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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |
Directed by
George Marshall
USA 1946
Sterling film noir from the pen of Raymond Chandler. Alan Ladd stars as a war veteran framed for the murder of his own wife. Veronica Lake plays the requisite femme fatale.
Excerpt from Channel 4 located HERE **** Ladd's returning war veteran stalks stoically down those mean streets once more in search of the killer of his wife (Dowling), a faithless floozie undeserving of his concern. Raymond Chandler's script never quite recovers from the Navy Department's objection to having Ladd's war-wounded buddy Bendix, wandering around with a steel plate in his head and intermittent amnesia, turn out to have done the killing (out of outraged loyalty to his friend, then blanking it out in his memory). The plot rewrite involves one or two arbitrary connections and a much less satisfactory conclusion. A fine hardboiled thriller for all that, with excellent dialogue and performances, and much more apt direction from Marshall than one might expect. |
Posters
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Theatrical Release: April 19th, 1946
Comparison:
Universal Pictures UK - Region 2,4 - PAL vs. Koch Media - Region 2 - PAL vs. TCM - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Arrow - Region 'B' - Blu-ray vs. Shout! Factory - Region 'A' - Blu-ray |
1) Universal Pictures UK - Region 2,4 - PAL LEFT
2) Koch Media - Region 2 - PAL SECOND
3) TCM - Region 1- NTSC - THIRD 4) Arrow - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - FOURTH 5) Shout! Factory - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - RIGHT
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Box Covers |
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Also available in the Dark Crimes Boxset: |
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Distribution | Universal Pictures UK - Region 2,4 - PAL | Koch Media - Region 2 - PAL | TCM - Region 1 - NTSC | Arrow- Region 'B' - Blu-ray | Shout! Factory - Region 'A' - Blu-ray |
Runtime | 1:35:18 (4% PAL speedup) | 1:35:21 (4% PAL speedup) | 1:39:39 | 1:39:57.950 | 1:40:01.286 |
Video | 1.33:1
Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 5.55 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s |
1.33:1
Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 7.8 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s |
1.33:1
Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 5.7 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s |
1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 37,449,282,219 bytesFeature: 29,329,661,952 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 35.01 Mbps |
1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 29,574,515,409 bytesFeature: 22,504,359,936 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 25.00 Mbps |
NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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Bitrate: (UK) |
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Bitrate: (German) |
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Bitrate: (TCM) |
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Bitrate: Arrow Blu-ray |
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Bitrate: Shout! Factory Blu-ray |
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Audio | English (Dolby Digital 1.0) | English (Dolby Digital 2.0),DUB German (Dolby Digital 2.0) | English (Dolby Digital 2.0) | LPCM Audio English 1152 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1152 kbps / 24-bit |
DTS-HD Master Audio English 1563 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1563 kbps / 24-bit (DTS
Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) DTS-HD Master Audio English 1605 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1605 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) |
Subtitles | English, None | English, German, None | None | English (SDH), None | English (SDH), None |
Features |
Release Information: Edition Details:
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Release Information: Edition Details: • Photo Gallery • Trailer (1:26)
• 12-page essay with 2 photos (in
German) |
Release Information: Edition Details: • Eddie Muller on Raymond Chandler's The Blue Dahlia (3:40)
• Digital Image Galleries |
Release Information: 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 37,449,282,219 bytesFeature: 29,329,661,952 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 35.01 Mbps
Edition Details:
• Selected scene commentary by Frank Krutnik,
author of In a Lonely Street: Film Noir, Genre, Masculinity (9:16) Chapters:13 |
Release Information: 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 29,574,515,409 bytesFeature: 22,504,359,936 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 25.00 Mbps
Edition Details:
• Commentary by Alan K. Rode and Steve
Mitchell Chapters:13
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Dark Crimes DVD Boxset
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Comments: |
NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc. ADDITION: Shout! Factory - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - November 18': The Shout! Factory is from the exact same source as the Arrow - with the same light scratches, speckles and blemishes. It is not as robustly transferred with a lower bitrate but the image quality seems acceptable in 1080P if, a notch lower, in-motion and grain texture than the Arrow. 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. * **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! *** 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! *** ADDITION: Koch Media - Region 2 - PAL - November 2011: Disappointment abounds. Unfortunately, this appears to be the same transfer - yes, it has marginally better compression but is still, almost imperceptibly, interlaced and may be slightly greener. Either/or it is not enough of an advancement to recommend. It comes in a nice booklet case, essay (in German) with a trailer and image gallery as part of the dual-layered transfer. A German DUB and subtitles are optional on the PAL encoded disc. Koch Media have been doing a series of classic noir with this as the #1 starting release. We've also covered Dark Mirror (#5) and Desert Fury (#4) - both excellent transfers. I had high hopes for this German DVD of the Raymond Chandler-Lake-Ladd classic but price-wise we'd suggest the UK disc as it is significantly cheaper and only marginally inferior. I'd love to see this on Blu-ray one day but even a progressive DVD seems to have been too much to ask the powers that be. Perhaps one day... *** Overall, I am now not as disappointed as I was expecting to be. We had already heard that The Big Steal, also released in this DVD Noir grouping, was the Turner colorized edition, not - as advertised - the black and white original. So the noir-aficionado community was getting its collective back up in regards to the quality of these releases. But I have had to subsist on a VHS-to-DVD bootleg of this film for a while. It was not badly done at all and even included a trailer but this new Universal UK transfer is certainly superior (see comparison sample below). It is sharper and shows a little more information the frame, is not as heavily contrast boosted, has far less artifacts and offers optional English subtitles. This is by no means a strong transfer - very minor combing is there (although almost invisible), more muddy than I would like, and cue blips (see last capture) and speckles are prevalent - but it is the best we have seen this Noir staple digitally to date. Audio has some minor hiss. The shame of it is that this film deserves an Eddie Muller commentary - or the like - and this new edition is bare-bones. |
DVD Menus
Universal Pictures UK - Region 2,4 - PAL LEFT vs. Koch Media - Region 2 - PAL RIGHT
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TCM - Region 1- NTSC
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Arrow - Region 'B' - Blu-ray
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Shout! Factory - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
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CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Subtitle Sample (no subs on the TCM)
1) Universal Pictures UK - Region 2,4 - PAL TOP
2) Koch Media - Region 2 - PAL SECOND
3) TCM - Region 1- NTSC - THIRD 4)
Arrow - Region 'B' - Blu-ray
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FOURTH 5)
Shout! Factory
- Region 'A' - Blu-ray
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BOTTOM
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Screen Captures
1) Universal Pictures UK - Region 2,4 - PAL TOP
2) Koch Media - Region 2 - PAL SECOND
3) TCM - Region 1- NTSC - THIRD 4)
Arrow - Region 'B' - Blu-ray
-
FOURTH 5)
Shout! Factory
- Region 'A' - Blu-ray
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BOTTOM
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1) Universal Pictures UK - Region 2,4 - PAL TOP
2) Koch Media - Region 2 - PAL SECOND
3) TCM - Region 1- NTSC - THIRD 4)
Arrow - Region 'B' - Blu-ray
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FOURTH 5)
Shout! Factory
- Region 'A' - Blu-ray
-
BOTTOM
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1) Universal Pictures UK - Region 2,4 - PAL TOP
2) Koch Media - Region 2 - PAL SECOND
3) TCM - Region 1- NTSC - THIRD 4) Arrow - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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1) Universal Pictures UK - Region 2,4 - PAL TOP
2) Koch Media - Region 2 - PAL SECOND
3) TCM - Region 1- NTSC - THIRD 4) Arrow - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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1) Universal Pictures UK - Region 2,4 - PAL TOP
2) Koch Media - Region 2 - PAL SECOND
3) TCM - Region 1- NTSC - THIRD 4) Arrow - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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1) Universal Pictures UK - Region 2,4 - PAL TOP
2) Koch Media - Region 2 - PAL SECOND
3) TCM - Region 1- NTSC - THIRD 4) Arrow - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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1) Universal Pictures UK - Region 2,4 - PAL TOP
2) Koch Media - Region 2 - PAL SECOND
3) TCM - Region 1- NTSC - THIRD 4) Arrow - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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1) Universal Pictures UK - Region 2,4 - PAL TOP
2) Koch Media - Region 2 - PAL SECOND
3) TCM - Region 1- NTSC - THIRD 4) Arrow - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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1) Universal Pictures UK - Region 2,4 - PAL TOP
2) Koch Media - Region 2 - PAL SECOND
3) TCM - Region 1- NTSC - THIRD 4) Arrow - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM
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Chroma (plant to the right of the stairs) on TCM disc
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Box Covers |
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Also available in the Dark Crimes Boxset: |
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Distribution | Universal Pictures UK - Region 2,4 - PAL | Koch Media - Region 2 - PAL | TCM - Region 1 - NTSC | Arrow- Region 'B' - Blu-ray | Shout! Factory - Region 'A' - Blu-ray |
Recommended Reading in Film Noir (CLICK COVERS or TITLES for more information)
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Film Noir: An Encyclopedia
Reference to the American Style by Alain Silver, Elizabeth Ward |
Somewhere in the Night: Film Noir and the American City by Nicholas Christopher |
Film Noir Reader 4 : The
Crucial Films and Themes (Film Noir Reader) by Alain Silver |
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 |
Detours and Lost Highways: A
Map of Neo-Noir by Foster Hirsch |
More Than Night: Film Noir in
Its Contexts by James Naremore |