ADDITION: Kino Lorber - Region 'A' - Blu-ray September 16': Kino's 2016 Blu-ray transfer seems to support the film's textures - it's brighter, more detail and, while Road House will never look 'crisp' - it carries the film grain and heaviness consistently in 1080P. Softness, a factor of the original production, is still present but the presentation in-motion is adept.

Kino go with a lossless DTS-HD Master audio track supporting the score by Cyril J. Mockridge (Thieves' Highway, Desk Set, The Ox-Bow Incident, The Dark Corner, My Darling Clementine, Nightmare Alley) and an uncredited Alfred Newman (The Diary of Anne Frank, Bus Stop, Blood and Sand, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Panic in the Streets, The Song of Bernadette etc. etc.). This is augmented by Ida Lupino singing One for My Baby (And One More for the Road), Again, The Right Kind and There'll Be Some Changes Made. Aggression is at a minimum but the bar fight seems carries some depth. It sounds as consistent as the video. There are no optional subtitles on the region 'A'-locked disc.

Supplements duplicate the2008 DVD and include a commentary with some enjoyable laughter from Kim Morgan and Eddie Muller. Their absolute love of Noir shows as, at times, they are both totally enamored with the performances (Lupino). She's covered in great length by the commentarists and they share a lot of valuable information. Eddie remains favorite Noir commentator and he again does a professional job with Kim Morgan giving nice balance to the discussion. There is also a 19-minute featurette - Killer Instincts: Richard Widmark and Ida Lupino at 20th Century Fox. It has clips and input from Eddie Muller, Robert Osborne and Rudy Behlmer among others. This is really good with plenty on Widmark and his solid reputation (avoiding the Hollywood lifestyle and being friendly to everyone etc.) often juxtaposing his unbalanced onscreen characterizations. It wraps up with an animated still gallery, and a trailer. There are no liner notes.

We're in solid Noir territory with Road House with many of the conventions we enjoy about the cycle. Kino's Blu-ray is a welcome addition to the library - another film I can revisit for the rest of my days. Absolutely recommended!

***

ON THE DVD: Not quite up to the image quality standard of the older Noir Moontide but this transfer still looks respectable although contrast is a shade dampened (whites) - a tinge sepia at times. I again expect some sort of restoration (probably digital) but the image can show softness with consistent noise that appears, a bit, as grain. The dual-layered, progressive transfer is an acceptable one from Fox, even with the marginally lower bitrate, but perhaps a notch beneath the high standard previously offered from Fox in the same series.

Like Moontide - it's a Fox Film Noir (as stated on the case) - yet I see no spine number - so perhaps Fox have abandoned that categorization labeling. 

These releases are surely a dream come true for Noir fans offered at such a reasonable price considering all we are getting in this package. Just a wonderful Film noir - Lupino and Widmark are mesmerizing at times - and we strongly recommend!

Gary W. Tooze