Audio is transferred in a 24-bit DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel mono track. It carries a bit more depth than the Arrow. The Victor Young (Gun Crazy, Johnny Guitar, China Gate, The File on Thelma Jordan etc.) score sounds great in the lossless. Dialogue is also clean and clear and there are optional English, yellow-font, subtitles on the being a region 'A'-locked Blu-ray.

The notable supplement is an audio commentary by Alan K. Rode and Steve Mitchell with Rode taking the reins in discussing much of The Blue Dahlia's noir affectations. It is a worthy listen - lots of information. There is also a 1/2 hour 1949 Screen Guild Radio adaptation of The Blue Dahlia with Ladd, plus a trailer and extensive image gallery.

With Chandler's smooth street-wise dialogue, Ladd's silent-type good looks and Lake's wispy chemistry (the girl was built for Noir) this remains one of the defining films of the stylistic reputation of The Black Cinema. A must-own, in either or both Blu-rays, for fans of the rich, un-duplicate-able, style.

NOTE: Favorite Hugh Beaumont plays another important bit part in a strong Noir classic.

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ADDITION: Arrow - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - September 16': Sorry for the delay - this was 'lost in the post.  There were some pretty horrible DVDs of The Blue Dahlia far fans but Arrow has righted a great wrong with their new Blu-ray release. The 1080P transfer looks gorgeous - filled with rich grain - well defined contrast - on a dual-layered disc with a max'ed out bitrate. It's gorgeous and a gigantic leap behind the poor SDs we've endured so far.

Audio is transferred in an authentically flat linear PCM mono track. The score composed by Victor Young (Gun Crazy, Johnny Guitar, China Gate, The File on Thelma Jordan etc.) and it certainly benefits from the uncompressed rendering - adding another dark, edgy, layer  to this essential 'Dark Cinema' classic. Dialogue is clean and clear - best I have ever heard - and my Oppo has identified it as being a region 'B'-locked!

Arrow add some relevant extras starting with 9-minutes of a select-scene commentary by Frank Krutnik, author of In a Lonely Street: Film Noir, Genre, Masculinity. He discusses two key scenes in the film - the opening bar sequence and Johnny returning home for the first time. He makes some great comments - I only wish it was longer. Small Boy, Tough Guy has Frank Krutnik discusses The Blue Dahlia's place in the Noir canon and the career of Alan Ladd. It runs almost 1/2 an hour. Also included is a rare 1949 half-hour radio dramatization of The Blue Dahlia by The Screen Guild Theater, starring Veronica Lake and Alan Ladd. I've become a big fan of these radio dramas and have downloaded all the Box 13 series - the escapades of newspaperman-turned-mystery novelist Dan Holliday (played by Alan Ladd). There is also an original theatrical trailer, a gallery of vintage stills and promotional materials and the package has a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Tonci Zonjic.

Easiest purchase of the year for Noir fans... Our highest recommendation!

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ADDITION: TCM - Region 1 - NTSC - November 2012: (comments duplicated - covering all three releases) So TCM has put together a new Noir package with the, long awaited in NTSC, black-cinema classics - The Blue Dahlia, Phantom Lady and The Glass Key. So, as Eddie Muller repeats in the DVD extras section, 'finally'. The Ladd/Lake noirs (This Gun For Hire, The Blue Dahlia, and The Glass Key) are an essential part of the cycle and Eddie considers Siodmak (Phantom Lady, Criss Cross, The Dark Mirror) the greatest of all Noir directors.

All three transfers are single-layered and appear to be from the same source as their PAL counterparts with the same light damage/speckles. Contrast improves significantly in The Glass Key and there is notable improvement as well in The Blue Dahlia. Less so in Phantom Lady but the biggest appeal is getting these three iconic Noirs  in there theatrical running time (no PAL speedup).

Extras have Eddie Muller giving short input on all three discs - twice in multiple subjects, we also have a brief, and still classy, Marsha Hunt discussing Noir and an introduction by Ben Mankiewicz for The Glass Key. All three also have Digital image galleries with Behind-the-Scenes Photos, Publicity Stills, Lobby Cards and Movie Posters.

I treasure this set - would love the films in 1080P but it seems such an unfairly long period of time for these important films to reach NTSC. I'll be buying a second set to store in a safety deposit box. Certainly recommended!

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