The new Film Detective (A Bucket of Blood, Beat the Devil, Hollow Triumph, The Bat) 1080P is a BD-R but superior to the HD Cinema Blu-ray in that it doesn't have the boosting, gains some texture and looks notably more film-like. It is cited as 'transferred and restored from 35mm archival film elements' - which isn't saying a lot. It is still hazy but also has a bit richer contrast - I see some minor speckles and damage that the HD Cinema, unfortunately, wiped clean - so that is a positive. It looked pleasing in-motion although I can't say that this will be the best video transfer to digital - it appears to hold that position right now - which is encouraging. Discerning fans will appreciate the loss of the waxiness found on the 2012 Blu-ray.

Audio is exported via a DTS-HD Master (24-bit) in 2,0 channel and this is appealing - if also maintaining an edge of imperfection. The Miklós Rózsa score (The Killers, The Lost Weekend, The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, The Strange Love of Martha Ivers, Double Indemnity) adds significantly to the film experience - demonstratively in uncompressed adding to the film's dark auras. Film Detective also add optional English subtitles (see sample) but the region-free disc is truly bare-bones with no supplements - where I appreciated HD Cinema's inclusion of the commentary.

So, the price represents the lack of extras and those keen on Noir or this particular film - should indulge. I was happy to see it in 1080P without DNR marring the presentation. Great flic - I could watch it again right now. Keep up the efforts Film Detective (stop the BD-R'ing though) - your modest package does have value and there are fans who appreciate the attempts at authenticity. Recommended!

***

ADDITION: HD Cinema Classics - Region FREE Blu-ray - May 2012: Once again HD Cinema Classics are giving a clinic in DNR taking out all the grain from the image as they did with the Blu-rays of The Stranger, Kansas City Confidential, Dementia13 and The Terror. Kind of a magic trick "Poof - and now the grain is all gone!." It's not so much that the plasticized, waxy, softness looking bad (they are very clean and smooth) - they just look more like video than film. There is also brightness boosting. So what we get is not what the film really looked like but what some restorer that HD Classics uses - what they think it should look like. Now, some scenes, or stills, do look better but there are many patches of smearing that will be offensive to those sensitive to it.

To each his own - I have nothing against a few scratches and cue blip markers - it feel 'real' to me with that.

Audio is lossless and seems to represent the source used decently. There are optional Spanish subtitles on the region FREE Blu-ray disc.

HD Classics are at least 'trying' with the supplements offering an audio commentary (that I will indulge in this evening) and a split-screen restoration demonstration.

I'd appreciate seeing The Red House - a cracking suspense Noir! - complete with cue-markers and damage not simply boosted away, and an image rich with grain. Nice to see a commentary added but what price do we pay? Is this better than the SD versions? It depends on what you value. My admission is that I enjoyed my viewing and they aren't gouging on the price. That is all.

 - Gary Tooze

***

ON THE DVDs: ADDITION: Pop Flix / Allegro - August 2011: I was pointed to this DVD collection at Home Theater Forum as having superior image quality for this particular title. Just like Acme DVD Works / VCI disc, Pop Flix / Allegro disc features superior transfer compared to Alpha abomination. It still has all too familiar scratches, marks and damage - all three transfers were clearly made from the same print. Unfortunately, mono soundtrack is still problematic on this disc with lots of distortion and noise on the soundtrack. The two-disc set features five other films noir, all mainstay of public domain. Unfortunately, all other transfers are very poor quality - The Stranger and Scarlet Street exist in superior versions, The Scar/Hollow Triumph and The Woman on the Run are just as poor releases we already reviewed. Inner Sanctum (1949) hasn't been reviewed at DVDBeaver yet, although the transfer on this disc is poor. Compared to double feature from VCI, this set will get more bang for your buck, but we are still on a lookout for a better version of The Red House to surface.