99 River Street Blu-ray

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

(aka "Crosstown" )

directed by Phil Karlson
USA 1953

Ernie Driscoll (John Payne) is an ex-fighter who came within seconds of winning the world championship. He's now forced to eke out a living driving a cab. A basically decent guy, he has lots of people who care about him, including Linda James (Evelyn Keyes), a slightly ditsy actress friend -- but Ernie also has a short fuse, especially where his wife Pauline (Peggie Castle) is concerned. His rage boils over when he spots her kissing another man, but her unfaithfulness turns out to be the least of his worries. The man she's seeing, Vic Rawlins (Brad Dexter), is a career criminal with both the police and his former partners after him, and he sees Ernie as the perfect fall-guy. The law and Rawlins' criminal associates are soon closing in on Ernie, while he tries desperately -- with Linda's help -- to buy the time he needs to unravel this nightmare.

***

In this classic film noir, a down-on-his-luck former boxing contender (John Payne, The Crooked Way, Hidden Fear), turned cab driver has to hide from the police when he s accused of murdering his badgering wife when her lifeless body turns up in the back of his cab. On the run and out of time, he needs to bring the real killer to justice before the cops and the thugs responsible for the set-up get their hands on him. Top-notch direction by the great Phil Karlson (Kansas City Confidential) and featuring a great cast that includes Evelyn Keyes (The Prowler), Brad Dexter (The Magnificent Seven), Frank Faylen (Riot in Cell Block 11), Peggie Castle (I, the Jury) and Jay Adler (The Killing).

Posters

Theatrical Release: 2 October 1953 (New York)

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Comparison:

MGM (MGM Limited Edition Collection) - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Kino Lorber (2016) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray vs. Kino Lorber (2024) - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Big thanks to Gregory Meshman for the DVD Review!

Box Cover
			BONUS CAPTURES:
Distribution	MGM Region 0 - NTSC	Kino Lorber (2016) Region 'A' - Blu-ray	Kino Lorber (2024) Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:23:03	1:23:22.038	1:23:13.029
Video	1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 6.21 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	1080P Single-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 18,936,721,707 bytes Feature: 17,014,904,832 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 23.88 Mbps	1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 28,608,113,232 bytes Feature: 26,712,446,976 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 38.87 Mbps
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate
Bitrate: Blu-ray
Bitrate: Blu-ray
Audio	Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono (English)	DTS-HD Master Audio English 1563 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1563 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit) Commentary: Dolby Digital Audio English 256 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 256 kbps	DTS-HD Master Audio English 1558 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1558 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) Commentary: Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -31dB
Subtitles	None	None	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: MGM Aspect Ratio: Fullscreen - 1.33:1 Edition Details: • None DVD Release Date: January 18th, 2011 Keep Case Chapters 9	Release Information: Studio: Kino Lorber (2016) 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 18,936,721,707 bytes Feature: 17,014,904,832 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 23.88 Mbps Edition Details: • Audio Commentary by Film Historian Eddie Muller • *99 River Street* Trailer (2:13) - Trailers for *Hidden Fear* (2:03), *Shield For Murder* (1:45), *He Ran All the Way* (2:13) Standard Blu-ray case Blu-ray Release Date: June 21st, 2016 Chapters: 8	Release Information: Studio: Kino Lorber (2024) 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 28,608,113,232 bytes Feature: 26,712,446,976 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 38.87 Mbps Edition Details: • Audio Commentary by Film Historian Eddie Muller • Trailers for 99 River Street, The Boss , Shield for Murder , Force of Evil and The Killing Standard Blu-ray inside slipcase Release Date: August 13th, 2024 Chapters: 9

Comments

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

ADDITION: Kino Lorber - Region 'A' - Blu-ray August 2024: Kino transferred this super Noir title, Phil Karlson's "99 River Street", to Blu-ray in 2016. This new 2024 rendering is an upgrade using a dual-layered disc with a 50% higher bitrate. It still has some slight strobbing but the new 1080P has richer black levels and a marginal improvement in detail. It looks better and I appreciated the image presentation upgrade.

NOTE: We have added 68 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Kino use a DTS-HD Master dual-mono track (24-bit) in the original English language. This is a bump over the 16-bit 2016 Blu-ray. The subtle score was by Arthur Lange (The Woman in the Window, Cry Danger, Casanova Brown, Along Came Jones) and Emil Newman (Chicago Confidential, The Undying Monster, Hondo, Cry Danger) sounding clean with consistent dialogue in the lossless transfer. It supports the film unremarkably. Kino offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray. The 2016 BD had no subtitles options.

Kino include the same excellent commentary by Eddie Muller, who describes it as one of the most satisfying films on the resume of Phil Karlson. He comments on how the narrative follows the course of a single night and he talks about the cast ands crew as well as much more. It's at Eddie's usual high standard. There are also trailers for 99 River Street, The Boss, Shield for Murder, Force of Evil and The Killing.

Phil Karlson's "99 River Street" spends a hectic night with New York taxi driver, and ex-boxer, Ernie Driscoll (John Payne - The Boss, Hidden Fear, Larceny etc.) who has troubles with his dissatisfied wife Pauline (Peggie Castle - Back from the Dead, The Long Wait, I, The Jury) and she is having an affair with a sociopathic criminal. Ernie navigates the evening with help from his friends Linda James (Evelyn Keyes - The Prowler, The Killer that Stalked New York) and buddy Stan Hogan (Frank Faylen - The Lost Weekend) avoiding cops and diamond heist thieves while clearing himself of murder charges. It is quintessential and lovable Noir. Both the audio and video have improved plus the additional option of English subtitles, the excellent commentary stays and there's a cool slipcase... this new Kino Blu-ray is a welcome upgrade and must have for aficionados of the dark cinema cycle.

***

ADDITION: Kino Lorber - Region 'A' - Blu-ray June 16': The 2011 DVD was horribly green and looks slightly vertically stretched beside Kino Lorber new 1080P transfer which shows some texture and a pleasing film-like heaviness. It's single-layered with a decent, but not stellar, bitrate for the 1 hour 23-minute film. It's imperfect but fairly consistent and a giant leap beyond the SD.

Kino Lorber use a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel track at 1563 kbps (16-bit) and it sounds clean with minor depth in the film's effects (boxing match etc.) The dialogue is audible and the score by Arthur Lange (Cry Danger) and Emil Newman (Hondo) - who also combined on Woman on the Run - and the score here augments the film's dark expression. There are no subtitles offered and the Blu-ray disc is region 'A'-locked.

Immense value for Noir fans in the new audio commentary by film historian Eddie Muller giving essential detail and background on this highly-regarded gem. Full marks for its inclusion. There are also trailers for 99 River Street, Hidden Fear, Shield For Murder, and He Ran All the Way.

The Blu-ray gets a strong recommendation - both for the film, it's improved digital presentation and especially the Muller commentary.

***

ON THE DVD: 99 River Street is an excellent, but little seen thriller from United Artists from 1953. It became the first classic film noir released in MGM's made-on-demand service and our first review from MGM Limited Edition Collection line. The disc starts with a disclaimer that "the best source materials available" were used, but overall the transfer looks excellent - good contrast and very minimal damage on the print. Unfortunately, the disc is interlaced.

The audio is without any distortion and is clean. Per usual standards for these MOD releases, there are no subtitles and chapters are fixed at every 10 minutes, making 9 total for this 83-minute film. There are no extras, but we still highly recommend this release just on the quality of the film itself.

- Gregory Meshman

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