The Lavender Hill Mob Blu-ray

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

Directed by Charles Crichton
UK 1951

The Men Who Broke the Bank and Lost the Cargo! Sir Alec Guinness (The Captain’s Paradise) received his first Oscar nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his delightful performance as Henry Holland, a meek clerk who devises an ingenious plan to rob a fortune in gold bullion from his own bank. But when Henry and his odd accomplice (Stanley Holloway, My Fair Lady) melt the gold into souvenir Eiffel Towers to smuggle into France, their perfect crime becomes a disastrous caper of Cockney crooks, customs chaos and an ill-timed group of schoolgirls, all leading to some of the most hilarious and unexpected surprises in criminal history. Sidney James (of the Carry On series) and a young Audrey Hepburn (Sabrina) co-star in this beloved Eagling Studios hit directed by Charles Crichton (Dead of Night) that won the Academy Award for Best Screenplay by T. E. B. Clarke (Who Done It?). Beautifully shot by the great Douglas Slocomb (Robbery, Raiders of the Lost Ark).

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Charles Crichton directed this Ealing caper comedy, with a witty script by T.E.B. Clarke that won an Academy Award. Alec Guinness is Henry Holland, an unassuming transporter of gold bullion who, after working for twenty years with no rewards in sight for his faithful service to his company, decides to reward himself by stealing one million pounds worth of gold. Calling on his old friend Pendlebury (Stanley Holloway), a manufacturer of paperweights and an amateur sculptor, and a couple of Cockney crooks, Lackery (Sidney James) and Shorty (Alfie Bass), they conspire to lift a gold shipment. After absconding with the gold, Henry melts the gold into a collection of souvenir Eiffel Towers, which he then ships off to Paris. But chaos reigns when a group of English schoolgirls purchase the gold towers, and the gang now become embroiled in a wild goose chase to recover their stolen gold.

Excerpt from B+N located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: June 11th, 1951

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Review: Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Box Cover		CLICK to order from: Studio Canal's 2011 Blu-ray:
Distribution	Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:21:35.765
Video	1.33:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 26,976,324,015 bytes Feature: 23,661,035,520 bytes Video Bitrate: 34.90 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate Blu-ray:
Audio	DTS-HD Master Audio English 1565 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1565 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit) Commentary: Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Subtitles	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Kino 1.33:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 26,976,324,015 bytes Feature: 23,661,035,520 bytes Video Bitrate: 34.90 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Audio Commentary by Film Historian Jeremy Arnold • Introduction by Filmmaker Martin Scorsese (3:48) • Good Afternoon: Mavis Nicholson Interviews Screenwriter T. E. B. Clarke (25:46) • Audio Interview with Director Charles Crichton (12:23) • Theatrical Trailer (2:30) Blu-ray Release Date: September 3rd, 2019 Standard Blu-ray Case Chapters 9

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (August 2019): Kino have transferred the Ealing Studios comedy The Lavender Hill Mob to Blu-ray. It 's on a dual-layered disc with a max'ed out bitrate. Perhaps we will compare to the 2011 Studio Canal Blu-ray one day, although I suspect it will be quite similar in appearance. There is film texture, but it can appear clunky at times, with modest contrast layering and no extensive depth - overall, the 1080P looking pleasing enough in-motion.

On their Blu-ray, Kino use a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel mono track (16-bit) in the original English language. Effects are minimal but carry bass as does the film's bouncy score by Georges Auric (Heaven Knows Mr. Allison, It Always Rains on Sunday, Dead of Night, The Innocents, Lola Montes, Rififi, Wages of Fear) that keeping placid in the film's calm sequences and ratchets-up when the pace gets more frenetic. Kino offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

Kino include an excellent audio commentary by film historian Jeremy Arnold (author of The Essentials: 52 Must-See Movies and Why They Matter) who discusses how Ealing, despite being know for their comedies, actually produced more dramas in the Studios history, he identifies and discusses Audrey Hepburn's 'walk-on', the comedy's sincerity, quoting "warm human Ealing comedies with relatable human people with cleaver craftsmanship" and much more. It's educational, informative and enjoyable, as always from Jeremy. There is a 4-minute introduction by filmmaker Martin Scorsese, Good Afternoon: Mavis Nicholson interviews screenwriter T. E. B. Clarke (Lavender Hill, Passport to Pimlico, The Blue Lamp etc.) for shy of 26-minutes - he describes his methodology for writing these inventive crime-dramas plus there is an audio interview with Lavender Hill Mob director Charles Crichton (A Fish Called Wanda) who discusses his career. Lastly, is a theatrical trailer.

The Lavender Hill Mob is one of the most re-watchable 'blundering-crime-thriller comedies' of all time. It is frequently cited and appreciated by film aficionados for its warm character portrayals, building pace and mounting desperation. Basically it is both engaging as a heist-drama and fun as heck. It's a film many should be very pleased to add to their Blu-ray library. A strong recommendation!