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 S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

Directed by Lewis Seiler
USA 1942

 

Men of Steel! Women of Fire! The dream team of John Wayne (The Searchers), Marlene Dietrich (The Blue Angel) and Randolph Scott (The Spoilers) co-star in this rags-to-riches tale of friendship, love and power. Beautiful Josie Winters (Dietrich) inspires coal-mining buddies Pittsburgh Markham (Wayne) and Cash Evans (Scott) to better their lots in life. Competing for Josie’s affection, the men rapidly climb to the top of their profession. After greed tears the two friends apart, it takes a world war to reunite them, as they refuse to let their patriotism be overshadowed by an age-old rift. The stellar cast includes legendary Stooge Sheep Howard (Soup to Nuts), Thomas Gomez (Ride the Pink Horse) and western icon Paul Fix (Red River). Directed by Lewis Seiler (Guadalcanal Diary).

***

The three stars of Universal's The Spoilers -- Marlene Dietrich, John Wayne and Randolph Scott -- were reunited for the pageantlike adventure yarn Pittsburgh. As indicated by the title, this is a saga of the steel industry, with longtime buddies Pittsburgh Markham (Wayne) and Cash Evans (Scott) rising from the ranks of miners to run their own foundry. Ruthlessly devoted to his work, Pittsburgh eventually has a falling out with Cash and also jeopardizes his romantic relationship with beautiful Josie Winters (Dietrich). Thanks to his duplicitous business practices, Pittsburgh loses both Josie and his steel mill; but when America enters WW II, he redeems himself by signing on as a common workman with Cash's still-thriving organization. Well acted and directed, Pittsburgh nonetheless lacks the extra spark which transforms a good film into a great one.

Excerpt from B+N located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: December 11th, 1942

Reviews                                                                                                       More Reviews                                                                                       DVD Reviews

 

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

Box Cover

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Coming to the UK on Blu-ray from BFI in November 2021:
Distribution Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime 1:31:19.474        
Video

1.33:1 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 23,182,583,479 bytes

Feature: 20,735,361,024 bytes

Video Bitrate: 27.04 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 1554 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1554 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit)
Subtitles English, None
Features Release Information:
Studio: Kino

 

1.33:1 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 23,182,583,479 bytes

Feature: 20,735,361,024 bytes

Video Bitrate: 27.04 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Edition Details:

• Animated Image Gallery
• Theatrical Trailer (02:05)


 Blu-ray Release Date: September 10th, 2019
 Standard Blu-ray Case

Chapters 8

 

 

Comments:

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

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (August 2019): Lewis Seiler's "Pittsburgh" arrives on an all new single-layered Blu-ray from Kino Lorber. The 1.35:1 HD image is accompanied with a supportive bitrate. Given that a significant portion of the film takes place in the dark coal mines or nighttime city streets, the strong contrast levels on display are a relief. Whether in Dietrich's ingénue soft-lighting or the sharp daytime shots, a fine clarity is always on display. Very impressive transfer here from Kino.

The audio track here is a 16-bit DTS-HD Master audio in 2.0 and is rather lackluster.
Hans J. Salter (Man Without a Star, The Killer that Stalked New York, The Strange Door, Cover Up, Man Without a Star, Scarlet Street, The Land Unknown, The War Lord, The Mole People, The Strange Case of Doctor Rx) and Frank Skinner (The Appaloosa, Madame X, Magnificent Obsession, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, All That Heaven Allows, Thunder Bay, and The Naked City)   provide the film with the patriotic rah-rah score. There are optional English subtitles on this Region 'A' Blu-ray from Kino.

Aside from an annotated image gallery, the only other extra is the films trailer. There are also trailers for "The Spoilers", "Reap the Wild Wind", "Legend of the Lost", "The Blue Angel", "No Highway in the Sky", "Canadian Pacific", and "The Caribou Trail".

Though rather bare bones (the image gallery and trailers are a nice addition, but surely a commentary would have been a fascinating listen) this new Blu-ray of 1942's "Pittsburgh" from Kino Lorber is a winner. The visuals are quite crisp and show a great range of blacks and grays. Recommended to fans of Dietrich, Wayne, and Scott. 

Colin Zavitz

 

Menus / Extras

 

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Box Cover

CLICK to order from:

    

Coming to the UK on Blu-ray from BFI in November 2021:
Distribution Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray


 


 

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