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(aka 'Dark Highway" or "La Maison dans L'Hombre")
Robert Ryan plays Jim Wilson, a tough police detective embittered by years of dealing with low-life urban scum, in Nicholas Ray's moving film noir. After severely beating several suspects, Jim is assigned to a case far from the city to find the killer of a young girl. Joining the manhunt, in snow-covered terrain, Wilson finds himself paired with the victim's father, Walter Brent (Ward Bond), who plans to shoot the killer himself. When the two men come upon a cabin occupied by Mary Malden (Ida Lupino), a blind woman who is also the killer's sister, Wilson's life is changed forever. Mary, a generous and loving person who has cared for her mentally ill brother Danny (Sumner Williams) since the death of their parents, convinces Wilson to protect Danny from Brent. Wilson also promises to get help for Danny if he surrenders to him. Inspired by Mary's courage and recognizing Brent's rage as the mirror image of his own, Wilson gains the insight to free himself from his own blindness. *** On Dangerous Ground (1951) seems like two movies. The first section takes place in the city, and features a tough urban atmosphere familiar to us in film noir. The second section shares the same protagonist, the tough cop played by Robert Ryan, but otherwise introduces completely new characters and plot. This second mystery case takes place in the countryside, in a frozen mountainous area referred to as "upstate".
Ray's Johnny Guitar, (1954) shows plot and character similarities with the second part of the earlier On Dangerous Ground (1951). Both films have a character who is driving the authorities forward to arrest someone for a crime: vengeance for a murdered relative. This character is fanatic, relentless and unsympathetic in both films. Both have a young criminal, who is just a teenage boy and who barely knows what he is doing. Both criminals are protected by a sympathetic woman, whose house is a central location in the film, and who has a romance with the hero. Although she is protecting criminals out an emotional attachment, she is honest herself in both films. There is also a mild mannered, easily influenced sheriff who tends to fade into the background of both movies. The hero in both films is an outsider, a stranger to the community. All of the others have known each other and lived in the same town, but he is a visiting newcomer. He is far more neutral and dispassionate than the others, viewing events calmly and with skepticism. He is also pretty macho: a gunslinger in Johnny Guitar, an obsessed cop in On Dangerous Ground. Both men are trying to recover from emotional problems brought on by excessive involvement with a violent job. Both heroes are played by tall actors who tower over the other characters in the film. These five characters are virtually the whole cast of the last hour of Ground. But in Johnny Guitar, they are expanded to a host of others who have no parallel in the earlier film. These include The Dancing Kid, the Borgnine character, and the employees as Vienna's place, plus Mercedes' brother. Admittedly, except for the Dancing Kid, these are all supporting types. |
Posters
Theatrical Release: February 12th, 1952 - NY, NY - USA
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
Recommended Reading in Film Noir (CLICK COVERS or TITLES for more information)
The Third Man by Graham Greene |
The Dark Side of the Screen: Film Noir by Foster Hirsch |
Somewhere in the Night: Film Noir and the American City by Nicholas Christopher |
Shades of Noir: A Reader by Joan Copjec |
The Art of Noir: The Posters and Graphics from the
Classic Era of Film Noir by Eddie Muller |
The Little Black and White Book of Film Noir:
Quotations from Films of the 40's and 50's by Peg Thompson, Saeko Usukawa |
Film Noir by Alain Silver |
Film Noir Guide: 745 Films of the Classic Era,
1940-1959 by Michael F. Keaney |
Detours and Lost Highways: A Map of Neo-Noir by Foster Hirsch |
Comparison:
Éditions Montparnasse (re-release) - Region 2 - PAL vs. Warner (Film Noir Collection 3) - Region 1, 4 - NTSC vs. Warner Archive - Region FREE - Blu-ray |
French DVD screen captures courtesy of Herb Kane
1) Warner (Film Noir Collection 3) Region 1, 4 - NTSC - LEFT2) Éditions Montparnasse (re-release) - Region 2 - PAL MIDDLE3) Warner Archive - Region FREE - Blu-ray - RIGHT
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Box Covers |
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Distribution | Éditions Montparnasse - Region 2 - PAL | Warner Home Video - Region 1, 4 - NTSC |
Warner Archive Region FREE - Blu-ray |
Runtime | 1:21:41 | 1:21:52 | 1:21:55.952 |
Video | 1.33:1
Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 6.53 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s |
1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 5.54 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s |
Disc Size: 27,251,412,296 bytes Feature Size: 25,187,567,616 bytes Total Bitrate: 34.98 MbpsDual-layered Blu-ray MPEG4 - AVC |
Bitrate: Blu-ray |
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Audio | English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Dolby), DUB: French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Dolby) | English (original mono) |
DTS-HD Master Audio English 1789
kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1789 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz /
1509 kbps / 24-bit) DTS-HD Master Audio English 1884 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1884 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) |
Subtitles | French, None | English, French, Spanish, None | English (SDH), None |
Features |
Release Information: Edition Details:
• Introduction |
Release Information: Edition Details: |
Release Information: Studio: Warner
Disc Size: 27,251,412,296 bytes Feature Size: 25,187,567,616 bytes Total Bitrate: 34.98 MbpsDual-layered Blu-ray MPEG4 - AVC
Edition Details:
Blu-ray
Release Date: October 11th, 2016 |
Comments: |
NOTE:
The below
Blu-ray captures were
obtained directly from the
Blu-ray
disc.
ADDITION: Warner Archive - Region FREE -
Blu-ray
October Warner utilize a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel at 24-bits and the intense score by the great Bernard Herrmann (Cape Fear, The Magnificent Ambersons, Taxi Driver, The Wrong Man, Dressed to Kill, etc. etc.) sounds as overpowering as ever - dominating scenes with its orchestral drama. In the lossless it is reason alone to update to the BD. Warner offers optional English (SDH) subtitles on their region FREE Blu-ray.Same extras as Warner's 2006 DVD boxset (Film Noir #3 reviewed HERE) with the excellent Glenn Erickson commentary and a trailer. This Blu-ray is a no-brainer for Noir lovers. A brilliant piece of thriller cinema from Nicholas Ray! *** ON THE FRENCH DVD: Image looks a little hazy and dark with a slight sepia tone. No chroma that I am aware and heavy contrast. I'm sure this could look better. Original audio with an optional French DUB or French subtitles. No extras and only one menu again. out of |
DVD Menus
Éditions Montparnasse (re-release) - Region 2 - PAL
Warner (Film Noir Collection 3) - Region 1, 4 - NTSC
Warner - Region FREE - Blu-ray
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CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Subtitle Sample
1) Warner (Film Noir Collection 3) Region 1, 4 - NTSC - TOP2) Warner Archive - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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Screen Captures
1) Warner (Film Noir Collection 3) Region 1, 4 - NTSC - TOP2) Éditions Montparnasse (re-release) - Region 2 - PAL MIDDLE3) Warner Archive - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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1) Warner (Film Noir Collection 3) Region 1, 4 - NTSC - TOP2) Warner Archive - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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1) Warner (Film Noir Collection 3) Region 1, 4 - NTSC - TOP2) Warner Archive - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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1) Éditions Montparnasse (re-release) - Region 2 - PAL - TOP2) Warner Archive - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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1) Éditions Montparnasse (re-release) - Region 2 - PAL - TOP2) Warner Archive - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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1) Éditions Montparnasse (re-release) - Region 2 - PAL - TOP2) Warner Archive - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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1) Éditions Montparnasse (re-release) - Region 2 - PAL - TOP2) Warner Archive - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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1) Éditions Montparnasse (re-release) - Region 2 - PAL - TOP2) Warner Archive - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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