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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |
(aka 'Le Secret derrière la porte ')
Secret Beyond the Door was émigré Fritz Lang's unique contribution to this melodramatic cycle that reached its peak in Hollywood in that tumultuous decade. Working in a genre that might be dismissed as a "weepie" or a "woman's picture" by some of Lang's contemporaries, this movie was adapted from mystery writer Rufus King's magazine story by the director and Silvia Richards, a journeyman radio writer who had gained recognition for the script for Joan Crawford's psychologically insightful Possessed (1947). Not surprisingly for a director who blended psychology credibly into many of his best films, such as M (1931) and Ministry of Fear (1944), the mental state of his stressed characters often took center stage. Richards, whose emphasis on narration may have reflected her radio-writing roots, may have been too intimidated by her distinguished mentor's determination to craft an intellectually challenging movie that was also an unusual and sinister romance--a kind of "boy meets girl" story, Lang-style. ***
Joan Bennett is the woman who falls for an architect and promptly marries him, not
asking as many questions about his past as she should have done. She soon
discovers that he has a few skeletons in his cupboard, maybe even literally.
Determined to find out the secret beyond the door of his mansion, she soon
believes herself to be in mortal danger. |
Poster
Theatrical Release: January 1st, 1948
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
Comparison:
Wild Side Vidéo (2-disc) - Region 0 - PAL vs. Olive Films - Region FREE - Blu-ray vs. Llamentol S.L - Region FREE - Blu-ray vs. Arrow Films - Region FREE - Blu-ray |
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Wild Side Video - Region 2 - PAL LEFT
2) Olive Film - Region FREE -
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3) Llamentol S.L - Region FREE -
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Arrow Film - Region ''B' -
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Comments: |
NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc. ADDITION: Arrow Films - Region FREE - Blu-ray - November 17': Arrow's Four Film Noir Classics Limited Edition has The Dark Mirror, Secret Beyond the Door..., Force of Evil, and The Big Combo. They are not sold separately by Arrow at present and are only available in this boxset. There are other Blu-ray releases, like the Olive Film and Llamentol S.L editions here, we have compared a few, exact frame, 1080P captures.
Limited Edition set of only 2000 copies!
The Arrow transfer appears
to be from the same source with the same 1.33:1 framing
but the UK has a max'ed out bitrate - it is
tighter, the damage is less visible and grain is more prominent on the
UK edition. The Arrow is,
predictably, superior visually.
Joan Bennett Like the others in the Four Film Noir Classics Limited Edition, Arrow is also better than the other lossless audio transfers - Arrow's 24-bit linear PCM mono vs. the DTS-HD Master (16-bit) tracks of the Olive Film and Llamentol S.L editions. The film has a dramatic score by the iconic Miklós Rózsa (Eye of the Needle, The Killers, The Lost Weekend, The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, The Strange Love of Martha Ivers, Double Indemnity) and its an excellent part of the film experience highlighting suspense, sounding deep and rich in the uncompressed. Arrow also add optional English (SDH) subtitles (see sample below) on their Region FREE Blu-ray disc.All films in the set have a commentary and Secret Beyond the Door... has an excellent analysis by Alan K. Rode discussing Lang, one of my favorite Noir gals, Joan Bennett, Walter Wanger and much more. Barry Keith Grant (author of Film Genre Reader) does a 1/4 hour introduction on Secret Beyond the Door... and filmmaker David Cairns does a highly rewarding visuals essay entitled The House of Lang running over 20-minutes. There is a radio play "Let's Pretend' - Bluebeard and a trailer for Hangman Also Die Trailer. The package offers reversible sleeves featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Scott Saslow for all films and a hardback book featuring new writing on all the films by noir experts and critics including Michael Brooke, Andrew Spicer, David Cairns and Tony Rayns and others.
Another
fabulous and complete Noir release of a dark
cinema gem... what a great addition to this essential
package!
* ADDITION: Llamentol S.L. - Region FREE Blu-ray - March 2014: I'll say the same thing I said about The Big Heat Spanish Blu-ray. Just a quick note to those that didn't pick-up the Olive release. There is a Spanish - Region FREE - Blu-ray available. It is seems almost the exact same transfer and DTS-HD Master lossless audio. And look at the bitrate graphs! Hmmm... It has optional foreign language Spanish DUB and subtitle option (see sample) that is removable, crappy menus (see below) and no extras. At current exchange rates it is about $12.00 US. It defaults to the Spanish DUB (but can be changed via the remote.) I don't know if it is a bootleg of some sort. That is a strong possibility. I will try to inform Olive Films if they wish to pursue some action (if they have not provided the encode themselves.) *** ADDITION: Olive Films - Region FREE - Blu-ray - August 12': Thi ngs certainly tighten up a shade on the new 1080P transfer from Olive. It is a bit brighter and contrast has more layers on the Blu-ray. Of course it is only single-layered but the bitrate seems supportive enough - the larger factor though are the light scratches, speckles and occasional blemishes that are less prevalent, or less noticeable, on the French SD rendering. The BD, being in theatrical running time (no PAL Speedup now) is superior but the marks are notable. Modest, but lossless, sound - clear without major flaws - no subtitles and no extras. I think its worthy of upgrade but there is some noise on the hi-def but not as visible as the DVD. Great film and a pleasure to see it in the higher resolution.***
ON THE DVD: This is a pretty good image especially for a single layered disc - not quite as sharp as one might have hoped but it still looks quite clean and more than acceptable for tube viewing. The black levels are very rich. Thankfully, the French subtitles are removable (on my Malata's and my computer) so they are definitely player generated. Unfortunately, the Lang/Godard featurette on the 2nd disc has no English subtitles... and neither do any of the extras although many are visual. NOTE: Individuals have informed me that the subtitles ARE forced on certain machines - but they can be irradiated in a re-burn. The DVD is a less than 4.75 and the subtitles can be removed and the DVD contents re-burned to a blank DVD with standard DVDR hardware (software is free). See instructions HERE. Paramount have announced this title for 2006 (this year) in Region 1 (as noted in our March 14th Newsletter HERE). It may possibly look superior so I would be patient if I were you. The film is pure Lang, all the way... |
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Arrow Films - Region FREE - Blu-ray
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
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Subtitle Sample
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More Blu-ray Captures
Recommended Reading in Film Noir (CLICK COVERS or TITLES for more information)
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 |