's themes. I’m a Stranger Here Myself, is a 1975 documentary about director Nicholas Ray running a shade over 40-minutes and slightly condensed for this release (the original ran an hour as far as I know). It features interviews with Ray, filmmaker Francois Truffaut and actors Natalie Wood and John Houseman, among others. We also get a new, 16-minute, interview with biographer Vincent Curcio (the excellent Suicide Blonde: The Life of Gloria Grahame) about actor Gloria Grahame revealing some of the interesting tidbits of this memorable actress's personal life and career. In a Lonely Place Revisited is a 20-minute piece from 2002 featuring filmmaker Curtis Hanson discussing the many facets of In a Lonely Place that have made it an enduring classic. Also included is an hour-long radio adaptation from March 6th, 1948 of the original Dorothy B. Hughes novel, broadcast on the program Suspense. It stars Robert Montgomery and Laurene Tuttle and was produced by Montgomery. There is also a trailer and the package contains a liner notes booklet with an essay by critic Imogen Sara Smith.

I was in a high state of anticipation for this masterpiece release and it appears to have surpassed my lofty expectations. The film's a/v is rich and embracing and the extras, including the valuable commentary, make this an absolute must-own Blu-ray. Buy with extreme confidence.

***